Columbia Glacier Retreating - Geophysical Institute Columbia Glacier, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Valdez near the epicenter of the great 1964 earthquake, is rapidly losing its battle for survival It is the last of Alaska's 52 tidewater glaciers to begin its epic retreat from the sea
The Columbia Glacier - Geophysical Institute The Columbia Glacier is one of Alaska's better known tidewater glaciers, both from the standpoint of tourist attraction and the model it provides for scientific investigation In 1973 it became the object of close scientific scrutiny
The majesty and mystery of Alaska yellow cedar These trees, which can live longer than 1,000 years, grow on the rainy coast from the Oregon California border through British Columbia and as far north as Prince William Sound The giants have in many areas died in large numbers, puzzling scientists who later came up with a non-intuitive theory of what killed them
The Shuttle Red Aurora - Geophysical Institute Records taken at Fairbanks indicate that this unusual aurora actually began the night before the launching of the shuttle Columbia An unusually large magnetic storm, the type of event that causes extensive red auroras, showed its signature at Fairbanks at about 3:00 am local time, Saturday morning, April 11
Alaska Glaciers Show Dramatic Melting - Geophysical Institute Columbia Glacier in Prince William Sound and Bering Glacier in the St Elias Mountains are two glaciers losing ice at an alarming rate: during the past decade, Columbia has shrunk by an average of about 21 feet per year along the length of the glacier; Bering has lost more than 9 feet per year
Alaska glaciers help drive rise in sea level Many glaciers smaller than about five square kilometers — like those in the European Alps, New Zealand, Scandinavia and Glacier National Park in Montana — will disappear by the end of this century, said Radic, a researcher at the University of British Columbia and former graduate student at the Geophysical Institute
The Unknown Legacy of Alaskas Atomic Tests The big daddy came in 1971 Project Cannikin was a 5-megaton explosion that inspired the formation of the group Greenpeace, a group of environmentalists from British Columbia who joined together to oppose the test But Greenpeace and many others-including Alaska senator Mike Gravel and Congressman Nick Begich-were not able to prevent Cannikin
Ice worms: enigmas of the north | Geophysical Institute Their DNA suggests ice worms belong to three groups so unlike the other they might be different species Northern worms live in the Chugach Mountains Central worms live in the Glacier Bay Region Southern worms live in the British Columbia Coast Range, the Cascades of Washington and Oregon and the Olympic Mountains of western Washington
Ranking Rivers - Geophysical Institute In both average discharge at mouth (225,000 cubic feet of water a second) and drainage area (328,000 square miles), the Yukon River ranks fifth nationally For comparison, that's right ahead of the Columbia in area drained and right after it in discharge (The Columbia River also needs Canada to gain its rank; its source is in British Columbia )