Stories tagged Alaska
Okmok in eruption, 7/21/2008: Aerial overflight courtesy of Air Station Kodiak, US Coast Guard, photographer Tina Neal.
Courtesy AVO/USGSTwo volcanoes in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands have been erupting since last week – the first time in over 30 years two volcanoes in the region have had simultaneous eruptions.
Scientists from the Alaskan Volcano Observatory were first aware of the eruption of Mount Okmok, a shield volcano on Umnak Island. The eruption began on July 12 with no advance warning and has continued erupting since. The latest update (July 27) indicates that, “The amplitude and duration of seismic activity has increased over the past 11 hours. Satellite data indicate a possible thermal anomaly that may be due to solar reflection of the plume. The most recent satellite images show the potential Okmok plume at less than 10,000'. Stronger explosive activity could resume at any time with little or no warning.”
Astronaut photo of ash cloud from Mount Cleveland, May 23, 2006: Image of Mount Cleveland from a 2006 eruption.
Courtesy NASAWhile studying the eruption of Mount Okmok scientists at the Alaskan Volcano Observatory then noticed that Mount Cleveland, a stratovolcano on Chuginadak Island was also erupting. Reports from fishing boats indicate that the eruption began on July 21 and the most recent update (July 27) says that, “Thermal anomalies seen in satellite views suggest the presence of lava on the surface near Cleveland's summit. Satellite images also indicate a possible ash cloud traveling SE from the volcano at less than 20,000 feet.” Cleveland is a more active volcano than Okmok having last erupted in 2005.
Both volcanoes are at alert level orange, the second highest alert level. The National Weather Service issues a 24-hour ash fall advisory for Umnak Island and the southwest portion of Unalaska Island.
The Alaskan Volcano Observatory has lots of great resources on these eruptions, including a web cam of Mount Cleveland and they have lots of other webcams of other volcanoes too. They monitor seismic activity in real time for 30 volcanoes in Alaska and analyze satellite images of all the Alaskan volcanoes for evidence of eruption. Another great source of information if you are into learning more about volcanoes is the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program.
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Rainbow coalition: Alaskan wildlife officials are using cheap hair dyes to color the fur of problem bears. Doing that, they think, will save many bears from being immediately killed from having negative interactions with humans. (Graphic from the Anchorage Daily News)When you’ve seen one grizzly bear, you’ve seen them all, right?
Not in Alaska. Grizzlies that have become nuisance bears – repeatedly having negative interactions with the human populations up in the 49th state – are getting a drastic, punk makeover.
Wildlife officials are dousing the problem bears with brightly colored hair dyes, giving humans coming in their way a quick sign that these bears have caused trouble in the past. This summer, you might just see a grizzly in Alaska decked out in yellow, green, orange or blue fur.
Okay all you self-righteous animal activists. Before you hit the reply button to submit your protest to this idea, take a second to read the reasoning behind all of this.
In the past, problem bears were shot dead. No second chances. Just get them out of the picture.
The fur dying idea is a way to avoid that drastic measure. Now people will have a quick, dramatic visual clue that they are in the vicinity of a problem bear and can use that information to decide how they want to proceed with interactions with the creature.
Game officials will actually tranquilize the problem bears, shampoo their head, shoulders and hind quarters before applying the dye.
Over the past several summers, many grizzlies have been shot by game officials or by private citizens who felt threatened by the bears’ behavior. But will a funky new fur color have impacts on the bears’ interactions with other members of their own species? No one is sure about that.
What do you think about coloring bears’ fur for these purposes? Share your thoughts here with other Science Buzz readers.
Whale of a catch: This aerial view of a bowhead whale shows how large the creatures can get. A bowhead over 100 years old was recently captured off the coast of Alaska. (Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration)How long to whales live?
That’s a hard question to answer as the best way to get age information from the giants is to measure the amino acid levels in their eyes.
But an easier dating tool was found in a bowhead whale that was killed off of the coast of Alaska earlier this year. Embedded in the whale’s neck was an arrow-shaped tool, about three inches long, that was patented in 1879. So whale experts are figuring that the bowhead survived some kind of fishing attack at least 100 years ago. They’ve targeted the whale’s age to be between 115 and 130 years old.
In fact, the particular type of arrowhead found in the whale was groundbreaking for its time. It was filled with explosives that were supposed to go off on impact to further hurt the whale. With the particular case, that didn't work out, and the whale was probably annoyed, but not stopped, by the hit.
It’s rare to find centurion whales, but a few can live that long and there are documented cases of whales living to be 200 years old.
The captured Alaskan bowhead was 49 feet long and was speared using today’s more modern technology. It’s capture was completely legitimate. The Alaskan Eskimo Whaling Commission allows native villagers to take up to 255 whales from Alaskan waters each season
Yesterday, scientists in Alaska started testing migratory birds for signs of the H5N1 avian flu. For more information on avian flu, check out our online feature.
There is often a tension between the scientists who study a subject and the people who live in the area of interest.
Recently in Alaska, scientists have began using the oral histories of native Alaskans as another source of evidence for climate change.
Residents of Alaska have been saying that the 1970's were a turning point as far as noticing changes in weather patterns and conditions.
Maggie Attila, from Galena, stated, "The last couple of years has been really crazy. It is kind of scary when the wind comes up at the wrong time and we have rain in the winter."
Do you think that Alaskan residents are a useful source of information about climate change? Does the Attila's statement make you think of the past few years of Minnesotan weather?
I was once working on an exhibit about insects, and someone joked "You know what no museum has ever done? A fully-immersive, interactive mosquito exhibit!" To which I replied, "I've seen one. It's called July in Minnesota."
But as much as we pride ourselves on the Minnesota State Bird, the common mosquito, it appears Alaska has got it worse this year.
A winter of decent insulating snow, followed by early spring with no late frosts, basically created bug paradise. The jump start has put 2005 about three weeks ahead of schedule
Colder winters than Minnesota. Buggier summers than Minnesota. Who do these Alaskans think they are, anyway?
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