Northern Tree Habitats - Geophysical Institute
Jan 22, 2026 · Interior Alaskan forests have only six native tree species: white spruce, black spruce, quaking aspen, balsam poplar, larch (tamarack) and paper birch. Northern Canadian forests have all …
The lost world of northern dinosaurs | Geophysical Institute
Aug 30, 2024 · A petrified tree trunk rests on the beach of the upper Colville River. Photo by Patrick Druckenmiller, UA Museum of the North. Meat-eating theropod dinosaurs left their tracks in mud 90 …
Trees as Earthquake Fault Indicators | Geophysical Institute
5 days ago · Then using tree ring dating methods, it may be possible to date earthquakes occurring before historical records were kept. The ability to identify and date very large earthquakes occurring …
More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
Jan 22, 2026 · I eventually found a tree with a spiral lightning mark and it followed the spiral grain exactly. One tree, of course, proves nothing. "But why should the tree spiral? More speculation here: …
The adaptable, continental great horned owl | Geophysical Institute
Apr 10, 2025 · A great horned owl perches on a spruce tree at midnight north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Photo by Ned Rozell. The talons of a great horned owl — this one killed by a car on the …
The secret life of red squirrels | Geophysical Institute
Nov 27, 2024 · Stan Boutin has climbed more than 5,000 spruce trees in the last 30 years. He has often returned to the forest floor knowing if a ball of twigs and moss within the tree contained newborn red …
The Pinhole: Nature's Lens | Geophysical Institute
Jul 10, 1972 · Sunlight passing through minor apertures between tree leaves is focused like the rays in a pinhole camera (and, just as with a simple lens, the image is upside-down).
Boreal owls perform by daylight | Geophysical Institute
Mar 20, 2024 · The late biologist Dave Klein attached the nest box to a black spruce tree north of the University of Alaska Fairbanks ski trails many years ago. In search of a mate, the owl sings his …
Feltleaf willows: Alaska’s most abundant tree | Geophysical Institute
May 25, 2023 · The most plentiful moose food in the state — and probably Alaska’s most numerous tree — is the feltleaf willow, which was once called the Alaska willow. As its name implies, the feltleaf …
Tree Rings and History | Geophysical Institute
Jan 22, 2026 · A tree's age can be easily determined by counting its growth rings, as any Boy or Girl Scout knows. Annually, the tree adds new layers of wood which thicken during the growing season …