Climate change | AK CASC

Ice science from pre-k to gray

May 11, 2026

A man in a fur hat stands in front of a green boat, docked on shore.

Father Thinh Van Tran knows about ice. A Catholic priest who serves the Diocese of Fairbanks, he’s spent time in the remote rural Alaska communities of Nulato, Koyukuk, Galena and Kaltag, deep in Interior Alaska. During that time he’s come to appreciate how river ice serves as a major transportation corridor for these communities.

Caribou Herds in Arctic Alaska Tundra Areas are on Opposite Trends

May 11, 2026

A bull caribou with large antlers is standing up in a green, grassy field.

The Western Arctic Caribou Herd, once the biggest in Alaska, is faltering, having fallen from a high of 490,000 animals in 2003 to only 152,000 as of 2023. But to the east, the Porcupine Caribou Herd appears to be thriving, with an all-time high of 218,00 animals recorded at the last census.

What Happens When a Community Passes ‘Peak Water’? Cordova and Kodiak Tell Two Stories of Energy and Industry

May 11, 2026

An aerial view of a town and its harbor with mountains in the background.

In many of Alaska’s small, coastal communities, the same old joke has danced on residents’ tongues, and stuck in their noses, for generations: You smell our town before you see it.

Warm winter culture

May 11, 2026

Eight dogs run down a strip of snow on a road in Anchorage, pulling a sled and a person behind them.

Longstanding Alaskan traditions are being shaped by warming winters. 2025 was no exception.

Reading Rings: Subfossil Wood Reveals a Glacier’s Climate History

May 11, 2026

A scientist holds a piece of wood showing different growth rings.

In 2023, research ecologist Jeremy Litell, along with students and staff from the Juneau Icefield Research Program, skied miles across glaciers and ice ridges to follow up on a report of a five-needle pine tree dwelling in the gnarled, patchy, treeline, known as an alpine ecotone, that lined the Llewellyn Glacier.

In Alaska’s tundra desert, freshwater fish survival depends on a lesser-known — and thinning — permafrost feature

May 11, 2026

A gray fish with a white belly is frozen beneath ice.

On the North Slope, all eyes are on aufeis.

Studying a Melting World: Seventy Years of Glacier Records Threatened

May 11, 2026

A blue ice cave arches over black, rocky terrain with water running through the middle and three people walking in the background, outside the cave.

Changing routes, inaccessible weather stations and an uncertain future.

When it rains, it snows – precipitation changes across Alaska

May 11, 2026

A person with a teal jacket, red hat, black pants, and black gloves, holds a shovel above their head while surrounded by snow covered vehicles and buildings.

The end of 2025 will remain fresh in Juneauʼs collective memory as historic amounts of snow fell across the town, blanketing rooftops, boats and roadways, disrupting everyday life and making national news.

Upcoming Webinar to Help Alaska Fire Managers Plan for an Uncertain Future

April 13, 2026

Skinny trunks of burned trees poke out of a snow covered landscape with snow covered hills in the background.

Fire seasons are changing, and Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center science is trying to help fire managers prepare.

Jeremy Littell, an AK CASC research ecologist, is presenting on what those changes might look like in a webinar for the Alaska Fire Science Consortium Tuesday, April 21.

Littell will explain how future projections from ALFRESCO fire modeling and the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) may be used to plan for future changes in fire regimes and weather.

The Alaska CASC Goes to Washington

March 30, 2026

A man and two women stand on a brick lot in front of stairs leading to a white building with columns in front of it and the U.S. capitol building next to it.

Each year, folks on the university side of the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center (AK CASC) make a trek to Washington D.C. The purpose of the visit is to meet with policymakers to share updates about the work that we do to provide communities with actionable science they can use to make decisions related to climate impacts, adaptation, and resilience.