Juneau Independent

The deadline has been my quietly relentless muse for the last 30 years. She used to give me headaches. But then I met her so many times that the headaches stopped.

A dog that pulled his way into history has given scientists insight into what makes Alaska sled dogs and other working breeds unique.

Scientists with the Alaska Earthquake Center created this diagram in which red dots represent the Dec. 6, 2025, Hubbard Glacier earthquake and its many aftershocks. The dotted line connecting the Totschunda and Fairweather fault systems represents a possible “connector fault,” about which scientists have theorized for years. (Graphic courtesy Alaska Earthquake Center) By Ned Rozell A few days ago, the forces beneath Alaska rattled people within a 500-mile radius: A magnitude

In review: Green auroras occur at about 60 miles above Earth. Red auroras are much higher, from about 200 to 300 miles up, which allows people closer to the equator to see them. An important gas remaining at that altitude is oxygen; electrons that excite the oxygen atoms there produce red light.

Just when you thought you’d seen everything in the boreal forest, a reader points out white whiskers sprouting from the ground.

A circular scar on Alaska’s face speaks to an event that may have contributed to the fall of societies on the far side of the world.

In the near future, Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier will withdraw its icy toe from the lake of its making, scientists say.

While paddling a glacial lake complete with icebergs and milky blue water, I dipped my left hand, then tasted my fingers.

Although it was a recorded birdsong that chattered through each of the poplar stands we entered, I still occasionally caught myself believing we were hearing the real thing — the call of the gray-headed chickadee, last heard in Alaska in 2018.

Camped on an island in Southeast Alaska a few mornings ago, Sasha Calvey heard a commotion outside her tent.

The caterpillar stage of the aspen leaf miner feeds on a leaf. (Photo by Ned Rozell) On one of the friendliest platforms imaginable, a ferocious battle rages. While mowing its way through the surface of a trembling leaf, an aspen leaf miner meets one of its kind. Instead of offering a nuzzle of recognition, the tiny caterpillar tears into the other with its sickle-like mouthparts, while trying to avoid a fatal gash from the other. Diane Wagner, Pat Doak and students who work

Ancient pollen grains and other plant remains found deep within Hummingbird Lake in Southeast Alaska give clues to its unglaciated past. This photo is of a similar lake in Southeast Alaska. (Photo by Ned Rozell) Southeast Alaska is home to more than 850 species of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. When you count them up, it’s more than half of all the plant species in Alaska, growing in just six percent of the state’s area. Glacial ice smothered most of the area not too l