
More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 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: …
Northern Tree Habitats - Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 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 …
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 …
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 …
Visit to an exotic tree plantation in Alaska | Geophysical Institute
Jun 18, 2021 · The two-acre exotic tree plantation is part of a much-larger “boreal arboretum” on the UAF campus, which mostly consists of native spruce, birch, aspen, poplar and willow trees. Having …
Trees as Earthquake Fault Indicators | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 2026 · 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 …
Tree line changes on the Kenai Peninsula | Geophysical Institute
Feb 6, 2008 · The gradual change in tree line is one of many that people have noticed on the Kenai Peninsula in recent years. The most obvious is the 1980s-to-1990s Spruce bark beetle invasion, …
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 …
Trees for a Cold Climate | Geophysical Institute
Apr 1, 1993 · Back on the ground, I did a little research on why so few tree types grow naturally in the neighborhood. Winter's extreme cold easily eliminates some tree species hardy elsewhere. Oak, ash, …
Tamarack -- Not A Dead Spruce | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 2026 · It is not possible to foretell if tamarack may some day become a commercial crop, but one thing is certain: the "spruce that dies" each fall has some unique qualities that make it a …