UAF GINA

GINA is excited to be participating in this years Arctic Research Open House! Come find us and our friends at the Alaska Satellite Facility in the Elvey Building Globe Room from 4-7 on Thursday, May 14, to learn about satellite remote sensing in Alaska 🛰️

📢 Join us this Wednesday, May 6th @ 11 AKDT to hear from NESDIS Wildland Fire Program manager, Dr. Michael Pavolonis, on NOAA’s Next Generation Fire Systems (NGFS). In this VAWS webinar Dr. Pavolonis will provide an overview of the NGFS and planned activities for the 2026 Alaska fire season.

To learn more about NGFS, GINA's contribution & register for the webinar click here →

VAWS – Application of the NOAA Next Generation Fire System for Improved Wildfire Detection and Monitoring in Alaska | ACCAP Speaker: Dr. Michael Pavolonis, NESDIS Wildland Fire Program Manager About the webinar: The NOAA Next Generation Fire System (NGFS) automatically extracts actionable fire intelligence from low Eart…

📢 GINA is hiring an Associate Satellite Products Analyst & Trainer!

If you have a background in...
🛰️ Meteorology or Atmospheric Science
🛰️ Proficient with Linux/macOS and in scripting languages

Apply here: https://careers.alaska.edu/jobs/associate-satellite-products-analyst-trainer-weather-and-hazards-gina-fairbanks-alaska-united-states

Reaching its seasonal maximum on March 15, sea ice extent in the Bering Sea was the highest it had been since April 2013! This True Color RGB from March 22, 2026 gives us a rare, cloudless view of the Bering Sea, showing just how far south Bering Sea ice reached this winter.

While Bering Sea ice extent reached levels not seen in over a decade, overall Arctic ice extent tied for the lowest in 48 years. In fact, sea ice extent was below normal everywhere except the Bering Sea.

Check out this article in the Alaska and Arctic Climate Newsletter by Rick Thoman to learn more about Arctic sea ice extent --> https://alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/arctic-sea-ice-2026-maximum-extent

GINA is thrilled to lead this project with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service! Join us tomorrow AKST!

Join us tomorrow, Thursday, 3/26/2026 at 11am AKDT for the March AACAP webinar exploring how Alaskans get emergency alerts. A group of expert panelists from local, state, and federal agencies will discuss how alerts are issued, how to access them, and what’s being done to keep Alaskans informed and safe. Register for the webinar here →

When Every Second Counts: How Alaskans Get Emergency Alerts | ACCAP Panelists: Nancy Durham, Fairbanks North Star Borough; Aviva Braun, National Weather Service; Dave Snider, National Tsunami Warning Center; Mark Roberts, AK State Emergency Operations Center; Denni…

When hazardous winter weather threatens public safety, forecasters want as much information as possible. One significant wintertime hazard that can be overlooked is blowing snow! Blowing snow can reduce visibility to near-zero posing a threat to both ground and air transportation.

With this in mind, GINA is piloting a blowing snow project in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) to fill a gap where ground-based photos are needed to validate blowing snow satellite products using citizen science data from The GLOBE Program!

Check out these links to learn more about this collaborative project and see how you can contribute → www.bit.ly/40k9aMz
https://observer.globe.gov/do-globe-observer/do-more/data-requests/blowing-snow

Blowing Snow - GLOBE Observer - GLOBE.gov Blowing snow, defined as snow lifted by wind many meters above ground, is hazardous as it significantly reduces visibility, creating dangerous conditions for both ground and air transportation. It often happens on clear, windy days over a fresh, uncrusted snowpack. GLOBE collaborators at National Oc...

Curious about Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and their impact on Alaska’s oceans? Tune in this Wednesday, March 4 @ 11 AKST to hear Dr. Thomas Farrugia, from the Alaska Ocean Observing System, discuss all things HABs! This webinar will cover how HABs form in Alaskan waters, what conditions are conducive to HAB formation, how HABs are currently being researched and what steps can be taken to mitigate the threat.

Register for this virtual event here →

VAWS – Underwater Storms: How harmful algal blooms form and their impacts on Alaska’s oceans | ACCAP Speaker: Dr. Thomas Farrugia, Scientific Program Manager, AOOS, Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network Coordinator About the webinar: Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Alaska can produce toxins that move …

During the winter it can be challenging to distinguish clouds from snow and ice in satellite images, good thing GINA has tools to make the task easier! These satellite images from yesterday, picturing low clouds forming in the cold air blowing off sea ice, are a perfect example. The True Color RGB shows us what this view would look like from space, while VIIRS DayLandCloud and SnowCloud Discriminator both use different color combinations to distinguish ice and clouds more clearly. Which image do you think distinguishes ice and clouds the best?