Tropical Fossils in Alaska | Geophysical Institute
24 Apr 2026 at 12:48am
Paleobotanist Jack A. Wolfe of the United States Geological Survey at Menlo Park, California, has found a number of tropical rain forest fossils along the eastern Gulf of Alaska. These include several kinds of palms, Burmese lacquer trees, mangroves and trees of the type that now produce nutmeg and Macassar oil.
Cottonwood and Balsam Poplar | Geophysical Institute
24 Apr 2026 at 6:34pm
The Klukwan giant belies the belief that trees tend to get smaller the farther north one goes. Both balsam poplar and cottonwood have value for fuel wood, pulp and lumber.
Northern Tree Habitats | Geophysical Institute
26 Apr 2026 at 4:49am
Why take a chance with exotics, when native trees have proven their ability to survive? Several reasons prompt testing of foreign tree species. Human activities often create and maintain new, sometimes artificial habitats that native trees are not adapted to. Exotics may have strong wood, large fruits or straight boles that are lacking in the ...
Hoarfrost Formation | Geophysical Institute
23 Apr 2026 at 12:45pm
By late winter, intricate buildups of hoarfrost crystals have formed on wooden poles and other objects. Warming rays of the sun cause evaporation of whatever frost may have formed on the south side of vertical poles and trees. Conduction within metal poles causes enough heat transfer to entirely remove the hoarfrost crystals from the pole surface.
The secret life of red squirrels | Geophysical Institute
22 Apr 2026 at 3:09pm
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 squirrel pups. Over the years, those squirrels have taught Boutin and his colleagues many things, including an apparent ability to predict the future.
Bark beetles take Connecticut-size bite out of Alaska | Geophysical ...
24 Apr 2026 at 12:29pm
Those smaller trees are now benefiting from the lack of competition, and mature spruce forests will someday return, Berg said, as will the spruce bark beetle. A lesson to remember is that after two or more consecutive warm summers, bark beetles on the Kenai Peninsula attacked in large numbers, Berg said.
The Turkey and the Tambalacoque Tree - Geophysical Institute
22 Apr 2026 at 4:56pm
The elderly trees still produced seeds, but none of the seeds gerrninated, even when carefully tended under ideal nursery conditions. It was tempting to think the old trees were incapable of producing healthy seeds, but Temple didn't accept that reasoning. For one thing, the seeds (and their encasing fruit) looked fine.
More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
20 Apr 2026 at 9:16pm
In an earlier column , I asked if any readers could explain why the grain in trees seemed to spiral up the trunk-in a clockwise direction. That is, spiral marks in old trees crack open from the upper right to lower left around the trunk. Professor (now Emeritus) Neil Davis, the originator of this column, posed the same question in this column over ten years ago, and it's time for an update. I ...
Trees for a Cold Climate | Geophysical Institute
15 Apr 2026 at 12:01am
The hardiest trees rely on physics more than on chemistry to make it through the winter. When the seasonal chill begins to reach black or white spruce, for example, the sap leaves their living cells and flows into intercellular spaces.
Formerly Frosty Footing Causes Drunken Forests - Geophysical Institute
20 Apr 2026 at 12:24am
In a drunken forest, trees--often pipe-cleaner black spruce--tilt in all directions like a group of rowdy revelers stumbling along the street. Unlike pendulous pub patrons, drunken forests aren't caused by beer, but by unique soil conditions found in the north. Melting permafrost is the most common cause of the drunken forest.
WHAT IS THIS? This is an unscreened compilation of results from several search engines. The sites listed are not necessarily recommended by Surfnetkids.com.
24 Apr 2026 at 12:48am
Paleobotanist Jack A. Wolfe of the United States Geological Survey at Menlo Park, California, has found a number of tropical rain forest fossils along the eastern Gulf of Alaska. These include several kinds of palms, Burmese lacquer trees, mangroves and trees of the type that now produce nutmeg and Macassar oil.
Cottonwood and Balsam Poplar | Geophysical Institute
24 Apr 2026 at 6:34pm
The Klukwan giant belies the belief that trees tend to get smaller the farther north one goes. Both balsam poplar and cottonwood have value for fuel wood, pulp and lumber.
Northern Tree Habitats | Geophysical Institute
26 Apr 2026 at 4:49am
Why take a chance with exotics, when native trees have proven their ability to survive? Several reasons prompt testing of foreign tree species. Human activities often create and maintain new, sometimes artificial habitats that native trees are not adapted to. Exotics may have strong wood, large fruits or straight boles that are lacking in the ...
Hoarfrost Formation | Geophysical Institute
23 Apr 2026 at 12:45pm
By late winter, intricate buildups of hoarfrost crystals have formed on wooden poles and other objects. Warming rays of the sun cause evaporation of whatever frost may have formed on the south side of vertical poles and trees. Conduction within metal poles causes enough heat transfer to entirely remove the hoarfrost crystals from the pole surface.
The secret life of red squirrels | Geophysical Institute
22 Apr 2026 at 3:09pm
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 squirrel pups. Over the years, those squirrels have taught Boutin and his colleagues many things, including an apparent ability to predict the future.
Bark beetles take Connecticut-size bite out of Alaska | Geophysical ...
24 Apr 2026 at 12:29pm
Those smaller trees are now benefiting from the lack of competition, and mature spruce forests will someday return, Berg said, as will the spruce bark beetle. A lesson to remember is that after two or more consecutive warm summers, bark beetles on the Kenai Peninsula attacked in large numbers, Berg said.
The Turkey and the Tambalacoque Tree - Geophysical Institute
22 Apr 2026 at 4:56pm
The elderly trees still produced seeds, but none of the seeds gerrninated, even when carefully tended under ideal nursery conditions. It was tempting to think the old trees were incapable of producing healthy seeds, but Temple didn't accept that reasoning. For one thing, the seeds (and their encasing fruit) looked fine.
More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
20 Apr 2026 at 9:16pm
In an earlier column , I asked if any readers could explain why the grain in trees seemed to spiral up the trunk-in a clockwise direction. That is, spiral marks in old trees crack open from the upper right to lower left around the trunk. Professor (now Emeritus) Neil Davis, the originator of this column, posed the same question in this column over ten years ago, and it's time for an update. I ...
Trees for a Cold Climate | Geophysical Institute
15 Apr 2026 at 12:01am
The hardiest trees rely on physics more than on chemistry to make it through the winter. When the seasonal chill begins to reach black or white spruce, for example, the sap leaves their living cells and flows into intercellular spaces.
Formerly Frosty Footing Causes Drunken Forests - Geophysical Institute
20 Apr 2026 at 12:24am
In a drunken forest, trees--often pipe-cleaner black spruce--tilt in all directions like a group of rowdy revelers stumbling along the street. Unlike pendulous pub patrons, drunken forests aren't caused by beer, but by unique soil conditions found in the north. Melting permafrost is the most common cause of the drunken forest.
WHAT IS THIS? This is an unscreened compilation of results from several search engines. The sites listed are not necessarily recommended by Surfnetkids.com.
