The map was developed to improve access to historic coastal surveying and water level reference information for researchers, coastal managers, surveyors, and community stakeholders. The project included planning, design, development, and implementation of the map for integration with the AWLW website.

This tool helps support broader coastal hazards, water level, and geodetic efforts across Alaska by making historic benchmark information more discoverable and easier to access.

Link to the Historic Tidal Benchmark Map: https://awlw.aoos.org/historic-alaskan-tidal-station-bench-mark-sheets/

CONTACT: Taylor Borgfeldt, borgfeldt@aoos.org

The purpose of this map is to display and offer further context of historic tidal stations across Alaska.

The post New Tool Provides Maps of Tidal Benchmarks appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

Opening Friday, May 15, the exhibit highlights the North Pacific Research Board’s (NPRB) Arctic Program alongside a range of Arctic-focused research and community science initiatives, including several funded or led by AOOS. It is designed to showcase both scientific discovery and the growing role of communities in observing and understanding rapid environmental change in the Arctic.

AOOS partners deployed a Sofar wave buoy in Cape Lisburne as part of the Backyard Buoys program. Photo by Michael Tuzroyluk Jr.

Brendan Smith, Communications and Outreach Director at NPRB, worked with the Anchorage Museum to develop the exhibit. “It is by far the largest outreach initiative that we [NPRB] have embarked on. It’s also the most public-facing,” he said.

The exhibit spans the museum’s entire first-floor rotating gallery space and is organized around three core themes: Arctic food web dynamics, community involvement in science, and the evolution of science communication, along with a large-scale installation focused on ship-based research.

Smith said the goal was to move beyond a single program even though the Arctic Program was a huge multi-year, highly integrated research program. Rather, the emphasis was to highlight the interconnected nature of Arctic research, and give visitors a broader view of the region’s rapidly changing marine ecosystem.

Smith worked with AOOS’s Thomas Farrugia to highlight how algal bloom monitoring and broader ecosystem research intersect, underscoring the importance of integrated environmental observation.

The AOOS-supported Backyard Buoys program is featured as one example of community members participating in ocean observing in their own “backyard,” along with other community-led initiatives across the state.

The exhibit also highlights major Arctic research platforms, including a scaled down recreation of the R/V Sikuliaq, which supported sampling for the Arctic Program alongside NOAA and University of Alaska Fairbanks cruises. Homeported in Seward, Sikuliaq helps connect visitors to offshore science. “We wanted to show the kind of science being done on these cruises and give a glimpse of what it’s like to be a scientist,” Smith said.

An IFCB sampling seawater from the flow-through system of the R/V Tiglax in June 2025. Photo by Thomas Farrugia.

NPRB worked with a host of researchers from the Arctic Program including Kate Stafford from Oregon State University and University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers Seth Danielson, Hank Statscewich, and Sarah Mincks. They all worked collaboratively to demonstrate how sound, ocean, and sediment data are collected and processed in real time.

The team created animations using data from AOOS-supported autonomous underwater vehicles, or gliders, and conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) instruments. A glider is on display in the exhibit, along with a video from the AOOS-funded benthic tripod at the Chukchi Sea Ecosystem Observatory and a small mooring mock-up.

The exhibit reflects collaboration among NPRB, the Anchorage Museum, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, AOOS, and other research and community partners. Smith said the museum played a central role in shaping the final product.

“While NPRB is the funder, all the hard work, orchestration, and execution was done by the museum,” he said. “They really took the time to listen, get the science right, and accurately represent the people they’re showcasing.”

The exhibit will be on display for one year, with additional programming, events, and educational activities planned throughout its run. Museum hours are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily.

NPRB press release

Anchorage Museum website

CONTACT: Brendan Smith, brendan.smith@nprb.org

The post AOOS Programs Featured in New Anchorage Museum Exhibit appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

The Whale Glider was deployed in Resurrection Bay in 2025 for testing. Photo by Seth Danielson.

Three autonomous underwater gliders are currently collecting data as part of the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Observatory, documenting the region’s spring transition and the start of the 2026 productivity season.

Shackleton reached the observatory station on April 5 after departing Resurrection Bay on March 24. Early measurements indicated the onset of a phytoplankton bloom by April 11, followed by a high-intensity bloom from April 18–21, marking the beginning of seasonal productivity on the Gulf of Alaska shelf. The glider is equipped to measure temperature, salinity, oxygen, light, backscatter, and chlorophyll-a fluorescence.

Blinky was deployed on April 20 and exited Resurrection Bay on April 24, continuing along the Seward Line. In addition tostandard hydrographic sensors, it carries a 200 kHz active acoustics fish finder and a plankton shadowgraph camera, providing additional insight into biological activity in the water column.

Real-time data for Shackleton (Glider 191) and Blinky (Glider 1151) are visualized on the AOOS Ocean Data Explorer portal. These gliders are observing a transition from colder, fresher nearshore waters to warmer, saltier offshore conditions.

On April 29, a third glider, Turbo, was deployed as part of the NGA Long Term Ecological Research program. It will collect microstructure turbulence data to help scientists better understand vertical nitrate fluxes that support primary productivity in the Gulf of Alaska.

A fourth platform, the Whale Glider, is expected to be deployed in the Chukchi Sea later this summer.

AOOS supports the fleet of gliders through a partnership with oceanographers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.

Learn more about the glider program page on AOOS’s website.

The post Spring 2026 Glider Update appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

AOOS provided appetizers, and the evening offered valuable opportunities for coordination ahead of the upcoming field season. Sponsors included Marine Exchange of Alaska, JOA Surveys, and Tetra Tech Inc.

Presenters:

Sheyna Wisdom, AOOS Overview
wisdom@aoos.org

Joshua Jones, Partnership for Ocean Sounds Research and Monitoring
j8jones@ucsd.edu

Kay McMonigal, ACTION Convergence Research Cruise 2026
ktmcmonigal@alaska.edu

Seth Danielson, 2026 Field Activities
sldanielson@alaska.edu

Russ Hopcroft, NGA LTER Summary
rrhopcroft@alaska.edu

David Allen, IARPC Field Operations Community of Practice
david.allen@noaa.gov

Thomas Farrugia, IFCB Overview
farrugia@aoos.org

Heather Tabisola, EcoFOCI Spring Mooring Cruise
heather.tabisola@noaa.gov

Sue Moore, DBO-C30 July 2026
moore4@uw.edu

Irina Trukhanova, Pacific Walrus Research Expeditions 2023-2026
irina_trukhanova@fws.gov

Hannah Myers, Long-term killer whale monitoring program in Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords
hannah.myers@alaska.edu

The post 2026 Alaska Marine Research Planning Night appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

By Alice Bailey

The morning after Ex-Typhoon Halong hit Western Alaska, I texted my friend Sarah Brown in Quinhagak to see if she was okay. 

“We were up ‘til five a.m. Water was around my house. Scary,” she said. “All the fish racks are gone at the boat harbor. Mine floated in one piece toward my niece’s house.”

The following Saturday, I got a Facebook message that read, “Hey Alice, we need volunteers if you’d like to come join us in beachcombing for prehistoric treasures.” It was from Rick Knecht, an archeologist who was on the ground in Quinhagak assessing the damage to a long-term archaeology project there. 

Like many Alaskans, I wished I could do more than donate to relief funds. When I got Rick’s message, I immediately booked a ticket and headed west.

Salmon Surveys

Sarah Brown checks her fish rack in 2023. The structure completely floated away when Ex-Typhoon Halong hit Quinhagak in 2025. Photo by Alice Bailey.

I first visited the Bering Sea community of Quinhagak in 2009 when I worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducting post-season subsistence fishing surveys throughout communities in the Kuskokwim River drainage.  

Asking about fish harvests is deeply personal—what’s in someone’s freezer and on their drying racks is the city equivalent of asking for a winter’s worth of Costco shopping lists. I was amazed at how accurately people, especially the women who cut the fish, recalled how many of the different species of salmon and whitefish, as well as blackfish, burbot, and pike, they needed to feed their families for a year. 

Even though I wasn’t enforcing anything, merely accounting for the communities’ food needs, not everyone was thrilled to see someone working for an agency. I especially appreciated those who invited me inside, and shared some dry fish and tea. And I cherish the time I spent with Elders. In those instances, the survey quickly went by the wayside and I just sat and listened to their stories—as one should do when an Elder speaks.

It took two months of traveling village to village to complete the surveys. I settled into the rhythm of each place, often collecting an entourage of kids and dogs. 

One frigid October day in Quinhagak, I went to the house of someone named Sarah Brown. She let me in. 

“Your hands are cold,” she said. I tried to play it off like I was fine, but there’s no fooling Sarah. 

“Where are you staying?” she asked.

In 2017, Sarah Brown held a small ulu that is now part of the Nunalleq museum collection. Photo courtesy of Nunalleq.

“The school,” I said.

“What are you eating for dinner?”

“Probably ramen.”

“You come back here to eat.” 

I tried to decline, not wanting to impose, but she insisted.

Sarah fed me every evening that week, and many other times in the last 16 years. She is a busy person, always doing whatever subsistence activity is in season—berry picking, gathering other plants from the tundra and beach, and preparing birds, fish, and whatever else her boys caught. We share an interest in cooking; it was easy to become friends. 

I returned the next year with the same job. I don’t know what she said in Yup’ik on the VHF radio, but the next thing I knew I was flying down the street on her 4-wheeler, visiting households on my list. Once I was done, we got to the real work of the day—gathering wild food and cooking dinner. 

Photography and Archaeology

In 2011, I began spending summers in Bethel as the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group coordinator. In the evenings, I explored Bethel with my medium-format film camera. 

The midsummer sun, best around 10:30 p.m., cast a light that transformed buildings and the trappings of everyday life into gorgeous sculptures. I captured these fleeting moments of light and shadow with film, then spent the winters back in Fairbanks making the images into etchings though a process called copperplate photogravure. 

I continued to visit Sarah, carrying camera equipment with me instead of my aluminum survey clipboard. She has always been patient with my picture taking. I have developed a sense of when it’s time to stop and start helping. 

During the summer of 2013, Sarah and I drove a 4-wheeler down the beach to a large hole in the tundra. A few years prior, the local village corporation reached out to Rick Knecht, who is an archeologist known for collaborating with Indigenous communities. Due to accelerating coastal erosion, artifacts from an ancient house site were being exposed, and the village wanted to learn more about them before they washed away.

Alice Bailey volunteering at the Nunalleq archeology site in Quinhagak in 2017.

The site was named Nunalleq—“the Old Village” in Yup’ik. Sarah and I walked up the wooden stairs to where a group of people were digging. She had been there before, as the community was very much part of the project. 

Sarah introduced me to Rick, who was examining a 400-year-old wood ulu handle. He also showed me woven grass, an ivory earring, numerous spears, and dozens of other objects they had dug up that day. I was surprised at how well the permafrost preserved them, but also how closely they mirrored modern Quinhagak designs. As an artist, I appreciated how everyday objects became art pieces through perfect craftsmanship and symbolism. 

I was shocked when Rick said I was welcome to help dig, especially since I had no archaeology training. He showed me how to gently scrape layers of dirt with a trowel and catalogue the artifacts. I was hooked. 

From then on, every visit to Sarah included volunteering at the dig site and later at the local museum that the village corporation, Qanirtuuq (Q-Corp), built to house the artifacts.

I very much appreciated Rick’s even-keel and down-to-earth personality, as well as his unwavering respect for the community.

Once I was digging and discovered an intact kayak paddle. My childlike curiosity, and affinity for kayaking, took over and I quickly extracted it and waved it in the air to show Rick.

“Look!” 

As soon as I uttered those words I realized that I was supposed to have left it “in situ” so it could be photographed and plotted. 

“Oh no! I’ll put it back,” I stammered. 

“It doesn’t quite work like that,” Rick laughed.

In October of 2025, Quinhagak Elder John Smith held a similar kayak paddle that was exposed by Ex-typhoon Halong. John told Rick and I that he recalled carving the same design with his grandfather, the blade approximately the width of his hand.

Nalaquq and AOOS

AOOS partnered with Nalaquq, LLC, which integrates Yup’ik knowledge to monitor local salmon runs. Photo courtesy of Nalaquq, LLC.

During a visit to Quinhagak in 2023, I learned how Q-Corp was creating its own science subsidiary, drawing on lessons from years of working with archaeologists like Rick. Named for the Yup’ik phrase meaning “we found it,” the mission of Nalaquq, LLC, is to ensure that research is a shared effort between Indigenous communities by blending local knowledge with technical expertise. 

At the time, I was nearly a year into my new role as Director of Outreach at the Alaska Ocean Observing System. AOOS was gathering information on the needs of coastal communities in preparation for a call for proposals for funding from the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. 

I had seen Sean Gleason training locals to use drones as part of remote sensing projects, so I asked Rick to introduce me. Sean, who works for Q-Corp and is faculty at Hampden-Sydney College, told me that they had been experimenting with using drones to observe salmon runs on local clearwater rivers. They wanted to empower locals with the skills to monitor these species since aerial surveys conducted by ADFG were not consistent. 

Sean had been mentoring Yup’ik teen Bryan Jones to program automatic flight paths, pilot aircraft, and produce high-resolution maps highlighting erosion. They needed funding to compensate local technical experts to continue collecting data on their lands. 

“When Bryan flies the drone, about 30 people gather around to watch,” Sean said. “It inspires other people and engages them in the research.” 

Sean encouraged me to speak with Q-Corp CEO Warren Jones to uncover other information needs. Warren was supposed to fly to Bethel that day, so I had 15 minutes to give my spiel while he drove the van from the dump to the office. I explained what AOOS is and does, and that we wanted to hear more about the community’s observing needs. 

Warren launched into a story about a boat with seven people that was lost in Kuskokwim Bay a few years prior. He leads Quinhagak’s search and rescue team, and said they didn’t find a trace of the boaters, which is something that still haunts the community. He said that better understanding of tides, waves, and currents could have aided the rescuers, and that they needed a low-tech, low-bandwidth way to access the data.

Patrick Jones deploys a Sofar Spotter buoy that will send wave data to the Backyard Buoys smartphone app. Photo by Sean Gleason.

AOOS ultimately funded two of their projects.

In the summer of 2024, Sean and his team completed the first phase of Nalaquq’s salmon monitoring project using drones. In August of that year, I traveled to Quinhagak with other AOOS staff. We discussed the salmon projects and enjoyed some freshly caught sockeye over a campfire on a gravel bar. 

Coincidentally, the whole search and rescue team was training in the “Red Building” where we were staying. We asked Warren if they might want to hear about the Backyard Buoys project, and before long we were talking with the whole group. They pointed out three places in Kuskokwim Bay commonly used by boaters for traveling and harvesting seals, salmon, and halibut.

In June, Nalaquq successfully deployed three yellow buoys the size of a basketball at these locations. All summer, people could check wave conditions from their phones. Warren and Patrick brought the buoys back to shore in September before the weather turned too dangerous for boating, and will redeploy them in the spring. 

After the Typhoon

Only a few tarps and some ancient house boards remain of the Nunalleq archeology site after Ex-Typhoon Halong. Photo by Alice Bailey.

I landed in Quinhagak around 3 p.m. on October 20, 2025, about a week after Ex-Typhoon Halong had ravaged the region. The town itself was relatively intact compared to communities like Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. The worst flooding occurred near the river, where many people—including Sarah—lost smokehouses and faced other storm damage. Floodwaters reached the inside of a handful of houses, and those residents were concerned about black mold. 

Rick met me at the plane and told me to gear up for the beach. Winter was closing in, with a few snowflakes in the air and a steady wind picking up. He was eager to search for any artifacts washed ashore before the ground froze and made them impossible to recover.

We drove the 4-wheeler to where the road ends at the Bering Sea. The first obvious sign of the storm was the exposed fiber optic cable. We turned to the south and I gasped when I saw the beach. 

I couldn’t believe how different it looked from a year ago—like the ocean had swallowed the land. In places, up to 60 feet were gone. What used to be solid tundra was now sand, torn-up chunks of peat, and ancient gray clay. Even navigating the four-wheeler over broken tundra was tough.

We drove a mile or so, stopping to scan the sand for artifacts—mostly pieces of wood—looking for anything “worked” or carved. In just a couple of hours, we found plenty, including a small wooden doll whose eyes hadn’t seen people in 500 years. Sarah arrived and immediately found a six-fingered hand, maybe from a mask. 

The next day Rick and I were out for seven hours in wind and snow—no one else was crazy enough to be out there. We worked our way to the old dig site, now mostly gone, which was heartbreaking to see. On the way back to town, we had a strong feeling that we needed to stop and look one more time. I looked down, and there in the sand was an incredible carved eye, possibly from a wolf figurine. 

We added these treasures to the hundreds recovered by Quinhagak residents in the days immediately after the storm. All were soaked in fresh water to remove the ocean’s salt, before the usual bath in Polyethylene glycol to keep the ancient wood from drying out and crumbling.

Holding a small mask in her hand, with half a snow goggle, spear shafts, and the base of a bowl resting on her lap—Yup’ik artifacts uncovered and displaced by Ex-Typhoon Halong. Photo by Alice Bailey.

As usual, I was mesmerized by the faces and designs carved centuries ago, and it was confounding that these objects were as intact as they were after being extracted from the earth by the remnants of a typhoon, carried out to sea, and deposited miles away. One mask, perhaps the best in the entire collection, was in perfect condition—and eerily looks like the young Jimmy Jones, who found it at low tide when he was looking for firewood.

So what next? Intense storms like Halong will likely become more frequent, said Rick Thoman, who is a climate expert at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “While every fall will not bring a Halong type storm to Kuskokwim Bay, with continued warming a stormier future is likely.”

As a visitor from Fairbanks, I marvel that wooden artifacts, buried beneath an ancient Yup’ik house burned in an attack around 1650, could lie undisturbed for centuries and then survive a wild ride on stormy seas before washing up miles down the beach. Seeing these messengers from the past, I don’t doubt that the people of Quinhagak can weather whatever comes their way.

The post A visit to Quinhagak after Ex-Typhoon Halong appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

“One of the goals of this program is to provide specialized training to Yukon River residents that will enable them to find and fill local job opportunities within the Yukon fisheries,” said Brian McKenna, YRDFA’s fisheries biologist funded by AOOS.

YRDFA’s Brian McKenna teaches electrofishing techniques near Eagle. Photo by Rachael Kangas.

McKenna was one of the workshop’s core instructors, guiding participants through a range of fisheries tools and field techniques. Set along the Yukon River and nearby Mission and American creeks, the camp introduced trainees to key skills used in fisheries research and environmental monitoring. The curriculum included CPR and first aid, water and boat safety, water quality sampling, fisheries gear deployment, eDNA collection, electrofishing, drone operation, and sonar technology. Classroom discussions were paired with extensive field time to give participants practical experience they can apply in their home communities.

Rachael Kangas, who is a project manager at YRDFA, organized the workshop. This year’s session was supported through collaboration among YRDFA, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Tanana Chiefs Conference, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

For communities along the Yukon River, the camp offers more than new certifications — it strengthens local capacity to monitor fish populations, apply for small research grants and pursue fisheries-related employment.

“The conservation of Yukon River salmon depends on the incorporation of local involvement, as well as local and traditional knowledge, into the research and management of the fishery,” McKenna said.

Participants in YRDFA’s technician training learn about the ADFG Eagle sonar project. Photo by Serena Alstrom.

Although YRDFA has offered technician training in the past, this was the first session in several years. Executive Director Serena Alstrom secured new grant funding to relaunch the program in 2025.

“YRDFA aims to offer training opportunities to Yukon River residents, particularly during periods of low salmon abundance. This effort seeks to employ local people in roles that leverage their extensive knowledge and experience,” Alstrom said. “This initiative represents a significant step toward career development and educational growth for people of the Yukon River, and we plan to develop more training programs in the future.”

The next fisheries technician training is scheduled for June 2026 in St. Mary’s.

Read a detailed account of the workshop by Alexis Isherwood, including contributions from YRDFA staff and representatives from partner organizations.

The post YRDFA Relaunches Fisheries Technician Training to Build Local Expertise appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

Since joining AOOS as AWLW Coordinator in 2025, Taylor Borgfeldt has led the continued growth of AWLW efforts across Alaska this year, including several initiatives highlighted below.

Photo of the Dillingham water level station and corresponding solar panel. Photo courtesy of JOA Surveys.

Dillingham site maintenance

In May, AOOS contracted JOA Surveys, LLC (JOA Surveys) for annual maintenance of the Dillingham water level station. Established in 2021 through a collaboration between the University of Alaska, Alaska Sea Grant, and the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, the station now fills a long-standing monitoring gap in the Bristol Bay region.

The Dillingham station utilizes two different technologies — a bubbler gauge and a radar gauge. The data for both sensors is viewable on the same station page by toggling the drop down menu above the time series plot. Dillingham is a challenging site for monitoring, with spring tides that sometimes leave the area dry and winter ice that can block radar measurements. To ensure reliable, long-term data and reduce the chance of gaps, JOA Surveys installed the gauges together on the seawall at the All Tides/City Dock. Nevertheless, AWLW advises that data collected from October through April be carefully verified to ensure accuracy.

During their May 2025 visit, the JOA Surveys team performed routine maintenance to ensure the instruments continue providing accurate data. This included checking the sensors’ software, inspecting equipment for wear or damage, managing cables, and making sure the site remains safe and secure. For the bubbler sensor, they fixed a small air leak, and for the radar sensor, they replaced an old cable and added a new splice to improve reliability and protection.

Hoonah and Petersburg

Hoonah community members along with AOOS staff and JOA Surveys staff following a community discussion of the newly installed instrument and the data that will be collected. Photo credit: Taylor Borgfeldt.

In October, Carol and Taylor traveled to Hoonah and Petersburg with JOA Surveys staff Julia Mickley and Peter Oswald to perform a site visit and do outreach for upcoming water level installations. AOOS coordinated meetings with community members to share information about the installation plans and how to access the data, provide resources available through AWLW and AOOS, and to have conversations about water level work and other potential AOOS observing activities in these communities. JOA Surveys installed the water level sensors that AOOS purchased, and the Hoonah station page and Petersburg station pages are now live.

Dashboards for Western Alaska

During the ex-Typhoon Halong storm surge, AWLW participated in the Typhoon Halong Post-Storm Data Collection group, providing information on installed assets, communicating with partners on the status of assets during the storm, and compiling recorded water levels.

Additionally, AWLW developed several data views within the AWLW portal to improve access to the relevant water level and webcam information available from the AOOS portals. The data views linked below, along with the additional views made to compare observed versus predicted water levels, were shared on social media, on the portal, and via direct communication with partners.

YK Delta Water Level and Webcams

Western Alaska Water Level and Webcams

CONTACT: Taylor Borgfeldt, borgfeldt@aoos.org

In response to Ex-Typhoon Halong, the AWLW created data dashboards for the YK Delta and Western Alaska. Screenshot courtesy of AOOS.

The post Alaska Water Level Watch Update appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

Patrick Jones deploys a Sofar Spotter buoy near Quinhagak. Photo by Sean Gleason.

In Alaska’s Kuskokwim Bay, three buoys deployed by Nalaquq, LLC were successfully retrieved this fall, marking the end of a highly productive firstdeployment season. The local search and rescue team selected three locations in the bay that are key subsistence fishing and hunting areas, where reliable wave data helps boaters make informed decisions. The buoys will be re-deployed next year, with educational activities planned for Quinhagak students to coincide with the start of the season.

All of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission’s 2025 buoys have also been retrieved. The final tally includes one buoy in Gambell, one in Savoonga, two in Point Hope, two in Wainwright, six in Utqiaġvik, and three in Kaktovik. During the AEWC meeting on October 20 in Anchorage, Sheyna and AEWC Buoy Coordinator Martin Edwardsen hosted a session to share plans for the 2026 deployment season.

Another program highlight this year was the launch of the “Friends of Backyard Buoys” feature, which allows Sofar Spotter wave buoys not funded through the Backyard Buoys program to be added to the app. More than 20 additional buoys were visible this season, providing ocean users with even more data to support safe boating.

AOOS has also expanded the program’s educational outreach. In partnership with the Pacific Islands Observing System (PacIOOS) and the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), AOOS developed a buoy-themed activity book for students. Available as a free download, the colorful booklet offers information and activities for all ages related to the Backyard Buoys program. The education team has also partnered with PocketLab on a wave activity using their sensors, which will be available as an iPad lesson in December 2025.

The post 2025 Backyard Buoy Season Wraps Up Across Alaska appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

ELOKA is a network of community-led initiatives dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing local observations and Indigenous Knowledge across the circumpolar North. Two AOOS-supported programs—the Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub (AAOKH) and SIWO—joined community-led groups from Canada, Greenland, and Finland at this year’s gathering.

Lisa and Marcus found a polar bear in the city!

During the three-day meeting, participants found solidarity in their shared efforts to support community-led observing across the Arctic. While each country faces distinct challenges—including political and economic barriers and varying recognition of Indigenous Knowledge—attendees voiced a common vision for strengthening this work. A combination of panels, breakout discussions, and cultural activities helped participants connect, exchange solutions, and spark ideas for future collaboration.

Marcus Barr spoke on a panel titled Advancing Community-led Observing in a Changing Arctic Landscape, which explored effective practices for sharing and stewarding observations. Youth engagement emerged as a major theme, with lively conversations about creative ways to involve young people in language revitalization, observing projects, and other efforts that position them as both active contributors and future leaders.

Overall, the meeting offered a valuable opportunity to deepen relationships across the network and highlight the essential role of community-led programs in shaping our understanding of Arctic environments.

To learn more about ELOKA, visit their webpage: https://eloka.nsidc.org/eloka.

The post AOOS Programs Participate in ELOKA Annual Meeting in Victoria, BC appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.

Following an Alexandrium bloom detected in the southeast Bering Sea in July and a multi-species die-off event observed on St. George Island in August, tests of seabird, marine mammal, shellfish, and fish samples revealed elevated levels of paralytic shellfish toxins.

Read the the full press release

The post Harmful Algal Bloom Confirmed on St. George Island appeared first on Alaska Ocean Observing System.