Alaska
eklemetti | June 24, 2008
If Alaska wants to take a cue from Iceland, it might find itself with more power than it can use. That is, if the dreams of the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas come true. They are planning to lease land on Mt. Spurr and possibly Mt. Augustine for geothermal exploration. Both of these volcanoes are active, with Mt. Spurr erupting last in 1992 (famously almost taking out a KLM 747 due to volcanic ash EDIT: Oops, this was not Spurr in 1992, but Redoubt in 1989. Luckily, AVO knew to warn aviation about the Spurr eruption thanks to the lessons learned from the near disaster at Redoubt) and…
grrlscientist | March 10, 2008tags: white orca, white killer whale, Orcinus orca, zoology, cetaceans, NOAA
A rare white killer whale, Orcinus orca, better known as an Orca,
photographed by researchers off the coast of Alaska on 23 February.
Image: Holly Fearnbach (NMML, NMFS permit 782-1719) [wallpaper size].
Seattle researchers were working off the coast of Alaska when they saw something amazing; a 25-30 foot long male "killer whale", Orcinus orca, that is white instead of being black-and-white, the characteristic color scheme for this species. This white whale, which was identified as a male due to its very tall…