United Nations agency to honor UAF weather station

Alan Tonne stands in the Fairbanks Experiment Farm weather station.
He records weather information daily at 8 a.m. UAF photo by J.R. Ancheta

The Fairbanks Experiment Farm operates the longest continuously running weather observation station in Alaska.

The farm has been steadfastly recording weather data since July 1, 1911. The station is unusual because of its long-term record of weather data collected in essentially the same location — a small, fenced area in front of the farm’s old visitor center.

Reliable weather data collected over a long period of time in the same location is valuable to climate scientists and others, says John Walsh, one of several University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists who will speak at a Nov. 30 recognition ceremony for the station.

The station is one of four long-term observing stations in the U.S. the World Meteorological Organization will honor this year. An awards ceremony will take place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 30 in Room 501 of the Akasofu Building, on the campus’ West Ridge. The public is invited.

The World Meteorological Organization is a United Nations agency that supports the worldwide collection of reliable weather data for science. In 2017, it started recognizing “centennial stations,” or stations that had collected weather data in one location for more than 100 years.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are collected with a
digital thermometer. All other weather records are gathered
on site. UAF photo by J.R. Ancheta

Walsh is the chief scientist for the International Arctic Research Center and an expert in climate change and sea ice. Relatively few weather stations have that long record because after commercial airports opened, most stations moved to an airport, he said. The National Weather Service in Fairbanks moved from Weeks Field to the Fairbanks International Airport in 1951.

“The station down there is key,” he said of the farm. “The long, consistent record is important when you’re looking at the difference of 1 to 2 degrees over 100 years.”

Walsh has used the station’s records to study changes in snow cover. When the ground gains or loses its snow cover, daily temperatures can change by 10 degrees because snow reflects more sunlight. He studied the records for sudden jumps of temperature that could indicate snow cover or a lack of it.

Rick Thoman, a climate specialist for the university, has used the station’s records to look at changes in the growing season. The growing season at the station has lengthened by 23 days over the last 50 years, from 1969 to 2018, he said. The longer growing season is not as pronounced at the airport, which is only four miles away at a slightly lower elevation. The freeze-free season has only been extended by 10 days.

Glenn Juday, a retired UAF forest ecologist, said experiment stations around the country began collecting weather information because of its importance to farmers. When Fairbanks’ earliest residents arrived, no one really knew what would grow in Alaska’s climate or how long the growing season was.

“It was considered essential data,” he said.

Alan Tonne shows how he records the weather information.

Juday has used the weather records to study how temperature, precipitation and other weather events affect the growth and health of trees of the same year.

“Essentially half of the variability of the growth of the tree is connected to weather parameters,” he said.

Carven Scott, who heads the National Weather Service in Alaska, will present a bronze plaque to Alan Tonne, the farm’s manager and principal collector of weather data over the past 13 years. Tonne takes the weather observations at 8 a.m. each day. Maximum and minimum temperatures are measured electronically, but Tonne measures evaporation and wind volume, precipitation and snow depth on site.

The Fairbanks Experiment Farm took over weather observation duties in 1911 from the Episcopal Church, which had collected weather information beginning in 1904. The experiment farm remained the only weather station in Fairbanks until the U.S. Weather Bureau opened an office in downtown Fairbanks in 1929. The farm’s weather station is now one nine active cooperative observing stations in the Fairbanks area that provide community weather information.

A total of seven stations have been recognized in the U.S. as centennial stations. Others recognized this year are in at the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming; Purdum, Nebraska; and Saint Johnsbury, Vermont.

Hot tea and refreshments will be available at the Nov. 30 event.

Homer to host invasive species workshop Nov. 13-15

Invasive signal crayfish are being harvested on
Kodiak Island for sport and eating. iStock photo

The Alaska Invasive Species Workshop, Nov. 13-15 in Homer, will highlight invasive species management and research statewide and will emphasize marine species.

The theme is “Surf and Turf: Invasive Species Above and Below the Tideline.” The annual event kicks off with a free workshop on invasive species at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 12, followed by a 6:30 p.m. public lecture at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Matthew Barnes, an assistant professor from Texas Tech University, will talk about the forensic use of environmental DNA to survey for and manage invasive species. Environmental DNA is the DNA of organisms contained in soil or water samples.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the Alaska Committee For Noxious and Invasive Pest Management will host the workshop at Land’s End Resort, 4786 Homer Spit Road.

In a keynote address, Barnes will talk about managing invasive species by harvesting and eating them. Several other presentations will be made on “invasivores,” or people who eat invasive species for culinary enjoyment or to help control them. Workshop coordinator Gino Graziano said the management approach is used around the country on the more palatable invasive species, including signal crayfish in Kodiak. Graziano said the invasivore refrain is, “If you can’t beat them, eat them.”

Presentations will cover invasive species in Dutch Harbor and the Pribilof Islands, the European green crab and invertebrate tunicates in Kachemak Bay, and Didemnum vexillum, a highly invasive tunicate found near Sitka. Other topics include partnerships to create awareness about invasive species and the management of species of specific concern, such as elodea, hawkweed, Canada thistle, chokecherry, knapweed and European earthworms.

The agenda and registration information are available at www.uaf.edu/ces/invasives/conference.www.uaf.edu/ces/invasives/conference For more information, contact Graziano at 907-786-6315 or gagraziano@alaska.edu.

Sustainable Agriculture Conference set for Nov. 5-7

An onion field at Vanderweele Farm in Palmer. Edwin Remsberg photo

The Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference will take place in Anchorage Nov. 5-7.

More than 80 presentations will cover diverse topics, including seaweed farming, rhodiola production, soil health, marketing, honeybees and pollinators, reindeer husbandry, livestock feeding, farm energy, the cut flower industry, and farming and gardening in rural Alaska. One session will even cover how to use pigs to improve land for farming. Pigs forage on vegetation, loosen soil, clear land and enhance soil fertility.

Casey Matney, an agriculture and horticulture agent for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, is coordinating the 14th annual conference.

“It’s about all things agriculture throughout the state,” he said.

Presenters include farmers, researchers, Extension agents, and representatives from agricultural agencies and businesses. Matney said a goal of the conference is to share information and improve the agricultural industry in Alaska.

For the first time, several sessions will focus on mariculture, or aquatic farming, of seaweed and shellfish. Participants will hear about Blue Evolution, which operates a seaweed hatchery in Kodiak. Farmed seaweed is used a variety of ways, including as an ingredient in sushi, seaweed pasta, vitamins and fertilizers for gardening.

“Mariculture is a great opportunity for producers in Alaska,” Matney said.

An all-day session will highlight research and producer experience growing rhodiola, an herb that Alaska farmers have begun cultivating for its roots. Proponents say the plant, which takes several years to mature, helps battle fatigue.

The conference location rotates among Alaska communities. It will take place this year at the BP Energy Center, with some sessions at the SpringHill Suites University Lake Hotel at 4050 University Lake Drive. The Cooperative Extension Service hosts the conference, which is sponsored by the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.

An all-day pre-conference workshop on Nov. 4 will focus on Alaska produce safety training to comply with new federal rules. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation will offer the training. Mel Sikes, coordinator of the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District, will also lead an all-day post-conference workshop Nov. 8 on the Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom program and resources.

Registration and conference information are available at http://bit.ly/AKsareconf. Participants may register by the day or for the entire conference. For more information, contact Matney at camatney@alaska.edu or 907-262-5824.