What is the jet stream?
I attended David Phillip’s lecture on weather and climate change in early March and was inspired to write a series of articles with the goal […]
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Concretions – shapely time capsules
Your Backyard Geology – Part 9 Concretions are not shaped by running water or fabricated by humans, nor are they dinosaur eggs. They are fascinating
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M31, The Andromeda Galaxy—a hungry “island universe” with its sights on us
Andromeda is the big daddy of galaxies amongst our Local Group of about 50 galaxies. At over 200,000 ly in diameter, Andromeda is more than twice the diameter of our Milky Way.
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Limestone reefs in southern Yukon
Part 8 of Your Backyard Geology Within Whitehorse city limits, you can see Grey Mountain from almost anywhere. It is one of the first landmarks
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The white channel gravels
As the story goes, the early gold rush stampeders found all the creeks staked when they arrived. The Sourdoughs already there jokingly told the newcomers to go to the top of the hills to find gold.
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Lichen what I see – But not always sure what to call it
If there is anybody out there who recognizes what is in these pictures, please step forward. Recently, I found myself looking more intensively at
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In the realm of the globulars – Ancient companions of the Milky Way
Messier 13 (M13), the best and brightest globular cluster gracing our northern sky, resides in the Hercules constellation and is a most-intriguing class of star cluster, so very different from all the open star clusters of our Milky Way galaxy.
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Managing avalanche terrain
Eirik Sharp, owner and operator of The Sharp End: Mountain Adventures, with his extensive avalanche background, is bringing change to how the Yukon manages avalanche terrain.
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Snow!
Thanks to snow-nerd scientists. Their lives revolve around snow and they couldn’t wait to “nerd-out” on the subject:
Feeding our feathered friends … do it for joy, and do it for science
It’s winter—time to check out the bird feeders and stock up on “fast food” for our feathered friends. A huge variety of bird feeders are
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Ross River coal: Transforming plants to carbon
The widespread use of coal was one of the major factors in fueling the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s and early 1800s. In recent
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Earth to Yukon College
The Yukon will be launching a satellite into orbit for the first time, as part of a Canadian Space Agency-led project.Yukon College students are in
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Google the Top of the World
Located on the northeastern corner of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Quttinirpaaq National Park is Canada’s northernmost national park. Until recently it was virtually inaccessible to
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Canada Wide Science Fair Winners
All three Yukon participants in the 2018 Canada Wide Science Fair have brought home medals
Canada Wide Science Fair Winners Read More »
A whole lotta quakin’ goin’ on
On Monday May 1, 2017, at around 5:30 a.m., a magnitude 6.2 earthquake landed near the B.C.-Yukon border, followed by another slightly stronger one at around 7:30 a.m. The rare event got a lot more people talking about seismic activity in the region, and a few murmured their fears of an eventual “big one.”
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Beautiful bushes with nary a berry
So, is this a boy bush or a girl bush?
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Sun, water and wind
Researchers explore how renewable energy can fuel the North in the future.
Sun, water and wind Read More »
The Tintina Trench
There was a not-so-urban myth out there that you could see the Tintina Trench from the moon. That is not true, unless the person on the moon had a good telescope.
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Finding the keys to safer camping
On the Canada Day long weekend in 2012, the Congdon Creek Campground, located on the shore of Kluane Lake near Burwash Landing, played host to a furry teenaged visitor. A medium-sized grizzly found its way into the campground and proceeded to lounge around in the central meadow, feeding on the tasty flowers.
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The ecological web: A story of salmon caught in the middle
“Nature is not something else, isolated, out there; it is as much a part of us as we are of it, and neither can be
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Molasses, methanol, and mine-water remediation
Yukon College mine-life-cycle researcher Dr. Guillaume Nielsen likes to find innovative solutions to problems.
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The Northern Review looks at literature
The Northern Review, which is published by the School of Liberal Arts at the Yukon College, describes itself as “a multidisciplinary journal exploring human experience in the Circumpolar North.
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Carmacks agate
Quartz is everywhere; it is the second most common mineral making up the Earth’s crust, just behind feldspar. Quartz is composed of the two elements silicon and oxygen. It has many different forms.
Celebrating the role of mining in the Yukon
The Yukon Chamber of Mines has prioritized outreach and community engagement as part of their programming. Heading into its 10th year, the annual Mining and
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Moving Mountains
Student Sharon Bubsy examines one of the seismometer stations in remote areas of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. PHOTO: courtesy of the Yukon College
Do you remember when January was always cold?
-40 all month? Are you sure?
Do you remember when January was always cold? Read More »
Let’s end plastic pollution
To end plastic pollution, we need to shift our attitudes and behaviours. Plastic pollution affects our health and the health of the animals and plants we share our planet with.
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That’s a real pain in the back!
Acupuncturist Stephen Potter offers advice on dealing with back pain
That’s a real pain in the back! Read More »
Powering up the North
Diesel power generators are like cars: the more efficient they are, the less fuel they need. And that increased efficiency translates into less cost, both for drivers at the pump and for the communities that rely on diesel fuel for heat and electricity.
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The awe of quartzite beneath you
Rock, not the genre of music, that guy on the radio or your friend from Newfoundland referring to “The Rock” as home, but rocks and
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I Hate Springing Forward
Spring. Daylight. Forward. Change. These words all individually invoke positivity and renewal.
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The philosophy behind yoga
Yoga, or yoga shastra (science), is part of an ancient philosophical system from India that is thousands of years old. Yoga literally means “connection with the Ultimate.”
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From the field to the lab
Yukon College archaeologist Norm Easton has been unearthing the secrets of the area around the Yukon-Alaska border for more than 25 years. This year, for the first time, he is leaving the field to focus on doing research in the laboratory.
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Increasing the chance of survival
For the past two years, Yukon College student Cheyenne Bradley has been working at the McIntyre Creek Salmon Incubation Site while taking classes at the College.
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What do you think?
ResearChats, devised by Northern Studies Instructor Amanda Graham and Chemistry Instructor Ernie Prokopchuk, are weekly opportunities for researchers from all disciplines to share ideas and learn from one another. They happen on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m., and everybody is invited to attend.
What do you think? Read More »
Calling both the pot and the kettle black
No matter how you wish to phrase it – “act in haste, repent in leisure” or “what goes around comes around” – the piper will eventually show up to demand payment. My wallet is considerably lighter this week because of one such lesson.
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Kids and parents can play in the big sandbox
The 45th annual Geoscience Forum is organized by the Yukon Chamber of Mines as an opportunity for everyone to learn more about mining, aviation, the environmental sciences and other aspects of the mineral exploration industry.
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The power of art
Looking at recorded history, humans have been using dances and music as well as storytelling and visual arts as healing rituals. Art and health are a well known pair; a healthy mind in a healthy body.
It seems we can’t always tell what comes first
It’s the age-old debate about the chicken and the egg. Sometimes, we simply don’t know what is cause and what is effect. This is especially
It seems we can’t always tell what comes first Read More »
The Super Bowl of Ethics
It might be called a “bowl,” but in this competition, you won’t see any kickoffs, quarterbacks, punted balls or wide receivers. You will, however, see
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So, Is Our Planet Round, or Flat?
Until a couple of years ago, there was a wonderfully entertaining fantasy writer by the name of Terry Pratchett. Perhaps there still is, somewhere on
So, Is Our Planet Round, or Flat? Read More »
Birding on the Fly
I’ve joined her in a Riverdale neighbourhood in search of a rare Mountain chickadee. The first species we see, however, is a noisy woodpecker, a
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Gathering Memories of Clinton Creek Proves Difficult
The original purpose of the Clinton Creek Oral History Project was to gather information about how the area around the former asbestos mine and company
Gathering Memories of Clinton Creek Proves Difficult Read More »
A Change in the Climate
Yukon College is expanding their offerings in one the hottest (pardon the pun) arenas today: climate change. Often described as one of the greatest challenges
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Slip-Sliding Away
Discover the innovative approach of the Northern Climate ExChange in presenting climate change data through community hazard maps.
Predator and Prey 14,000 Years Ago
Zhoh, the Clan of the Wolf: Fiction of the first humans to inhabit The Yukon. I knew Bob Hayes novel would be physically accurate.
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Exercise May Eliminate the Harmful Effects of Overeating
As the season of overindulgence is upon us, binging and overeating becomes an almost daily occurrence. From cookies and treats at the office to endless
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Get Used to More Glowing, Dancing Skies
Don Hampton advises that for the rest of the winter, find a high spot at night, away from human-made lights, and look north. “My guess
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And now for something completely cifferent …
Straddling comedy, horror and drama genres, Anders Thomas Jensen’s 2015 film Men & Chicken is on the brink of insanity. It is certain to be
And now for something completely cifferent … Read More »
The Little Nag: What is Mindfulness? And Why Do It?
You’ve heard the word on talk shows or around the water cooler at work, seen it on the cover of Time magazine and books on
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A Fat Chance of Healing Concussions
When I was a teenager, I took karate twice a week. One year, my instructor got really into throws. Given that he never really taught
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Yukon Astronomical Society wants to make Whitehorse the Science-Centre of the North
Stargazing has long been part of the human psyche. For thousands of years, we – and our ancestors before us – have turned our eyes
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Your Fibre-less Diet is Making You Allergic to Everything. Here’s Why.
You know those moments when you realize something awful? Your whole body goes cold as the dread sets in. Your eyes go wide and the
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Learning to Fry
A small assembly of structures along Mountainview Drive has been quietly housing 45,000 young salmon each year for the past 25 or so years. The
Pioneer Agronomist
The Hidden Histories Society Yukon collects stories and research on people of Asian and Black heritage who have contributed to the Yukon. It’s been doing
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Neuroscience and Everyday Living: Part 3
Gridlock. We hardly ever have it in Whitehorse and if we do we can likely, easily, take another route to get where we are going
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Neuroscience and Everyday Living: Part 2
According to Israeli physicist Moshe Feldenkrais, “hurrying is bad for learning.” How many of us hurry through our day ensuring that the garbage has been
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Boost Your Workout the Tasty Way
With the season of marathons and relays upon us, your training plans may be kicking into high gear. And heading into competition – whether personal
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Neuroscience and Everyday Living: Part 1
Can we change our brain just by thinking? Neuroscience would have us believe so. For example, a calm brain is more capable of learning, working
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Laughter Yoga: Heal Yourself Laughing
It is well-known that laughter is the best medicine. However, do we laugh enough in a normal life to get any benefit? Scientists say to
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On a Wing and a Prayer
Monarch butterflies appear fragile, but it is extraordinarily hardy. Every year they migrate thousands of miles to overwinter in Mexico.
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What You Might Not Know About Ducks
Back in the early 1960s, I spent a couple of years banding waterfowl in one of the newly-created marshes of the hydro project in Lake
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We Can Change
Whitehorse director and playwright Arlin McFarlane strives to captivate. She has developed a unique, one-actor play about our ability to change our lives around thanks
Building a Better Life Through Gratitude
Feeling dissatisfied with life? It turns out that the quickest way to make it better is to be grateful. Beyond being polite, researchers are finding
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A scientistʼs letters to the future trace a journey to find optimism
What kind of world will be handed down to my daughter’s generation? That question led conservation ecologist Alejandro Frid to write A World for My
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Let’s Get Experimental: Vanier Catholic Secondary School students compete in canada-wide Science Fair
This year’s Canada-Wide Science Fair took place in Windsor, Ontario from May 10 to 17, and representing the Yukon were three Grade 8 students with
What’s Up With Nature Around Whitehorse
As a new season approaches, have you ever asked yourself, “I wonder what’s up with the natural world, at this moment, where I live?” My
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Bringing Girls into the Realm of Science
This month, 20 girls from around Whitehorse will be starting a new, scientific adventure — exploring health and the body in a fun and innovative
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Virtual Village: Virtual Village: Facebook is “Like Farming”
Did you ever wonder what’s behind those math questions on Facebook? You know, the ones that “most people will get wrong.” Or what about those
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Hard Work, Long Days and Satisfaction in the Arctic
In a memorable scene in the 1983 movie Never Cry Wolf (adapted from Farley Mowat’s 1963 book), a biologist is dropped by floatplane in the
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The Beauty of Biodiesel
One of these days soon a couple from Chile is going to arrive in Whitehorse, their inter-continental road trip fuelled by vegetable grease from restaurants
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Around the Americas on Vegetable Oil
A travel-loving Chilean couple has begun a journey that will lead them through provinces, countries, continents, and even hemispheres. And what’s more: they will fuel
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Increase Your Chances of Communicating with Outer Space
“How big is the space station and do you have enough room to dance?” a Grade 3 Grey Mountain Primary School student asked Chris Hadfield
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The Atheist Doth Protest Too Much
I’ve come to realize that atheism sure ain’t that sexy. When you compare all the trappings and incentives that other belief systems have, we come
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Support Your Local Scientist
I love science. From government-sponsored labs to guys in their basements trying to rig together a personal jet pack, I must send a shout out
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Smart Phones Require Smart People
Sure, it’s a smart phone. I don’t think the name is wrong, so much as how the name is understood. If you are smart, you
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Virtual Village: Personal Websites
A family or personal website was once an oddity. Now, they are a common practice and easy to set up and maintain. A personal website
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Virtual Village: The Support Crunch
Some colleges and universities have closed or scaled down their information technology programs. In the Yukon, for example, we went from having a full, stand-alone, two-year diploma to a collaborative program where the teaching is shared through four colleges.
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Virtual Village: Identity Theft, Part 2
Let’s consider what to do if you think your identity has been stolen and how to reduce the chance of that happening. The first step
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Virtual Village: Identity Theft
A statistical trend that receives little appreciation is that crime rates in Canada have been declining steadily for more than 20 years. There are exceptions,
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Curing the Common Cold
When it’s freezing cold outside and way too cold inside the house, your thoughts might turn to a better heating system. However, so long as
Curing the Common Cold Read More »
Virtual Village: Your Digital Legacy
When people go on trips they go online and research hotels, tours, airline prices, and things to see and do when abroad. However, from a
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Virtual Village: How Secure are Tablets?
Tablets are on the rise. They are touch-screen based devices that are smaller, more portable and more convenient than a desktop computer. The first commercially
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Virtual Village: How Safe is Online Shopping?
Since the inception of e-commerce about 15 years ago, there have been many myths regarding its safety. Online shopping and banking are extremely useful, particularly
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How Did Our Toxic Chemicals Get to the Arctic?
Even a pristine and remote location like the Arctic is not free from contamination. Toxic chemicals, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury, are
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Lunar satellite collision
The month of May is over, and so is observing deep-sky objects such as nebulas and galaxies. The only stellar objects in the sky that
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Intelligent Life ‘Out There’
Barring the whole atheism thing, I swear on a giant stack of Bibles that the next paragraph is completely true. Scanning the BBC News website
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Organic Beer: Beer Cache Gets Serious
Want to proudly face your beer bottle label forward at parties this summer? Purchasing an organic beer is one way to do just that. When
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Ancient Treasures in the Muck of Dawson
Dawson City is no stranger to a flurry of summer activity, but this summer a group of researchers arrived in town looking for something other
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E.T. Wants Two Hours of His Life Back
The world’s biggest brainiac’s latest bombshell has got me thinking. Professor Stephen Hawking certainly piqued the interest of all tin-foil hat wearers across the globe
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Not the New Kid on the Block
Nobody likes a beer snob. Even beer snobs don’t like beer snobs. So, when someone wrinkles their nose at a Bud Light and then reaches
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Eat Your (Northern) Broccoli!
This past September, I was privileged to attend the seventh annual Circumpolar Agricultural Conference in Alta, Norway. Alta lies just below the 70°N latitude, which
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Virtual Village: Web Browsers
Every time you access the internet, what you’re doing is using a web browser. And even though Internet Explorer is installed on just about every
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No Klatch Required
“I think we should take a break.” When slapped together, those can be the most dreaded words in the English language. And so, it was
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Showers Forecast for November
It’s going to be a busy season in those amazing Yukon night skies, with the possibility of three more meteor showers taking place in November.
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The Pink Mountain Aurora Adventure
In the last few months you may have noticed an increase in Northern Lights action, with intense displays. I hope you had a chance to
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Witnessing Arctic Change
On my second day on board ship we saw a cow and calf blue whale,” says Emerald Kains. “The opportunity to share a moment with
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Herschel — Island in Time
The Einstein-described version of our universe has four dimensions: the three planes of movement possible in three-dimensional space, plus the fourth dimension, time. Herschel Island is
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Virtual Village: Creating a Family Social Media Policy
Every large corporation has probably devoted time and effort in recent years to draft its social media policy. This policy outlines the types of information
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Conifer Central
About 20 kilometres southeast of Dawson City, two canoe rides from the Klondike Highway into the bush, there is a farm where thousands of strange