Did you know Toolik Field Station, now celebrating 50 years, has grown from tents on tundra into the world’s leading Arctic research hub?

March 25, 2025

Aerial view of a remote field station near a winding river with extensive green fields and distant mountains under a clear sky. Toolik Field Station, operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology with support from the National Science Foundation, sits in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska in 2019. Photo by Jason Stuckey/TFS

In 1975, five scientists from the Naval Arctic Research Lab headed south from Prudhoe Bay via the then-new Dalton Highway. They were looking for a deep Arctic lake for their research. Galbraith was too shallow. Toolik was just right.

They pulled off at mile 284, set up a temporary field camp beside the lake, and unknowingly launched what would become a world-class research station—one that has shaped Arctic science for half a century.

Earlier this year, researchers gathered to celebrate the station’s 50th anniversary at the Toolik All Scientists Meeting. Keynote speaker and Toolik co-founder John Hobbie reflected on the early days, even pointing to the exact research site he helped establish in 1975, using his cane as a pointer.

“Our status as a world-class research station adds to the University of Alaska’s long-impactful standing in Arctic research and serves as a resource for Alaskans,” said Syndonia Bret-Harte, Toolik’s science director and professor at UAF’s Institute of Arctic Biology.

A herd of caribou in a green field with the field station buildings in backdrop A herd of caribou traverses the tundra near Toolik Field Station in August 2024. Photo by Seth Beaudreault/TFS

What they’re studying

Toolik supports a wide range of long-term and emerging research:

Tundra vegetation dynamics: Long-running field plots track species composition, shrub expansion and productivity across seasons.
Freshwater ecology: Toolik Lake and surrounding streams support studies on nutrient cycling, hydrology and food webs.
Animal physiology: Researchers examine Arctic ground squirrels, migratory birds and other species to understand adaptation in extreme environments.
Permafrost and soil processes: Ground temperature monitoring, carbon flux studies and microbial research connect Toolik to broader ecological models.
Fire ecology: UA scientists use Toolik as a base to study post-fire recovery and its relationship to permafrost and vegetation.
Remote sensing and UAV data: Drone surveys and satellite-linked sensors help scale observations while staying grounded in place-based knowledge.

Much of this work contributes to the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, anchored at Toolik since 1987.

Toolik Field Station, operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology with support from the National Science Foundation, sits in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska in 2019. Photo by Jason Stuckey/TFS Researchers clean lab supplies outside of a trailer, which was converted into a mobile laboratory, on the shores of Toolik Lake in summer 1985. Photo by Jim Laundre

Why it matters

Toolik is more than a collection of buildings and data sets. It is a collaborative space where science happens in real time. Researchers live and work in close quarters, sharing not just lab space but meals, field gear and late-night conversations under the midnight sun.

The dining hall becomes a meeting ground where a fire ecologist might swap insights with an animal physiologist, or a graduate student learning UAV mapping might find themselves planning a field project alongside a researcher who has been returning to Toolik for 20 seasons.

That environment fosters new ideas, strong mentorship and a kind of scientific continuity that few places in the world can offer.

Group photo of Jerry Brown, John Hobbie, Philip Miller, Michael Miller, and Vera Alexander next to a vehicle on a dirt terrain, taken in July 1975 during a trip to Toolik Lake.

UA at the core

Toolik is operated by the Institute of Arctic Biology at UAF with support from the National Science Foundation. Many of its most influential researchers are UA faculty, staff and alumni:

Vera Alexander helped launch the station and later became the first dean of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.
Terry Chapin’s warming experiments remain among the ecology field’s most referenced research.
Brian Barnes, Michelle Mack, Vladimir Romanovsky and others continue to lead Arctic research grounded in long-term Toolik data.
Dozens of UA students and early-career researchers receive mentorship and hands-on field experience each year.

People preparing a large red weather balloon for launch in a field with a mountainous backdrop. A research team launches a weather balloon with visiting middle school students to measure ozone and other atmospheric gases at Toolik Field Station in June 2019. Photo by Faustine Bernadac/TFS

What’s next

Toolik is expanding its capacity for winter and shoulder-season research, growing drone and modeling capabilities and strengthening co-production partnerships with neighboring Alaska Native communities.

It is also becoming a more intentional training ground, helping shape Arctic researchers who not only know the science but also know the place.

Graduate student Brandon Yokeley demonstrates a field sampling technique to a visiting high school field course near Galbraith Lake in August 2024. Photo by Erin Towns

Want to explore more?

🎥 Stream Toolik’s 50th anniversary science talks

�� View Toolik’s 360-degree videos, research highlights and photo galleries

📅 Upcoming events:
Visitor’s Day – June 6
First Friday Art Showcase – Aug. 1 at Black Spruce Brewing Co.