• Image of Mount McKinley and the Alaska Range

    Denali

    National Park & Preserve Alaska

Research Results and Resource Information

Special review occurs for research that proposes to collect soils or other specimens.

A 2008 Discover Denali Research Fellow collects soil samples to study impacts of melting permafrost on plants.

Jessie Cable

What kind of research goes on at Denali?Researchers and resource specialists study everything imaginable in Denali from why glaciers surge, to the population dynamics of wolves and their prey, to the physiological effects to humans of climbing Denali. Research on subarctic ecosystems and studies of culture, history, and place have been an integral part of understanding and protecting Denali’s natural and cultural resources since the park’s inception.

 
Moose research in Denali explores behaviors of bulls in rut, nutrition in relation to calf production, calf survivorship, and estimates of population size.
Visitors might spot a radio-collared moose along the Denali Park Road.
Kent Miller
 

More than 800 scientific and scholarly studies have taken place in the park since the early 1900’s. In 2009, there were 61 active Research and Collecting Permits for studies in Denali. Some researchers are conducting more than one study. These scientific studies are conducted by Denali staff, park cooperators (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey or Alaska State Department of Fish and Game), and investigators from universities, institutions, and other agencies. Appropriate research for Denali is that which gathers information while making minimal impacts to park resources and visitor experience.

 
Ree Nancarrow's Seasons of Denali quilt at the Eielson Visitor Center colorfully illustrates some of the plants and animals that researchers study in Denali.

Close-up of Quilt Displayed
at Eielson Visitor Center

Lucy Tyrrell

Research Results and Resource Management
On the web pages linked below are highlights of selected research studies and resource activities. These materials may help you learn more about what you saw or experienced during your recent trip to Denali, or may enhance your future visit.

 
Researchers have found dozens and dozens of dinosaur fossil footprints in Denali.

Dinosaur fossil footprint

David Sunderlin

Investigator Annual Reports
Each year researchers at all national parks submit an Investigator Annual Report (IAR) summarizing their findings to the National Park Service’s Research Permit and Reporting System (RPRS) website. You can go on-line and read the IAR’s submitted about Denali or any other park. You can search IAR’s by park, investigator name, year, or general subject heading. Researchers also use this website to apply for a research and collecting permit. http://science.nature.nps.gov/research

 
Learn about resource activities in Denali

37.7 MB of Information about Denali's Cultural and Natural Resources

Current Resource Projects

Denali produces Current Resource Projects annually to summarize results of resource studies from the previous year, and describe what resource projects are planned for the next field season. The document also lists non-NPS researchers with Research and Collecting Permits in 2011.

[Caution! These are large documents. Please be patient when opening the links.]

Current Resource projects 2012

Archives:
Current Resource Projects 2011
Current Resource Projects 2010

Current Resource Projects 2009

Current Resource Projects 2008

Current Resource Projects 2007
Current Resource Projects 2006
Current Resource Projects 2005

 
How do soils develop at the retreating edge of glaciers?

Researchers near the Middle Fork (Toklat) Glacier

Barbara-Lynn Concienne

Science at Denali
This document, Science at Denali, provides an overview of park science, describes early science at Denali, gives examples of current or recent projects (inventory, monitoring, and research), and tells how science has been useful to management of Denali resources.

[Suggestion: For best results, print this document on 11" x 17" paper (double-sided) and fold to produce a 12-page booklet.]

  • Alaska Park Science Alaska Park Science

    Issues and articles about Denali research and resources Read More

  • Fact Sheets Fact Sheets

    Information briefs on research and resource topics Read More

Did You Know?

Visibility is an important  component of measuring Denali's air quality

Visibility is an important component of measuring Denali's air quality. Visibility data, such as that from the Wonder Lake camera, supplements chemical data from filter samples. Air here is still clean, but traces of pollution from local, regional and international sources exists on filter samples.