Research & Publications
Studying the Black Guillemots of Cooper Island has largely been a solitary venture for Dr. George Divoky. While the discovery and initial years of the study were part of governmental research related to oil development in northern Alaska, for the past (almost) five decades, his work has been conducted with occasional grants and much personal dedication. Long-term studies such as George’s can rarely be conducted by the government, which typically focus on immediate agency needs. The duration of most academic research is insufficient to allow exposition of multi-decade trends. Yet it is precisely this type of extended data set that is needed to monitor the long-term cycles and trends related to climate change and other atmospheric variation.
George Divoky has been studying seabirds in arctic Alaska since 1970 and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Research priorities and directions are set with the advice of a Scientific Advisory Board composed of prominent arctic researchers from a number of disciplines.