The center is located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in the Syun-Ichi Akasofu Building. The Keith B. Mather Library is the science library housed in the Akasofu Building, serving IARC and the Geophysical Institute of UAF. The building also houses the UAF atmospheric sciences department, the Center for Global Change and the Fairbanks forecast office of the National Weather Service.
Study projects are focused within four major themes: