Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) version 4 is live

NPPSD is powerful tool that includes observations of nearly 21 million birds of 252 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022)

Learn More

Q&A with Scientists: Improving Surveys of Geese in Alaska with Aerial Imagery

Thousands of geese gather at Izembek Lagoon in Alaska every fall in preparation for migration

Learn More

USGS Contributes to the 2022 Arctic Report Card

See chapters on Seabird Die-offs in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and Arctic Geese of North America

Learn More

USGS Scientists Using High Resolution SAR Satellite Imagery to Study Pacific Walruses

The sub-meter resolution of current SAR instruments offers new directions for walrus research

Learn More

Population Declines in Endangered Cook Inlet Beluga Whales

Study developed a new modeling technique

Learn More

First Detailed Map of the Entire Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault System

One of the world’s most seismically active strike-slip faults

Learn More

How to Become an International Star

Set a world record by flying nonstop from Alaska to Tasmania, Australia

Read More

Alaska Science Center

The mission of the Alaska Science Center is to provide objective and timely data, information, and research findings about the earth and its flora and fauna to Federal, State, and local resource managers and the public to support sound decisions regarding natural resources, natural hazards, and ecosystems in Alaska and circumpolar regions. We have offices in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. 

Learn more about our science

In the Spotlight

Resting sea otter in Homer harbor in Alaska

Brown Bear-Sea Otter interactions at Katmai National Park: USGS Alaska Science Center researchers worked with colleagues at the National Park Service and Washington State University on a study that documents brown bear predation on sea otters and harbor seals at Katmai National Park. 

Learn More

Current Water Conditions

Alaska view on the National Water Dashboard

Explore real-time Alaska streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions and access data with our new interactive map application.

Current Conditions

ASC Quick Links

News

link

USGS aids storm response to Extratropical Typhoon Merbok in Alaska

link

Population declines in Alaska beluga whale population may be linked to low birth and survival rates

link

Mapping the Entire Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault System

View All

Publications

Breaking up is hard to do: Magmatism during oceanic arc breakup, subduction reversal, and cessation

The formerly continuous Vitiaz Arc broke into its Vanuatu and Fijian portions during a reversal of subduction polarity in the Miocene. Basaltic volcanism in Fiji that accompanied the breakup ranged from shoshonitic to low-K and boninitic with increasing distance from the broken edge of the arc that, presumably, marks the broken edge of the slab. The Sr-Pb-Nd isotope ratios of the slab-derived comp
By
Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center

Recent history of glacial lake outburst floods, analysis of channel changes, and development of a two-dimensional flow and sediment transport model of the Snow River near Seward, Alaska

Snow Lake, a glacially dammed lake on the Snow Glacier near Seward, Alaska, drains rapidly every 14 months–3 years, causing flooding along the Snow River. Highway, railroad, and utility infrastructure on the lower Snow River floodplain is vulnerable to flood damage. Historical hydrology, geomorphology, and two-dimensional hydraulic and sediment transport modeling were used to assess the flood risk
By
National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Alaska Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Trace elements in blood of sea ducks from Dutch Harbor and Izembek Lagoon, Alaska

In 2001, we collected whole blood from sea ducks (Steller’s eider Polysticta stelleri, harlequin duck Histrionicus histrionicus, black scoter Melanitta nigra, and long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis) wintering at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and from Steller’s eiders molting at Izembek Lagoon on the Alaska Peninsula. Blood samples were analyzed for 19 trace elements, of which 17 were detected in one or mo
By
Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center
View All

Science

link
NPPSD illustration

North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database

The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The NPPSD includes more than 489,000 transect segments and includes observations of nearly 21 million birds of 252 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022).
By
Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
link

North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database

The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The NPPSD includes more than 489,000 transect segments and includes observations of nearly 21 million birds of 252 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022).
Learn More
link
Pacific brant feeding on eelgrass beds in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska

Q&A: Improving Aerial Surveys of Geese in Alaska with Aerial Imagery

Thousands of geese gather at Izembek Lagoon in southwestern Alaska every fall where they “stage”, meaning that they rest and eat in preparation for migration to lower latitudes. Izembek Lagoon is especially important for Pacific brant geese, as the entire Pacific Flyway population is thought to use the lagoon in fall. This provides an opportunity to efficiently survey the population to track...
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Q&A: Improving Aerial Surveys of Geese in Alaska with Aerial Imagery

Thousands of geese gather at Izembek Lagoon in southwestern Alaska every fall where they “stage”, meaning that they rest and eat in preparation for migration to lower latitudes. Izembek Lagoon is especially important for Pacific brant geese, as the entire Pacific Flyway population is thought to use the lagoon in fall. This provides an opportunity to efficiently survey the population to track...
Learn More
link
Pacific Brant family in Alaska

Annual Data and Model-based Estimates of Pacific Black Brant Age Ratios

Pacific brant are an Arctic-breeding sea goose that stage and feed on seagrasses during the non-breeding season in coastal areas of Alaska. Brant are an important subsistence and sport harvest species and the focus of several population surveys by state and federal agencies. Each fall the entire population stages during migration in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, presenting a unique opportunity to survey...
By
Alaska Science Center
link

Annual Data and Model-based Estimates of Pacific Black Brant Age Ratios

Pacific brant are an Arctic-breeding sea goose that stage and feed on seagrasses during the non-breeding season in coastal areas of Alaska. Brant are an important subsistence and sport harvest species and the focus of several population surveys by state and federal agencies. Each fall the entire population stages during migration in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, presenting a unique opportunity to survey...
Learn More
View All