Alaska Science Center Previous Seminars
The USGS Alaska Science Center has a monthly seminar series that runs from October through May. This series highlights the multiple research programs that are taking place across all disciplines at the center.
Listed below are previous seminars given.
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2024–2025 Seminars
Subsurface thaw drives changing water resources and quality in the continuous permafrost zone of Alaska
Date: May 20, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Josh Koch, Research Hydrologist
Abstract: Groundwater flow is limited in the continuous permafrost zone, where frozen ground restricts the storage and transmission of subsurface water. However, with altered temperature and precipitation regimes in the Arctic, subsurface water flow and solute transport are increasing. This talk will present evidence and novel indicators of groundwater flow in the Brooks Range and North Slope of Alaska and consider implications for surface water availability and quality.
A tale of two geese: findings from the last 10 years of black brant and snow goose research in Alaska
Date: April 29, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist
Abstract: Alaska supports breeding populations for five of the six Arctic-breeding geese found in North America, and the USGS Alaska Science Center has a decades-long legacy of research to inform goose management and maintain healthy populations for sport and subsistence harvest. Over the last decade, USGS goose research has focused on the Colville River Delta in the Arctic Coastal Plain, which hosts the largest nesting population of black brant outside of their main breeding colony in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. In the last twenty years, the Colville has also seen the establishment of a rapidly growing colony of snow geese, raising concern about the potential for overgrazing, competition, and negative outcomes for nesting brant. This presentation will explore results from 10 years of investigations into the Alaska snow goose explosion, it’s implications for brant and other birds, and the responses of Arctic geese to rapid environmental change throughout their migratory ranges. It will also discuss how USGS research is being used to illuminate snow goose and brant metapopulation dynamics and address looming conservation challenges in Alaska.
Decline of a rare Bering Sea endemic: McKay's Bunting
Date: February 12, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Rachel Richardson, Wildlife Biologist
Abstract: Species with small populations and restricted ranges are particularly vulnerable to environmental changes and stochastic events, which increases their risk of extinction. McKay's Bunting (Plectrophenax hyperboreus), a songbird endemic to Alaska, breeds exclusively on the uninhabited St. Matthew and Hall islands in the Bering Sea and is classified as a species of high conservation concern. Recent research has documented a 38% decline in the McKay's Bunting population between 2003 and 2018. Results from replicated surveys conducted in 2024 will provide further insights into the species' current population dynamics. This presentation will detail the methodologies used in systematic surveys, present key findings on changes in population size and breeding distribution since 2003, and discuss how these results support a reassessment of the species' conservation status.
Graphite and lithium resource potential in Alaska
Date: January 29, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: George Case, Research Economic Geologist
Abstract: The carbon-neutral economic transition requires raw materials for energy generation as well as storage via batteries. These commodities are considered critical minerals because, along with their economic importance, they are also vulnerable to supply disruption. Alaska has potential for a range of battery minerals including graphite and lithium. The state also hosts the largest-known graphite deposit in the United States, Graphite Creek. This talk will provide an overview of recent and ongoing studies by the USGS to understand the geologic mineral systems that these critical minerals form in and map their potential across Alaska.
The rusting of Arctic rivers: assessing the influence of metal seeps from thawing permafrost on aquatic ecosystems
Date: December 17, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Mike Carey, Research Fish Biologist
Abstract: Widespread permafrost thaw has altered the concentration and flux of organic carbon, nutrients, and trace metals in Arctic rivers. Recent observations indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw. Observations suggest that orange stream reaches have higher iron concentrations (appear to be rusting), less dissolved oxygen, and more acidic water than nearby clearwater streams. The conversion of streams from clear to orange water reflects a deterioration of habitat for benthic macroinvertebrates and fish.
The USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative and opportunities for new framework geoscience data in Alaska
Date: October 2, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Jamey Jones, Earth MRI Coordinator
Abstract: The USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative is a national program that collects framework geoscience data to improve understanding of the geology and critical mineral resource potential of the U.S. Data include lidar, high-resolution geophysical surveys, hyperspectral surveys, and geologic and geochemical mapping. This talk will describe Earth MRI activities nationwide and in Alaska, and it will highlight opportunities for collection and application of framework data to address shared science priorities in the state.
2023–2024 Seminars
Assessing the responses of caribou to changing habitat conditions in the Arctic
Date: April 25, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Heather Johnson, Research Wildlife Biologist
Abstract: Recent declines in several barren-ground caribou herds across North America have coincided with the ‘greening of the Arctic’, raising concerns about the influence of changing summer habitat conditions on caribou populations. The short Arctic summer provides caribou with important forage but is also the time they are exposed to intense harassment by insects, factors which are both being altered by longer, warmer growing seasons. Additionally, the summer ranges of barren-ground caribou in Alaska often overlap areas targeted for energy development, compounding concerns about the resilience of caribou to changing conditions. This talk will highlight recent research by USGS and our partners to better understand the influence of summer habitat and human development on caribou behavior and demography in the Alaskan Arctic, with implications for how populations may be impacted in the future.
Investigating Alaska’s critical minerals for a carbon-neutral future
Date: March 26, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Doug Kreiner, Associate Center Director for Geology
Abstract: Mineral resources are necessary for society, particularly as we transition towards a low-carbon future. Technology required for this transition relies on significantly larger quantities, and more diverse mineral commodities than traditional energy and transportation needs. Alaska produces, and has the potential to produce, critical minerals from a variety of mineral deposit types. Recent and ongoing Mineral Resource Program research is working to better characterize how, where, and why critical minerals occur within the mineral-rich state of Alaska.
Tsunamis of the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake
Date: March 20, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Elena Suleimani, Alaska Earthquake Center
Abstract: The 1964 Great Alaska earthquake generated the most destructive historic tsunami in Alaska, which also impacted the west coast of the United States and Canada. The impact of coseismic crustal deformations on the ocean surface and on numerous water bodies in Alaska was very complex. In addition to the major tectonic wave that was generated by the displacement of the ocean floor between the trench and the coastline, about 20 local tsunamis were generated in a number of bays in south-central Alaska.
Local near-field tsunamis caused most of the damage and accounted for 76% of tsunami fatalities. The contributing factors were slip on relatively steep intraplate splay faults that made the initial tsunami wave higher and closer to the shore, and submarine slides triggered by strong ground shaking in steep-sided fjords.
The 1964 Alaska tsunami fits into the category of tsunami disasters for which near-field tsunami forecasting is extremely complicated due to proximity of the earthquake rupture zone to the coastal area, and susceptibility of the glacial fjord environment to slope failures. The numerical studies of its complex source mechanism help us understand tsunami potential of future subduction zone earthquakes.
How did Denali get so tall?
Date: January 25, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Peter Haeussler, Research Geologist
Abstract: This talk will summarize threads of my sporadic research over the last two decades that address different aspects of what contributes to the high elevation of Denali and the central Alaska Range. This will include aspects of earthquake geology - the 2002 M7.9 Denali fault earthquake, active tectonics, bedrock geology, erosion, and climate that all contribute to the incredible topography of the tallest mountain in North America. The 45-minute talk is aimed at a general audience and questions are welcome.
Alaska's Pacific salmon under climate change
Date: December 5, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Vanessa von Biela, Research Fish Biologist
Abstract: Research over the last decade has resulted in a major shift in our understanding of Pacific salmon response to climate change in Alaska. This has been an abrupt shift from past research and assumptions that warmer was better for northern salmon populations across life stages and habitats, to a much more nuanced understanding that begins to recognize where and how climate change presents risks to northern Pacific salmon. Dr. von Biela will review recently published research and highlight ongoing studies that aim to inform management of these iconic species. This work recognizes the importance of Pacific salmon to people, and specifically the mandate for subsistence opportunities on Federal public lands.
The Aleutian cradle of tsunamis
Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Rob Witter, Research Geologist
Abstract: The talk will summarize over a decade of research that offers surprising insights about great Aleutian earthquakes that generate dangerous, often far-travelling tsunamis across the Pacific Ocean. The presentation focuses on the pace and scale of great Aleutian earthquakes like the 1957 Great Aleutian earthquake; the Hawaiian impacts of trans-Pacific tsunamis born in the Aleutians; a detective story about predecessors of 20th century Alaskan quakes; and how projected sea-level rise over the next century increases tsunami wave heights in ports of southern California.
2019–2020 Seminars
Antibiotic resistant bacteria in gulls and environments of Alaska
Date: March 5, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Christina Ahlstrom, Research Biologist
Abstract: Antibiotic resistance is a threat to public health globally, though limited information is available regarding the prevalence and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment. Scientists at the Alaska Science Center sample feces from large-bodied gulls (Larus spp.) inhabiting locations across Alaska to gain inference into how wildlife may acquire and disperse antibiotic resistant bacteria. By comparing the prevalence and genetic relatedness of resistant bacteria harbored by gulls, scientists have found associations between antibiotic resistance in gulls and anthropogenically influenced habitats. Satellite tracking of gulls has provided additional evidence that gulls may disperse antibiotic resistant bacteria at both local and trans-continental scales. This talk will highlight the use of complementary approaches to understand the epidemiology of antibiotic resistant bacteria in wildlife and how resulting data can be used to predict the relative dispersal risk of clinically important antibiotic resistant bacteria by gulls.
Capturing change in the icefield-to-ocean ecosystem of southcentral Alaska
Date: January 23, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenters: Shad O'Neel and Joe Yelverton
Abstract: As Alaska warms, its land ice is disappearing, at rates among the highest on Earth. Myriad downstream impacts stem from ice removal, with feedbacks among processes challenging our understanding of future states. This talk will blend science and outreach aspects of research ongoing at southcentral Alaska’s Wolverine Glacier. O’Neel will cover recent advances in the long-term mass balance efforts, and how new a biogeochemical project compliments mass balance research. Yelverton will discuss his investigations of the human aspect of science. His independent research examines what motivates people and how purpose can drive their ambition.
Planning for change: characterizing the effects of industrial activities on polar bears
Date: December 10, 2019
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenters: George Durner and Todd Atwood
Abstract: Alaska’s North Slope is characterized by a large and growing industrial footprint. Progressive degradation of sea ice habitat has led polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the southern Beaufort Sea (SB) subpopulation to become more reliant on terrestrial habitat for refugia in summer and fall and denning in winter. As industrial activities increase, so will their potential to affect bear behavior and population vital rates. Accordingly, it will be important to improve our understanding of the cumulative effects of environmental change and industrial development on the health, behavior, and population dynamics of polar bears.
The USGS Alaska Science Center has studied the SB subpopulation of polar bears for decades. This talk will provide a brief overview of the USGS process used to identify stakeholder needs for informing the proactive management of polar bears in an industrialized landscape. We will then discuss a recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife and USGS case study developed for industry and wildlife managers to demonstrate how different seismic survey designs could affect the level of impact hydrocarbon exploration has on denning polar bears.
Petroleum resource assessments in Arctic Alaska: intersection of science and policy
Date: November 20, 2019
Time: 2:00 p.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Dave Houseknecht, Scientist Emeritus
Abstract: Arctic Alaska, despite hosting the largest conventional oil field in North America, remains the least explored petroleum province of the Nation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), responsible for assessing undiscovered oil and gas resources beneath onshore and state waters of the U.S. and the world, conducts geological research in northern Alaska to provide objective estimates of resource potential. Results include definition of areas where resources are expected to occur and volumes of technically recoverable resources, including estimates of accumulation sizes (oil or gas pools). These become the basis for estimating how much of the resource may be economically recoverable over a range of market prices.
USGS petroleum resource assessments commonly are utilized in policy decision-making and are reported in the popular media. Translating for a non-technical audience the scientific basis and results of assessments is a significant challenge for the USGS, especially when politically volatile issues are involved. With a topic as important and as sensitive as the petroleum geology of the Arctic Alaska, our science must be unwaveringly objective, transparent, and clearly articulated for all to understand.
This talk will provide a general overview of the science with which we constrain assessments, the complexity of communicating that science to policy makers and the general public, and the highs and lows of nearly 30 years of representing USGS petroleum resource assessments in Washington, Juneau, and nationwide.
Yukon Chinook salmon and heat stress
Date: October 15, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Vanessa von Biela, Research Fish Biologist
Abstract: Observations of dead salmon in rivers across western Alaska during the summer of 2019 reinforced the concern that water temperatures may be inducing heat stress in salmon. For the last several years a team of researchers from multiple USGS Science Centers, Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and a subsistence community have been working to identify and understand heat stress in Chinook salmon. This talk will detail the results of a captive heat stress experiment to identify gene and protein expression biomarkers of heat stress in adult Yukon Chinook salmon and the application of these biomarkers to estimate the prevalence of heat stress in free ranging Chinook salmon.
2018–2019 Seminars
Environmental DNA at the Alaska Science Center
Date: May 16, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Damian Menning
Abstract: Environmental DNA (eDNA) is DNA extracted from a variety of environmental sources (water, soil, sediment, scat, gastrointestinal systems, air, etc.) and can be used to detect the presence of invasive species and pathogens, determine community structure and species distributions, and analyze diets. Molecular techniques for recovering eDNA are rapidly becoming mainstream due to the relative ease of collecting eDNA samples and the myriad questions that eDNA research can address. This presentation will cover the basics of molecular techniques currently employed at the Molecular Ecology Laboratory, including metabarcoding laboratory methods and the development of bioinformatics pipelines, as well as review current, past, and proposed future projects.
Anchorage area geology: how the rocks in our backyard inform our understanding of hazards, mountains, and gold!
Date: April 17, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Sue Karl
Abstract: South-central Alaska has a long history of subduction, the geologic process by which a tectonic plate of the earth’s crust slides beneath another plate. Ocean crust has been subducting beneath Alaska for millions of years. This process has resulted in tectonic uplift and exposure of rocks forged deep beneath south-central Alaska. Rocks exposed in the Anchorage area demonstrate components of the subduction process that are responsible for earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, basin formation, and gold, coal, and gas resources. This presentation will provide a tour of rocks in the Anchorage area and their contribution to our understanding of fundamental geologic processes in subduction zones in Alaska and around the world.
Alaska's mineral resources
Date: March 20, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Doug Kreiner, Research Geologist
Abstract: Alaska is rich with metal resources, including those considered critical minerals. Resource exploration and development are significant drivers of Alaska’s state economy. Alaska contains 5 active metal mines, an additional seven deposits are in various stages of advanced exploration and permitting. Early-stage exploration is beginning to see a resurgence in the state, as companies have showed a renewed interest in Alaska. Resource development is essential for the advancement of society, including in green applications such as renewable energy, electric cars, and technology. All of these require the production of significant quantities of earth’s resources. Despite the richness in mineral resources, Alaska is still a geological frontier, indicating immense future potential for the states mineral resources. Further, Alaska faces significant challenges to resource development, such as a lack of infrastructure. Understanding where mineral resources, specifically critical mineral resources, are located across the state is foundational to the ability of conducting mineral prospectivity analyses in the state. Further understanding how, why, and where these resources occur will enable a broader of understanding of the potential of Alaska’s mineral resources.
Sea otter research in Alaska: conservation relevance for nearshore marine ecosystems
Date: February 12, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Dan Monson
Abstract: Sea otters are a key-stone predator in nearshore ecosystems. Their presence causes a cascade of community-structuring effects and makes them an excellent indicator of nearshore ecosystem health. Their adaptations to marine living have led to consequential interactions with humans, such as the eighteenth-century fur trade and more recent conflicts with subsistence and commercial fishers. The USGS has a long history studying sea otters throughout their range that includes collaborative work with USFWS and researchers in Alaska, California, Washington, British Columbia and Russia. This talk will highlight research findings in areas of sea otter biology and ecology, species over-exploitation and population recovery, and the current direction of sea otter research conducted by USGS and collaborators.
Approximate causal inference for studies of human impacts on wildlife: the case of Pacific walrus and marine ship traffic
Date: November 6, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Rebecca Taylor, Research Statistician
Abstract: A pressing problem in the study of human impacts to wildlife populations is the need to determine cause and effect when only observational data (as opposed to data from randomized, controlled studies) are available. Because manipulating wild systems, populations and individuals usually ranges from intractable to impossible, wildlife research is almost exclusively observational, and statistical methods must be used to approximate causal inference (i.e. to roughly determine cause and effect). This talk discusses these methods with examples from the Pacific walrus, a species of conservation concern that is affected by loss of sea ice on which it likes to rest. It is currently unknown if the walrus population is also affected by ship traffic, but managers are concerned about potential disturbance from this human impact, and rely on USGS to provide scientific answers to inform potential policy decisions. Approximate causal inference methods are not commonly used in wildlife studies, but are needed to answer this question because of multiple confounding factors. For example, walruses rest more when there is floating ice available for them to lie on, and most ships try to avoid ice. If walruses rest more when there are no ships present, does this mean ships disturb walruses, or could it be an artifact of ships avoiding places walruses most like to rest? USGS has long been a leader in development of statistical methods applicable to wildlife management, and should be a leader in using the best available techniques to disentangle complicated cause and effect problems.
Changing Arctic hydrology and the implications for water resources and ecosystems
Date: October 18, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time)
Presenter: Josh Koch, Research Hydrologist
Abstract: Arctic environments are in a state of rapid change due to warming temperatures, with ongoing and likely future impacts to water resources and ecosystems. Permafrost thaw, vegetation growth, and increasing frequency of wildfires are impacting the availability of water and the partitioning of water between surface and groundwater reservoirs. Warming and thaw of permafrost are also changing the availability and transport of nutrients and contaminants to downstream ecosystems. These changes have direct implications for humans, wildlife, and ecosystems because they may impact water availability for drinking, industrial activity, and habitat, and the concentrations of solutes, including nutrients and contaminants within that water. The USGS is uniquely positioned to address these concerns, given a strong foundation in quantifying surface and groundwater and their interactions, long-term monitoring of water quantity and quality, and laboratories at the leading edge of water analysis for solute, nutrients, carbon, and contaminants. This talk will describe current USGS research in boreal, alpine and arctic ecosystems of Alaska and highlight our efforts to quantify the hydrological and biogeochemical changes that are taking place.