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Our Alaska Science Center priority is to continue the important work of the Department of the Interior and the USGS, while also maintaining the health and safety of our employees and community. Based on guidance from the White House, the CDC, and state and local authorities, we are shifting our operations to a virtual mode and have minimal staffing within our offices. If you need additional assistance, please contact Chris Zimmerman.
In the Spotlight
A new USGS fact sheet describes assessments on focal species and important topic areas in the Arctic. The USGS and collaborators provide information about Arctic ecosystems that are used by Arctic residents, management agencies, and industry.
View PublicationCurrent Water Conditions
Explore real-time Alaska streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions and access data with our new interactive map application.
Current ConditionsNews
National Park Service Feature Story on Pacific Marine Heatwave
Marine heatwaves are global phenomena that can have major impacts on the structure and function of coastal ecosystems. The 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade.
Publication on Ecosystem Response to an Unprecedented Marine Heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska
The 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade. A new study led by NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners, including four USGS Alaska Science Center scientists, provides an ecosystem-wide look at immediate and lingering effects of the eastern Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska.
Video on USGS Pacific Seabird Research
This video features an overview of USGS and Ecosystems research with a focus on Pacific seabirds. Our scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center and National Wildlife Health Center work on Pacific seabird research topics in collaboration with partner agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, and rehabilitation centers.
Publications
Effects of midazolam on corticosterone and blood gases in spectacled eiders prior to transmitter implantation
Stress and physical exertion may affect the physiology and behavior of wildlife during and after capture, and consequently, survival following release. Such effects may reduce the quality and quantity of the data obtained from captured wildlife. We captured spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri), a species listed as threatened under the United...
Spriggs, Maria; Rizzolo, Daniel; Martin, Kate; Myers, Gwen E.; Sexson, Matthew G.
U.S. Geological Survey Arctic ecosystem assessments
The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) conducts natural hazard and resource assessments of the Earth’s ecosystems and the response of those ecosystems to environmental change, human activities, and land use. Arctic regions of Alaska are important for cultural and economic sustainability and host a wide variety of wildlife species, many of which are of...
Pearce, John M.; Van Hemert, Caroline R. Dating fault damage along the eastern Denali fault zone with hematite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry
Unraveling complex slip histories in fault damage zones to understand relations among deformation, hydrothermal alteration, and surface uplift remains a challenge. The dextral eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ; southwest Yukon, Canada) bounds the Kluane Ranges and hosts a variety of fault-related rocks, including hematite fault surfaces, which have...
McDermott, Robert G.; Ault, Alexis K.; Caine, Jonathan