The Search for One of North America’s Rarest Birds
The McKay's Bunting - Alaska's only endemic landbird species
The McKay's Bunting - Alaska's only endemic landbird species
Q&A: The Role of USGS Ecosystems Science in Alaska
Assisting Executive and Department of Interior Secretarial orders and priorities
Assisting Executive and Department of Interior Secretarial orders and priorities
Anchorage Bike to Work Day - May 16, 2025
The USGS Alaska Science Center will host a station along the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail
The USGS Alaska Science Center will host a station along the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail
Environmental Occurrence of Avian Influenza Virus Relative to Bait Trapping of Waterfowl
Study finds that bait trapping was associated with localized increases in avian influenza virus
Study finds that bait trapping was associated with localized increases in avian influenza virus
Anchor River at Anchor Point
USGS has 24 river webcams in AK. Here is one river's data, photos, and timelapse video.
USGS has 24 river webcams in AK. Here is one river's data, photos, and timelapse video.
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.
In the Spotlight
In the Spotlight
Critical Minerals in Ores (CMiO) database
Critical minerals are commodities essential to modern industrial and strategic technologies and are highly vulnerable to supply chain disruption. The CMiO database contains geochemical data for more than 20,000 samples from more than 100 deposit types comprising 10 deposit environments.
Current Water Conditions
Current Water Conditions
Explore real-time Alaska streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions and access data with our new interactive map application.
News
Shorebirds and Roads: How Human-altered Landscapes Influence Shorebird Movements in Alaska
Shorebirds and Roads: How Human-altered Landscapes Influence Shorebird Movements in Alaska
Sixty-seven years and still digging! A brief history of the USGS Benchmark Glacier Project
Sixty-seven years and still digging! A brief history of the USGS Benchmark Glacier Project
Alaska Science Center Newsletter – 2024 Yearly Review
Alaska Science Center Newsletter – 2024 Yearly Review
Publications
Development of a genotyping-in-thousands by sequencing (GT-seq) panel for identifying individuals and estimating relatedness among Alaska black bears (Ursus americanus)
The management and conservation of large mammals, such as black bears (Ursus americanus), have long been informed by genetic estimates of population size and individual dispersal. Amplicon sequencing methods, also known as ‘genotyping-in-thousands-by sequencing’ (GT-seq), now enable the efficient and cost-effective genotyping of hundreds of loci and individuals in the same sequencing run...
Equilibrium line altitudes, accumulation areas, and the vulnerability of glaciers in Alaska
The accumulation area ratio (AAR) of a glacier reflects its current state of equilibrium, or disequilibrium, with climate and its vulnerability to future climate change. Here, we present an inventory of glacier-specific annual accumulation areas and equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) for over 3000 glaciers in Alaska and northwest Canada (88% of the regional glacier area) from 2018 to 2022...
Critical Minerals in Ores (CMiO) database
Critical minerals are commodities essential to modern industrial and strategic technologies and are highly vulnerable to supply chain disruption. The Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative (CMMI) is a collaboration among the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Geological Survey of Canada, and Geoscience Australia that aims to deepen global understanding of where critical minerals are...
Science
Streambed Scour at Bridges in Alaska
Streambed scour is the leading cause of bridge failure in the United States resulting in over 60 percent of all failures. The Alaska Science Center, in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Alaska Railroad, is researching streambed scour through scour monitoring, hydraulic modeling, and data collection during high flows.
Alaska Critical Mineral Resource Assessments
Alaska has potential for a wide range of critical minerals including, but not limited to, graphite, lithium, tin, tungsten, rare earth elements, and platinum-group elements.
Q&A: USGS and the 2025 Anchorage Bike to Work Day
For the May 16, 2025, Anchorage Bike to Work Day, the USGS Alaska Science Center will again host a station along the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail where people can learn about the USGS streamgage on the creek and about the common birds of Chanshtnu. Chester Creek or Chanshtnu, which means ‘grass creek’ in the Dena’ina language, runs for about 20 miles from the Chugach mountains in the...