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Alaska Science Center

The mission of the Alaska Science Center (ASC) 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.

News

USGS Scientist and National Weather Service and University of Alaska Southeast colleagues receive Alaska State Legislature Recognition for Response to Juneau’s annual Suicide Basin Outburst Floods

USGS Scientist and National Weather Service and University of Alaska Southeast colleagues receive Alaska State Legislature Recognition for Response to Juneau’s annual Suicide Basin Outburst Floods

What a Super El Niño could mean for Alaska’s seabirds, salmon, and seas

What a Super El Niño could mean for Alaska’s seabirds, salmon, and seas

EcoNews - Vol. 7 | Issue 2

EcoNews - Vol. 7 | Issue 2

Publications

Testing the efficacy of industrial mitigation measures for caribou in the Arctic Testing the efficacy of industrial mitigation measures for caribou in the Arctic

1. Mitigation measures are commonly employed to reduce the negative effects of industrial development on wildlife but are not often evaluated for their efficacy. For example, oil fields in the Arctic typically incorporate design features intended to increase permeability for migratory, barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus), even though there is limited empirical evidence of the...
Authors
Heather E. Johnson, John P. Severson

Apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology from Marsh Creek anticline reconciles Cenozoic and Holocene strain patterns and elucidates the Cenozoic canning displacement zone of Arctic Alaska Apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology from Marsh Creek anticline reconciles Cenozoic and Holocene strain patterns and elucidates the Cenozoic canning displacement zone of Arctic Alaska

The northeastern Brooks Range is a vast fold-thrust belt that records the northernmost expression of Cenozoic deformation in Alaska, likely with complex dynamic linkages to distant tectonic elements. The principal focus of this manuscript is the Marsh Creek anticline (MCA), which is a large and recently active structure within the broader northeastern Brooks Range. The MCA is a complex...
Authors
William H. Craddock, Julie C Fosdick, Christopher D. Connors, Richard O. Lease, David W. Houseknecht, Megan Mueller, Andrew R C Kylander-Clark

Can a physics-based fire behavior model predict burn severity and post-fire debris flow hazard? Can a physics-based fire behavior model predict burn severity and post-fire debris flow hazard?

Post-wildfire flooding and debris flows pose a threat to ecosystems and infrastructure. As the frequency and size of severe wildfires increase, there is a growing need for predictive debris flow hazard modeling in unburned but fire-prone landscapes. However, no crosswalks have been established between physics-based models of fire behavior and the remotely sensed burn severity inputs...
Authors
Niko J. Tutland, Rachel A. Loehman, Jason W. Kean

Science

Terrestrial Mammal Research

Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.
Terrestrial Mammal Research

Terrestrial Mammal Research

Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.
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Ecosystems on the Edge: Landscape and Fire Ecology of Forests, Deserts, and Tundra

Climate changes and interacting disturbances such as wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, and erosion and flooding can perturb and reorganize ecosystems.
Ecosystems on the Edge: Landscape and Fire Ecology of Forests, Deserts, and Tundra

Ecosystems on the Edge: Landscape and Fire Ecology of Forests, Deserts, and Tundra

Climate changes and interacting disturbances such as wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, and erosion and flooding can perturb and reorganize ecosystems.
Learn More

USGS Alaska Streamgage Datum to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 Conversion Table

To obtain stream water-surface elevation values in NAVD88 add the following conversion factor to gage height values.
USGS Alaska Streamgage Datum to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 Conversion Table

USGS Alaska Streamgage Datum to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 Conversion Table

To obtain stream water-surface elevation values in NAVD88 add the following conversion factor to gage height values.
Learn More

Multimedia

Two people wearing orange life jackets facing away from the camera.
Biologists conducting marine bird and mammal surveys in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Biologists conducting marine bird and mammal surveys in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A person standing behind a pale orange river. A person standing behind a pale orange river.
Rusting Rivers B-Roll: Igning River, Alaska
Faint orange creek running through green brush. Faint orange creek running through green brush.
Rusting Rivers B-Roll: Anatok Creek, Alaska
pale orange river flowing into a clear blue river. pale orange river flowing into a clear blue river.
Rusting Rivers: Heavy Metals and Visible Color Changes
Bathymetric map of Ozette Lake in Washington State Bathymetric map of Ozette Lake in Washington State
Ozette Lake Paleoseismology (AD)
Person in a blue jacket working at a weather station in the snow with mountains in the background
Installing a camera at the Mt. Foraker weather station in Denali National Park
Installing a camera at the Mt. Foraker weather station in Denali National Park
Person in blue jacket at a weather station on snow with the sunshine, mountains, and a red helicopter in the background
Camera installation at the Mt. Foraker weather station in Denali National Park
Camera installation at the Mt. Foraker weather station in Denali National Park
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