Images

USGS Staff at the Unuk River Streamgage in Southeast Alaska. The Unuk River is the second smallest watershed in the transboundary study of Southeast Alaska, but has three large mining projects in development (Kerr-Sulplherets-Mitchell (KSM), Brucejack, and Eskay Creek)

An adult female Pacific walrus slides into the water as she assesses her surroundings.  The female is 15 years or older based on the length of the tusks.  USGS and the U.S.

Walrus groups hauled on sea ice as far as the eye can see in the Chukchi Sea.  USGS and the U.S.

Alarge, active, and noisy walrus group hauled on sea ice in the Chukchi Sea.  USGS and the U.S.

A dim light shines during the summer Arctic morning in the Chukchi Sea as groups of Pacific walruses rest.  USGS and the U.S.

An adult female walrus with a one-year old offspring.  USGS and the U.S.

A rainbow emerges from an evening shower in the Chukchi Sea.  USGS and the U.S.

Orange streams are increasingly common in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. The orange stream color reflects oxidized iron, but also often indicates elevated heavy metal concentrations. Our ongoing study aims to document these occurrences and the timing of their onset.

Orange streams are increasingly common in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. The orange stream color reflects oxidized iron, but also often indicates elevated heavy metal concentrations. Our ongoing study aims to document these occurrences and the timing of their onset.

Orange streams are increasingly common in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. The orange stream color reflects oxidized iron, but also often indicates elevated heavy metal concentrations. Our ongoing study aims to document these occurrences and the timing of their onset.

This is a 16 m (52.5-foot) core from Kahiltna Glacier at 3,055 m (10,023 feet), May 26, 2023. Kakiko Ramos-Leon (NPS, on the left) is standing where the core intersected the surface. Eric Ridington (pilot, in the middle) is pointing to the melt layers from summer 2022. The melt layers barely visible as grey stripes in the foreground are from summer 2021.

Map showing the premature mortality observations of Pacific salmon carcasses in Alaska during summer and fall of 2019. Symbol color and shape denote Pacific Salmon species or alternative taxonomic groupings specified in the legend.

A polar bear walking along the Beaufort Sea coast with storm waves breaking behind it, filmed during fieldwork at Barter Island, Alaska.

THE ALEUTIAN CRADLE OF TSUNAMIS 

(Click here to read EOS Feature: Seismic Sources in the Aleutian Cradle of Tsunamis) 

USGS research hydrologist Laura Hubbard and Memorial University of Newfoundland's Jordan Wight wade with an orange inflatable boat in shallow wetland as they filter for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center hydrologist Laura Hubbard (right, in yellow coat and PFD) and Jordan Wight (left, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada) walk between hundreds of spawning sockeye salmon in shallow lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska as they filter water for avian influenza virus.

Scientists scout for brown bears before starting infectious avian influenza water sampling in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Upper Midwest Water Science Center Hydrologist Laura Hubbard filters wetland water to sample for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

A building lifted from its foundation by floodwater from Extratropical Typhoon Merbok is trapped under a bridge in Nome, Alaska.

USGS staff measuring discharge at the Solomon Gulch Hydropower tailrace, Valdez Alaska.

USGS biologists Steve Matsuoka, Lauren Hitt, and Rachel Richardson search for landbird nests in Denali National Park and Preserve.