Publications

An acoustic Doppler current profiler interfaced with a differentially corrected global positioning system was used to map bathymetry and multi-dimensional velocities on the Matanuska River near Circle View Estates, Alaska. Data were collected along four spur dikes and a bend in the river during a period of active bank erosion. These data were collected as part of a larger investigation...

We report chemical analyses of stream-water, stream-sediment, soil, soil-water, bedrock, and vegetation samples collected from the headwaters of the Delta River (Tangle Lakes District, Mount Hayes 1:250,000-scale quadrangle) in east-central Alaska for the period June 20-25, 2006. Additionally, we present mineralogic analyses of stream sediment, concentrated by panning. The study area...

Sperm aging is known to be detrimental to reproductive performance. However, this apparently general phenomenon has seldom been studied in an evolutionary context. The negative impact of sperm aging on parental fitness should constitute a strong selective pressure for adaptations to avoid its effects. We studied the impact of sperm aging on black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a...

A new Digital Elevation Model was created using the best available high-resolution topography and multibeam bathymetry surrounding the area of Seward, Alaska. Datasets of (1) LIDAR topography collected for the Kenai Watershed Forum, (2) Seward harbor soundings from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and (3) multibeam bathymetry from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...

Between January 1 and December 31, 2007, AVO located 6,664 earthquakes of which 5,660 occurred within 20 kilometers of the 33 volcanoes monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Monitoring highlights in 2007 include: the eruption of Pavlof Volcano, volcanic-tectonic earthquake swarms at the Augustine, Illiamna, and Little Sitkin volcanic centers, and the cessation of episodes of...

A pilot study to develop and test a probability-based intertidal monitoring protocol for Sitka National Historical Park was conducted from 1999 to 2003. In 1999, the basic design, with a focus on sampling the whole of the designated intertidal was created, and sampling was conducted for sessile species and large mobile invertebrates by point-intercept sampling of vertical transects and...

The purpose of this report is to provide statewide baseline information on the status and potential drivers of land-cover change in Alaska. The information gathered for this report is based on a review and analysis of published literature and consists of prominent factors contributing to the current state of the land surface of Alaska as well as a synthesis of information about the...

The growth in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has highlighted the need for digital geologic maps that have been attributed with information about age and lithology. Such maps can be conveniently used to generate derivative maps for manifold special purposes such as mineral-resource assessment, metallogenic studies, tectonic studies, and environmental research. This report...

Sea ice plays an important role in the life of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are seeking to understand how losses of sea ice during summer over important foraging grounds in the Chukchi Sea will affect walruses. USGS scientists recently modified a remotely deployed satellite radio-tag that will aid in studying walrus foraging...

The many volcanoes of the remote and mostly uninhabited Kurile Island arc (fig. 1; table 1) pose a serious hazard for air traffic in the North Pacific. Ash clouds from Kurile eruptions can impact some of the busiest air travel routes in the world and drift quickly into airspace managed by three countries: Russia, Japan, and the United States. Prevailing westerly winds throughout the...

We studied nutrient-reserve dynamics of female Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) to quantify intraspecific strategies of nutrient acquisition for egg production, particularly in relation to the seasonal timing of reproduction (i.e., date of initiation of rapid follicle growth [RFG]). We collected female Greater Scaup on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, from arrival through clutch formation...

The growth in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has highlighted the need for digital geologic maps that have been attributed with information about age and lithology. Such maps can be conveniently used to generate derivative maps for manifold special purposes such as mineral-resource assessment, metallogenic studies, tectonic studies, and environmental research. This report...