Publications
USGS research activities relevant to Alaska have yielded more than 9400 historical publications. This page features some of the most recent newsworthy research findings.
Filter Total Items: 3082
Seabird tissue archival and monitoring project: Egg collections and analytical results 1999-2002 Seabird tissue archival and monitoring project: Egg collections and analytical results 1999-2002
In 1998, the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS-BRD), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began the Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Project (STAMP) to collect and cryogenically bank tissues from seabirds in Alaska for future retrospective...
Authors
Stacy S. Vander Pol, Steven J. Christopher, David G. Roseneau, Paul R. Becker, Russel D. Day, John R. Kucklick, Rebecca S. Pugh, Kristin S. Simac, Geoff Weston-York
Effect of analytical conditions in wavelength dispersive electron microprobe analysis on the measurement of strontium-to-calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios in otoliths of anadromous salmonids Effect of analytical conditions in wavelength dispersive electron microprobe analysis on the measurement of strontium-to-calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios in otoliths of anadromous salmonids
The use of strontium-to-calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios in otoliths is becoming a standard method to describe life history type and the chronology of migrations between freshwater and seawater habitats in teleosts (e.g. Kalish, 1990; Radtke et al., 1990; Secor, 1992; Rieman et al., 1994; Radtke, 1995; Limburg, 1995; Tzeng et al. 1997; Volk et al., 2000; Zimmerman, 2000; Zimmerman and Reeves, 2000...
Authors
Christian E. Zimmerman, Roger L. Nielsen
High latitude marine reserve research in Glacier Bay National Park High latitude marine reserve research in Glacier Bay National Park
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is dominated by the marine waters that make up nearly one-fifth of the park’s area. Since the late 1800s, the nutrient rich waters of Glacier Bay have supported highly productive commercial fisheries. Congress closed fishing in parts of Glacier Bay National Park in 1999, creating one of North America’s largest marine reserves. Throughout the world...
Authors
S. James Taggart, Jennifer Mondragon, A.G. Andrews, J.K. Nielsen
Bear-human interactions at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve: Conflict risk assessment Bear-human interactions at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve: Conflict risk assessment
Many bear-human conflicts have occurred in Alaska parks and refuges, resulting in area closures, property damage, human injury, and loss of life. Human activity in bear country has also had negative and substantial consequences for bears: disruption of their natural activity patterns, displacement from important habitats, injury, and death. It is unfortunate for both people and bears...
Authors
Tom S. Smith, Terry D. DeBruyn, Tania Lewis, Rusty Yerxa, Steven T. Partridge
Controls on intrusion of near-trench magmas of the Sanak-Baranof Belt, Alaska, during Paleogene ridge subduction, and consequences for forearc evolution Controls on intrusion of near-trench magmas of the Sanak-Baranof Belt, Alaska, during Paleogene ridge subduction, and consequences for forearc evolution
A belt of Paleogene near-trench plutons known as the Sanak-Baranof belt intruded the southern Alaska convergent margin. A compilation of isotopic ages of these plutons shows that they range in age from 61 Ma in the west to ca. 50 Ma in the east. This migrating pulse of magmatism along the continental margin is consistent with North Pacific plate reconstructions that suggests the plutons...
Authors
Timothy M. Kusky, Dwight Bradley, D. Thomas Donely, David Rowley, Peter J. Haeussler
Seagrasses of the Pacific Coast of North America Seagrasses of the Pacific Coast of North America
No abstract available.
Authors
David H. Ward, S.E. Ibarra-Obando
Polar bear aerial survey in the eastern Chukchi Sea: A pilot study Polar bear aerial survey in the eastern Chukchi Sea: A pilot study
Alaska has two polar bear populations: the Southern Beaufort Sea population, shared with Canada, and the Chukchi/Bering Seas population, shared with Russia. Currently a reliable population estimate for the Chukchi/Bering Seas population does not exist. Land-based aerial and mark-recapture population surveys may not be possible in the Chukchi Sea because variable ice conditions, the...
Authors
Thomas J. Evans, Anthony S. Fischbach, Scott L. Schliebe, Bryan Manly, Susanne B. Kalxdorff, Geoff S. York
High precision earthquake locations reveal seismogenic structure beneath Mammoth Mountain, California High precision earthquake locations reveal seismogenic structure beneath Mammoth Mountain, California
In 1989, an unusual earthquake swarm occurred beneath Mammoth Mountain that was probably associated with magmatic intrusion. To improve our understanding of this swarm, we relocated Mammoth Mountain earthquakes using a double difference algorithm. Relocated hypocenters reveal that most earthquakes occurred on two structures, a near-vertical plane at 7–9 km depth that has been interpreted...
Authors
Stephanie G. Prejean, Anna Stork, William L. Ellsworth, David Hill, Bruce R. Julian
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
No abstract available
Authors
Thomas B. Mowbray, James S. Sedinger, Robert E. Trost
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) perspective: Part C. Trophic linkages among sea otters and bivalve prey in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill: Implications for community models in sedimentary habitats Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) perspective: Part C. Trophic linkages among sea otters and bivalve prey in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill: Implications for community models in sedimentary habitats
We exploited the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, to evaluate effects of reduced sea otter densities on prey populations in sedimentary habitats. We considered the need for and characteristics of new models for trophic effects of sea otters on coastal marine benthic communities. We viewed evidence for nonlinear or uncertain patterns of prey response to...
Authors
Glenn R. VanBlaricom, Allan K. Fukuyama, Charles E. O’Clair, Daniel H. Monson, Stephen C. Jewett, Tamara K. Gage, Thomas A. Dean, James L. Bodkin
Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis) Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)
No abstract available
Authors
J.S. Marks, T. Lee Tibbitts, Robert E. Gill, Brian J. McCaffery
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) perspective: Part B. Food limitation and the recovery of sea otters following the Exxon Valdez oil spill Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) perspective: Part B. Food limitation and the recovery of sea otters following the Exxon Valdez oil spill
We examined the potential role of food limitation in constraining recovery of sea otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The spill resulted in the removal of a large number of sea otters in 1989, and as of 1998, the portion of the population in the heavily oiled northern Knight Island region had not fully recovered. Between 1996 and 1998, prey...
Authors
Thomas A. Dean, James L. Bodkin, Allan K. Fukuyama, Stephen C. Jewett, Daniel H. Monson, Charles E. O’Clair, Glenn R. VanBlaricom