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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: 3091

Sulfur and oxygen isotopic study of Paleozoic sediment-hosted Zn-Pb(-Ag-Au-Ba-F) deposits and associated hydrothermal alteration zones in the Nome Complex, Seward Peninsula, Alaska Sulfur and oxygen isotopic study of Paleozoic sediment-hosted Zn-Pb(-Ag-Au-Ba-F) deposits and associated hydrothermal alteration zones in the Nome Complex, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Results of sulfur and oxygen isotope studies of sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) Zn-Pb(-Ag-Au-Ba-F) deposits hosted in metamorphosed Paleozoic clastic and carbonate rocks of the Nome Complex, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, are consistent with data for similar deposits worldwide. Stable isotopic studies of the Nome Complex are challenging because the rocks have undergone Mesozoic blueschist- and
Authors
W.C. Pat Shanks, John F. Slack, Alison B. Till, Roland Thurston, Pamela Gemery-Hill

Delineation of Tundra Swan Cygnus c. columbianus populations in North America: geographic boundaries and interchange Delineation of Tundra Swan Cygnus c. columbianus populations in North America: geographic boundaries and interchange

North American Tundra Swans Cygnus c. columbianus are composed of two wellrecognised populations: an Eastern Population (EP) that breeds across northern Canada and north of the Brooks Range in Alaska, which migrates to the eastern seaboard of the United States, and a Western Population (WP) that breeds in coastal regions of Alaska south of the Brooks Range and migrates to western North...
Authors
Craig R. Ely, William J.L. Sladen, Heather M. Wilson, Susan E. Savage, Kristine M. Sowl, Bill Henry, Mike Schwitters, James Snowden

New imaging of submarine landslides from the 1964 earthquake near Whittier, Alaska, and a comparison to failures in other Alaskan fjords New imaging of submarine landslides from the 1964 earthquake near Whittier, Alaska, and a comparison to failures in other Alaskan fjords

The 1964 Alaska M w 9.2 earthquake triggered numerous submarine slope failures in fjords of southern Alaska. These failures generated local tsunamis, such as at Whittier, where they inundated the town within 4 min of the beginning of shaking. Run-up was up to 32 m, with 13 casualties. We collected new multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution sparker seismic data in Passage Canal, and we...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas E. Parsons, David P. Finlayson, Patrick J. Hart, Jason D. Chaytor, Holly F. Ryan, Homa J. Lee, Keith A. Labay, Andrew Peterson, Lee Liberty

Prevalence of pure versus mixed snow cover pixels across spatial resolutions in alpine environments: implications for binary and fractional remote sensing approaches Prevalence of pure versus mixed snow cover pixels across spatial resolutions in alpine environments: implications for binary and fractional remote sensing approaches

Remote sensing of snow-covered area (SCA) can be binary (indicating the presence/absence of snow cover at each pixel) or fractional (indicating the fraction of each pixel covered by snow). Fractional SCA mapping provides more information than binary SCA, but is more difficult to implement and may not be feasible with all types of remote sensing data. The utility of fractional SCA mapping...
Authors
David J. Selkowitz, Richard Forster, Megan K. Caldwell

Post-breeding migration of Dutch-breeding black-tailed godwits: timing, routes, use of stopovers, and nonbreeding destinations Post-breeding migration of Dutch-breeding black-tailed godwits: timing, routes, use of stopovers, and nonbreeding destinations

Conservation of long-distance migratory shorebirds is complex because these species use habitats spread across continents and hemispheres, making identification of critical habitats and potential bottlenecks in the annual cycle especially difficult. The population of Black-tailed Godwits that breeds in Western Europe, Limosa limosa limosa, has declined precipitously over the past few...
Authors
Jos C. E. W. Hooijmeijer, Nathan R. Senner, T. Lee Tibbitts, Robert E. Gill, David C. Douglas, Leo W. Bruinzeel, Eddy Wymenga, Theunis Piersma

New ichnological, paleobotanical and detrital zircon data from an unnamed rock unit in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve (Cretaceous: Alaska): Stratigraphic implications for the region New ichnological, paleobotanical and detrital zircon data from an unnamed rock unit in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve (Cretaceous: Alaska): Stratigraphic implications for the region

A paleontological reconnaissance survey on Cretaceous and Paleogene terrestrial units along the Yukon River drainage through much of east-central Alaska has provided new chronostratigraphic constraints, paleoclimatological data, and the first information on local biodiversity within an ancient, high-latitude ecosystem. The studied unnamed rock unit is most notable for its historic...
Authors
Anthony R. Fiorillo, Federico Fanti, Chad Hults, Stephen T Hasiotis

Estuarine removal of glacial iron and implications for iron fluxes to the ocean Estuarine removal of glacial iron and implications for iron fluxes to the ocean

While recent work demonstrates that glacial meltwater provides a substantial and relatively labile flux of the micronutrient iron to oceans, the role of high-latitude estuary environments as a potential sink of glacial iron is unknown. Here we present the first quantitative description of iron removal in a meltwater-dominated estuary. We find that 85% of “dissolved” Fe is removed in the...
Authors
Andrew W. Schroth, John Crusius, Ian Hoyer, Robert Campbell

Wildlife health in a rapidly changing North: focus on avian disease Wildlife health in a rapidly changing North: focus on avian disease

Climate-related environmental changes have increasingly been linked to emerging infectious diseases in wildlife. The Arctic is facing a major ecological transition that is expected to substantially affect animal and human health. Changes in phenology or environmental conditions that result from climate warming may promote novel species assemblages as host and pathogen ranges expand to...
Authors
Caroline R. Van Hemert, John M. Pearce, Colleen M. Handel

Sources of global climate data and visualization portals Sources of global climate data and visualization portals

Climate is integral to the geophysical foundation upon which ecosystems are structured. Knowledge about mechanistic linkages between the geophysical and biological environments is essential for understanding how global warming may reshape contemporary ecosystems and ecosystem services. Numerous global data sources spanning several decades are available that document key geophysical...
Authors
David C. Douglas

The 2010 slow slip event and secular motion at Kilauea, Hawai`i inferred from TerraSAR-X InSAR data The 2010 slow slip event and secular motion at Kilauea, Hawai`i inferred from TerraSAR-X InSAR data

We present here an Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) algorithm to extract both transient and secular ground deformations on the order of millimeters in the presence of tropospheric noise on the order of centimeters, when the transient is of short duration and known time, and the background deformation is smooth in time. We applied this algorithm to study the 2010 slow slip event as well as...
Authors
Jingyi Chen, Howard A. Zebker, Paul Segall, Asta Miklius
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