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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: 3104

Element concentrations in soils and other surficial materials of Alaska Element concentrations in soils and other surficial materials of Alaska

Mean concentrations of 35 elements, ash yields, and pH have been estimated for samples of sils and other unconsolidated surficial materials from 266 collection locations throughout Alaska. These background values can be applied to studies of environmental geochemistry and health, wildlife management, and soil-forming processes in cold climates and to computation of element abundances on...
Authors
L. P. Gough, R. C. Severson, H.T. Shacklette

Sandstone petrographic evidence and the Chugach-Prince William terrane boundary in southern Alaska Sandstone petrographic evidence and the Chugach-Prince William terrane boundary in southern Alaska

The contact between the Upper Cretaceous Valdez Group and the Paleocene and Eocene Orca Group has been inferred to be the boundary between the Chugach and the Prince William tectonostratigraphic terranes. Sandstone petrographic data from the Prince William Sound area show no compositional discontinuity across this contact. These data are best explained by considering the Valdez and Orca...
Authors
Julie A. Dumoulin

Effects of kelp forest removal on associated fish assemblages in central California Effects of kelp forest removal on associated fish assemblages in central California

Visual surveys along subtidal belt transects were used to compare fish assemblages on an experimental and a control site before and after the removal of a canopy-forming kelp forest. The giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C.A. Agardh was removed at the holdfast from ≈ 1 ha of high relief structurally complex rock substratum. The abundance of seven species of fish, of which five were...
Authors
James L. Bodkin

Fall migration of Ross' Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) in Alaskan Chukchi and Beaufort seas: Final report Fall migration of Ross' Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) in Alaskan Chukchi and Beaufort seas: Final report

Ross’ Gulls (Rhodostethia rosea) are a major component of the pelagic avifauna of the Alaskan Chukchi and Beaufort seas in fall. Until recently, however, their distribution, abundance, and phenology of occurrence in Alaskan waters was poorly known. Since 1970, a combination of shipboard, aerial, and land-based surveys has revealed the major features of this species’ post-breeding...
Authors
George J. Divoky, Gerald A. Sanger, Scott A. Hatch, J. Christopher Haney

Interactions between seabirds and fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean Interactions between seabirds and fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean

Interactions between commercial fisheries and seabirds in the northern Pacific Ocean are increasing with rising consumption of fishery products. As fishing expands into remote areas previously not fished, additional populations of seabirds may be affected. Some interactions such as introduction of fish processing wastes into the environment may be beneficial for seabirds, while others...
Authors
Linda L. Jones, Anthony R. DeGange

Sedimentology of the Argo and Gascoyne abyssal plains, NW Australia: Report on Ocean Drilling Program Leg 123 (Sept. 1–Nov. 1, 1988) Sedimentology of the Argo and Gascoyne abyssal plains, NW Australia: Report on Ocean Drilling Program Leg 123 (Sept. 1–Nov. 1, 1988)

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 123 drilled two sites in the Indian Ocean in order to study the rifting and early spreading of one of the world’s oldest ocean basins. Site 765 was drilled in 5714 meters of water on the Argo Abyssal Plain northwest of Australia. The sedimentary succession records the opening of an ocean basin, from the first sediments deposited atop young oceanic crust, to the...
Authors
Jurgen Thurow

Geology and mineral resources of the Port Moller region, western Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian arc: A section in USGS research on mineral resources - 1989: Program and abstracts Geology and mineral resources of the Port Moller region, western Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian arc: A section in USGS research on mineral resources - 1989: Program and abstracts

Geologic mapping of the Port Moller, Stepovak Bay, and Simeonof Island quadrangles was begun under the auspices of the Alaska Mineral Resource Assessment Program (AMRAP) in 1983 . Two important mineral deposits are located in the Port Moller quadrangle; the Pyramid prospect is the largest copper porphyry system in the Aleutian Arc, and the Apollo Mine is the only gold mine to reach...
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson, Willis H. White, Robert L. Detterman

Littoral foraging by red phalaropes during spring in the northern Bering Sea Littoral foraging by red phalaropes during spring in the northern Bering Sea

Phalaropes demonstrate considerable plasticity in their choice of foraging habitats. The Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicaria) alternates use of pelagic environments in winter and migration (Taning 1933, Stanford 1953, Briggs et al 1984) with wet tundra habitats during the breeding season (Kistchinski 1975, Mayfield 1979, Ridley 1980). Foods available and taken in littoral zones of the...
Authors
J. Christopher Haney, Amy E. Stone

Colony attendance and population monitoring of Black-legged Kittiwakes on the Semidi Islands, Alaska Colony attendance and population monitoring of Black-legged Kittiwakes on the Semidi Islands, Alaska

Patterns of colony attendance in Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) were studied over 5 years on the Semidi Islands, western Gulf of Alaska. A census period of 50 days, extending from first egg laying through final hatching, was appropriate because counts made then were subject to the least amount of daily variation. Five counts during that period were sufficient to detect a 25%...
Authors
Scott A. Hatch, Martha A. Hatch
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