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: 3070
Anomalously high relief on Denali, Alaska, caused by tectonic, lithologic, and climatic drivers Anomalously high relief on Denali, Alaska, caused by tectonic, lithologic, and climatic drivers
We assess the growth of anomalously high relief on Denali, located in the Alaska Range, Alaska, and the tallest mountain in North America (6190 masl). Denali is 3000 m taller than most surrounding peaks. It lies inside a 19° restraining bend in the active Denali fault system that is moving at about 7 mm/yr, and thus there is a tectonic and structural driver for ongoing rock uplift. High...
Authors
Ari Matmon, Peter J. Haeussler, Michael Loso, ASTER Team
U.S. Geological Survey climate science plan—Future research directions U.S. Geological Survey climate science plan—Future research directions
Executive Summary Climate is the primary driver of environmental change and is a key consideration in defining science priorities conducted across all mission areas in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Recognizing the importance of climate change to its future research agenda, the USGS’s Climate Science Steering Committee requested the development of a Climate Science Plan to identify...
Authors
Tamara Wilson, Ryan P. Boyles, Nicole DeCrappeo, Judith Z. Drexler, Kevin D. Kroeger, Rachel A. Loehman, John M. Pearce, Mark P. Waldrop, Peter D. Warwick, Anne M. Wein, Sara L. Zeigler, Beard
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Alaska Science Center, California Water Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Volcano Science Center, Western Geographic Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma) Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma)
The middle Cretaceous greenhouse period experienced profound environmental change including episodes of enhanced global burial of organic carbon marked by carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs). However, the role and response of polar regions like the newly formed, partially enclosed Arctic Ocean Basin during middle Cretaceous carbon burial remains enigmatic. We present the first Arctic...
Authors
Richard O. Lease, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, David W. Houseknecht, Palma J. Botterell, Mark F. Dreier, Neil Patrick Griffis, Roland Mundil, Andrew Kylander-Clark, Margaret M. Sanders, John W. Counts, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, William A. Rouse, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera
Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion
Two contrasting age models for initial mountain building in the northeastern (NE) Tibetan Plateau (Paleocene-early Eocene versus late Oligocene-early Miocene) have led to the debate on how the deformed continental lithosphere absorbs plate convergence in general. The initial compressional deformation in the West Qinling (WQL) of the NE Tibetan Plateau figures prominently in this ongoing...
Authors
Chaopeng Li, Dewen Zheng, Jingxing Yu, Richard O. Lease, Yizhou Wang, Jianzhang Pang, Ying Wang, Yuqi Hao, Yigang Xu
Glaciers and ice caps outside Greenland Glaciers and ice caps outside Greenland
No abstract available.
Authors
D. Burgess, G. Wolken, B. Wouters, L.M. Andreassen, Caitlyn Florentine, J. Kohler, B. Luks, F. Palsson, Louis C. Sass, L. Thomson, T. Thorsteinsson
Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data
Observations of glacier mass changes are key to understanding the response of glaciers to climate change and related impacts, such as regional runoff, ecosystem changes, and global sea level rise. Spaceborne optical and radar sensors make it possible to quantify glacier elevation changes, and thus multi-annual mass changes, on a regional and global scale. However, estimates from a...
Authors
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquin M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Ines Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Andreas Kaab, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis C. Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Desiree Treichler, Anja Wendt, Ruitang Yang
Accelerating glacier volume loss on Juneau Icefield driven by hypsometry and melt-accelerating feedbacks Accelerating glacier volume loss on Juneau Icefield driven by hypsometry and melt-accelerating feedbacks
Globally, glaciers and icefields contribute significantly to sea level rise. Here we show that ice loss from Juneau Icefield, a plateau icefield in Alaska, accelerated after 2005 AD. Rates of area shrinkage were 5 times faster from 2015–2019 than from 1979–1990. Glacier volume loss remained fairly consistent (0.65–1.01 km3 a−1) from 1770–1979 AD, rising to 3.08–3.72 km3 a−1 from 1979...
Authors
Bethan Davies, Robert McNabb, Jacob Bendle, Jonathan Carrivick, Jeremy Ely, Tom Holt, Bradley Markle, Christopher J. McNeil, Lindsey Nicholson, Mauri Pelto
Impacts of convective storms on runoff, erosion, and carbon export in a continuous permafrost landscape Impacts of convective storms on runoff, erosion, and carbon export in a continuous permafrost landscape
Permafrost holds more than twice the amount of carbon currently in the atmosphere, but this large carbon reservoir is vulnerable to thaw and erosion under a rapidly changing Arctic climate. Convective storms are becoming increasingly common during Arctic summers and can amplify runoff and erosion. These extreme events, in concert with active layer deepening, may accelerate carbon loss...
Authors
Marisa Repasch, Josie Arcuri, Irina Overeem, Suzanne P. Anderson, Robert G. Anderson, Joshua C. Koch
Boulders modulate hillslope-channel coupling in the northern Alaska Range Boulders modulate hillslope-channel coupling in the northern Alaska Range
Active orogens balance tectonic rock uplift with erosion, commonly via river incision coupled to landslide denudation of “threshold” hillslopes, but sediment’s role in this feedback is unclear. We report fluvial geometry, and sediment size, prevalence, and mobility across two ≤600-m-tall gneissic northern Alaska Range anticlines that sustain steep landslide-clad hillslopes but differ 10×...
Authors
Adrian Bender, Richard O. Lease
Alaskan glacial dust is an important iron source to surface waters of the Gulf of Alaska Alaskan glacial dust is an important iron source to surface waters of the Gulf of Alaska
This work evaluates glacial dust as a source of sediment, and associated iron (Fe), to the Fe-limited Gulf of Alaska (GoA). A reanalysis of GoA sediment data, using rare earth elements and thorium as provenance tracers, suggests a flux to the ocean surface of Copper River (AK) glacial dust, and associated Fe, that is comparable to the flux of dust from Asia, at least 1,000 km from the...
Authors
John Crusius, Carsten Lao, Thomas M. Holmes, J. W. Murray
Stratigraphy, paleoflora, and tectonic setting of the Paleogene Sheep Creek volcanic field, central Alaska Stratigraphy, paleoflora, and tectonic setting of the Paleogene Sheep Creek volcanic field, central Alaska
In this paper, we provide new information on the stratigraphy and paleoflora of the Sheep Creek volcanic field in the Alaska Range that bolsters our understanding of a key interval in the tectonic, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironmental history of the northern Cordillera. Although the distribution and basic stratigraphy of these rocks have been previously reported, here we document the...
Authors
Timothy White, David Sunderlin, Dwight Bradley
Testing megathrust rupture models using tsunami deposits Testing megathrust rupture models using tsunami deposits
The 26 January 1700 CE Cascadia subduction zone earthquake ruptured much of the plate boundary and generated a tsunami that deposited sand in coastal marshes from northern California to Vancouver Island. Although the depositional record of tsunami inundation is extensive in some of these marshes, few sites have been investigated in enough detail to map the inland extent of sand...
Authors
SeanPaul La Selle, Alan R. Nelson, Robert C. Witter, Bruce E. Jaffe, Guy Gelfenbaum, Jason Scott Padgett