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: 3087
Effects of environmental conditions on reproductive effort and nest success of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds Effects of environmental conditions on reproductive effort and nest success of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds
The Arctic is experiencing rapidly warming conditions, increasing predator abundance, and diminishing population cycles of keystone species such as lemmings. However, it is still not known how many Arctic animals will respond to a changing climate with altered trophic interactions. We studied clutch size, incubation duration and nest survival of 17 taxa of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds at...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Stephen C. Brown, Richard B. Lanctot, H. River Gates, Kenneth F. Abraham, Rebecca L. Bentzen, Joël Bêty, Megan L. Boldenow, Rodney W. Brook, Tyrone F. Donnelly, Willow B. English, Scott A. Flemming, Samantha E. Franks, H. Grant Gilchrist, Marie-Andree Giroux, Andrew C. Johnson, Steve Kendall, Lisa V. Kennedy, Laura Koloski, Eunbi Kwon, Jean-François Lamarre, David B. Lank, Christopher J. Latty, Nicolas Lecomte, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Laura McKinnon, Erica Nol, Johanna Perz, Jennie Rausch, Martin D. Robards, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Nathan R. Senner, Paul A. Smith, Mikhail Soloviev, Diana V. Solovyeva, David H. Ward, Paul F. Wood, Brett K. Sandercock
Data quality from a community-based, water-quality monitoring project in the Yukon River basin Data quality from a community-based, water-quality monitoring project in the Yukon River basin
This paper examines the quality of data collected by the Indigenous Observation Network, a community-based water-quality project in the Yukon River Basin of Alaska and Canada. The Indigenous Observation Network relies on community technicians to collect surface-water samples from as many as fifty locations to achieve their goals of monitoring the quality of the Yukon River and major...
Authors
Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Ronald C. Antweiler, Nicole J. Wilson, Edda A. Mutter, Ryan C. Toohey, Paul F. Schuster
Patterns and controls of mercury accumulation in sediments from three thermokarst lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska Patterns and controls of mercury accumulation in sediments from three thermokarst lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska
The biogeochemical cycle of mercury will be influenced by climate change, particularly at higher latitudes. Investigations of historical mercury accumulation in lake sediments inform future predictions as to how climate change might affect mercury biogeochemistry; however, in regions with a paucity of data, such as the thermokarst-rich Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska (ACP), the trajectory...
Authors
Samantha M. Burke, Christian E. Zimmerman, Brian A. Branfireun, Joshua C. Koch, Heidi K. Swanson
Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a changing Arctic Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a changing Arctic
The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is a candidate to be listed as an endangered species under United States law, in part, because of climate change‐related concerns. While the population was known to be declining in the 1980s and 1990s, its recent status has not been determined. We developed Bayesian models of walrus population dynamics to assess the population by...
Authors
Rebecca L. Taylor, Mark S. Udevitz, Chadwick V. Jay, John J. Citta, Lori T. Quakenbush, Patrick R. Lemons, Jonathan A. Snyder
Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds
Many Arctic shorebird populations are declining, and quantifying adult survival and the effects of anthropogenic factors is a crucial step toward a better understanding of population dynamics. We used a recently developed, spatially explicit Cormack–Jolly–Seber model in a Bayesian framework to obtain broad-scale estimates of true annual survival rates for 6 species of shorebirds at 9...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Richard B. Lanctot, Stephen C. Brown, H. River Gates, Rebecca L. Bentzen, Joel Bety, Megan L. Boldenow, Willow B. English, Samantha E. Franks, Laura Koloski, Eunbi Kwon, Jean-François Lamarre, David B. Lank, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Laura McKinnon, Erica Nol, Jennie Rausch, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Nathan R. Senner, David H. Ward, Paul F. Wood, Brett K. Sandercock
The nitrogen window for arctic herbivores: plant phenology and protein gain of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) The nitrogen window for arctic herbivores: plant phenology and protein gain of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus)
Terrestrial plants are often limited by nitrogen (N) in arctic systems, but constraints of N supply on herbivores are typically considered secondary to those of energy. We tested the hypothesis that forage N is more limiting than energy for arctic caribou by collecting key forages (three species of graminoids, three species of woody browse, and one genus of forb) over three summers in...
Authors
Perry S. Barboza, Lindsay L. Van Someren, David D. Gustine, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte
Permafrost-related processes and recent response to climatic changes Permafrost-related processes and recent response to climatic changes
Permafrost-related processes have direct and indirect consequences to northern environments, but the impacts are affected by complex interactions involving positive and negative feedbacks at the surface (Jorgenson et al. 2010), climatic trends and fluctuations (Romanovsky et al. 2010; Konishchev 2011), and terrain and ground ice conditions (French and Shur 2010, Ukraintseva et al. 2012...
Authors
Marina Leibman, Alexandr Kizyakov, Guido Grosse, Benjamin M. Jones, M. Torre Jorgenson, Mikhail Z. Kanevskiy
Population genetic structure and gene flow of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) breeding throughout the western Antarctic Peninsula Population genetic structure and gene flow of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) breeding throughout the western Antarctic Peninsula
Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are responding to ocean–climate variability throughout the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) where some breeding colonies have declined by 80%. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers were used to understand historical population genetic structure and gene flow given relatively recent and continuing reductions in sea ice...
Authors
Kristen B. Gorman, Sandra L. Talbot, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, George K. Sage, Megan C. Gravley, Tony D. Williams, William R. Fraser
Status of natural and human environment Status of natural and human environment
This report present the results of the 2017 AMAP Assessment of Adaptation Actions for a changing Arctic (AACA): Perspectives form the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Region. This is one of three pilot study regions included in the AACA project. AACA is the first AMAP assessment dealing with adaptation actions and how to meet possible Arctic futures in these times of rapid chance. Information...
Authors
Lyman K. Thorsteinson, Peter Outridge, Alexander Klepikov, Maria Ananichheva, Evgeny Antonov, Valeria Bashkirova, Valery Chaschin, Ashley Gaden, Layla Hughes, Gensuo Jia, Takashi Kikuchi, Kirill Kivka, James Lima, Magdalena Muir, Elena Nikitina, Nina Poussenkova, Natalia Pozhilova, Valentina Sergeeva, Vanessa Skean, Alexey Somov, Gary Stern, Vilena Valeeva
Size, growth, and density data for shallow-water sea urchins from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1956–2016 Size, growth, and density data for shallow-water sea urchins from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1956–2016
Size, growth, and density have been studied for North American Pacific coast sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, S. droebachiensis, S. polyacanthus, Mesocentrotus (Strongylocentrotus) franciscanus, Lytechinus pictus, Centrostephanus coronatus, and Arbacia stellata by various workers at diverse sites and for varying lengths of time from 1956 to present. Numerous peer-reviewed...
Authors
Thomas A Ebert, Louis Barr, James L. Bodkin, Dirk Burcham, Dominique Bureau, Henry Carson, Nancy Caruso, Jennifer E. Caselle, Jeremy Claisse, Sabrina Clemente, Kathryn Davis, Paul Detwiler, John Dixon, David Duggins, John Engle, James Estes, Scott Groth, Benjamin Grupe, Peter Halmay, Kyle Hebert, Jose Carlos Hernandez, Laura J. Jurgens, Peter Kalvass, Michael C. Kenner, Brenda Konar, David Kushner, Lynn Lee, David Leighton, Gabriela Montano-Moctezuma, Eric Munk, Irma Olguin Espinoza, Ben Weitzman
Streambed scour evaluations and conditions at selected bridge sites in Alaska, 2013–15 Streambed scour evaluations and conditions at selected bridge sites in Alaska, 2013–15
Streambed scour potential was evaluated at 52 river- and stream-spanning bridges in Alaska that lack a quantitative scour analysis or have unknown foundation details. All sites were evaluated for stream stability and long-term scour potential. Contraction scour and abutment scour were calculated for 52 bridges, and pier scour was calculated for 11 bridges that had piers. Vertical...
Authors
Robin A. Beebee, Karenth L. Dworsky, Schyler J. Knopp
Zirconium and hafnium Zirconium and hafnium
Zirconium and hafnium are corrosion-resistant metals that are widely used in the chemical and nuclear industries. Most zirconium is consumed in the form of the main ore mineral zircon (ZrSiO4, or as zirconium oxide or other zirconium chemicals. Zirconium and hafnium are both refractory lithophile elements that have nearly identical charge, ionic radii, and ionic potentials. As a result...
Authors
James V. Jones, Nadine M. Piatak, George M. Bedinger