Unified Interior Regions
Alaska
The Alaska Region represents a resource-rich, dynamic landscape shaped by volcanos, earthquakes, major rivers, and glaciers. Here, we conduct research to inform management of Alaska’s extensive natural resources, inform national Arctic energy policy, and provide scientific information to help others understand, respond to, and mitigate impacts from natural hazards.
States L2 Landing Page Tabs
The Alaska Region represents a resource-rich, dynamic landscape shaped by volcanos, earthquakes, major rivers, and glaciers. Here, we conduct research to inform management of Alaska’s extensive natural resources, inform national Arctic energy policy, and provide scientific information to help others understand, respond to, and mitigate impacts from natural hazards.
View Centers and ObservatoriesNews
Christina Neal to Lead USGS Volcano Science Center
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — On May 9, 2021, Christina (Tina) Neal became the new director of the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Science Center, home of the Alaska, California, Cascades, Hawaiian and Yellowstone volcano observatories.
National Park Service Feature Story on Pacific Marine Heatwave
Marine heatwaves are global phenomena that can have major impacts on the structure and function of coastal ecosystems. The 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade.
Publication on Ecosystem Response to an Unprecedented Marine Heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska
The 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade. A new study led by NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners, including four USGS Alaska Science Center scientists, provides an ecosystem-wide look at immediate and lingering effects of the eastern Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska.
Publications
Dating fault damage along the eastern Denali fault zone with hematite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry
Unraveling complex slip histories in fault damage zones to understand relations among deformation, hydrothermal alteration, and surface uplift remains a challenge. The dextral eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ; southwest Yukon, Canada) bounds the Kluane Ranges and hosts a variety of fault-related rocks, including hematite fault surfaces, which have...
McDermott, Robert G.; Ault, Alexis K.; Caine, Jonathan Extreme Quaternary plate boundary exhumation and strike slip localized along the southern Fairweather fault, Alaska, USA
The Fairweather fault (southeastern Alaska, USA) is Earth’s fastest-slipping intracontinental strike-slip fault, but its long-term role in localizing Yakutat–(Pacific–)North America plate motion is poorly constrained. This plate boundary fault transitions northward from pure strike slip to transpression where it comes onshore and undergoes a <...
Lease, Richard O.; Haeussler, Peter; Witter, Robert C.; Stockli, Daniel F.; Bender, Adrian; Kelsey, Harvey; O'Sullivan, Paul Geochemistry of coastal permafrost and erosion-driven organic matter fluxes to the Beaufort Sea near Drew Point, Alaska
Accelerating erosion of the Alaska Beaufort Sea coast is increasing inputs of organic matter from land to the Arctic Ocean, and improved estimates of organic matter stocks in eroding coastal permafrost are needed to assess their mobilization rates under contemporary conditions. We collected three permafrost cores (4.5–7.5 m long) along a...
Bristol, Emily M.; Connolly, Craig T.; Lorenson, Thomas; Richmond, Bruce M.; Ilgen, Anastasia G.; Choens, Charles R.; Bull, Diana L.; Kanevskiy, Mikhail Z.; Iwahana, Go; Jones, Benjamin M.; McClelland, James M.
Alaska North Slope LiDAR
High-resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) elevation data were acquired along the north coast of Alaska between 2009 and 2012. The lidar acquisition, from Icy Cape, Alaska to the United States/Canadian border, comprised approximately 11,000 km2. The airborne lidar data were acquired in support of the U.S. Geological Survey...
Tracking Data for Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons)
Available here are tracking data of Greater White-fronted Geese, a species that nests in coastal areas of western and northern Alaska and winters across a broad area of North America along the Pacific and Central flyways. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of habitats in breeding, wintering, and migratory areas of...
Tracking Data for Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Available here are tracking data for the whimbrel, a striking example of a shorebird with its long and curved bill. The whimbrel is found throughout tundra and boreal habitats of Alaska during the summer and spends the winter along coast lines of the continental U.S., and central and South America. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this iconic species....
Tracking Data for Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus)
Available here are tracking data for the Emperor Goose, an endemic waterfowl species to the Bering Sea region that breeds primarily in western Alaska on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and spends the winter in southwestern Alaska and throughout the Aleutian Islands. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns, winter habitat use, and annual survival of emperor geese.
Barry Arm, Alaska Landslide and Tsunami Monitoring
A large steep slope in the Barry Arm fjord 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Whittier, Alaska has the potential to fall into the water and generate a tsunami that could have devastating local effects on those who live, work, and recreate in and around Whittier and in northern Prince William Sound.
Suspended-Sediment and Solids Sampling
Suspended-sediment samples are collected on each visit at both gage and border site locations.
Pacific Marine Heatwave
The USGS conducts research on marine wildlife, habitats, and ecosystem processes to provide science to inform our partners as they make decisions relative to species status, resource use, and human activities. These studies examine impacts of severe heatwaves on marine ecosystems of the North Pacific.
Landsat Benefits, State By State
From mapping wildfires and permafrost thaw in Alaska to tracking algal blooms and Gypsy moth invasions in Ohio, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat Program offers an expansive list of benefits across all 50 States. Click the publications tab above to download each fact sheet!
U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards
Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
Devastating earthquakes in Japan (2011) and Chile (2010) that spawned pan-oceanic tsunamis sent a sobering reminder that U.S. coastlines are also vulnerable to natural disasters that originate in...
Climate impacts to Arctic coasts
The Arctic region is warming faster than anywhere else in the nation. Understanding the rates and causes of coastal change in Alaska is needed to identify and mitigate hazards that might affect people and animals that call Alaska home.
Outer Continental Shelf Program
This is a nation-wide collaborative program, supported by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, through which USGS and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management staff address priority research needs identified by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. On this page, we highlight research taking place in Alaska as part of this program.
Collaborative Science for Priority Information Needs
One of the primary missions of the USGS is to address the science needs of Department of Interior bureaus, particularly those that manage natural resources and lands. This mission is fulfilled through the research and other activities of USGS scientists but also specifically through three USGS nationally-funded programs listed below.
Genetic Data from Wolverine (Gulo gulo) of North America
These data are comprised of two tables, one table containing wolverine (Gulo gulo) sample and genetic information for 20 microsatellite loci (Gg10-1, Gg25, Gg37-2, Gg42-1, Gg192-1, Gg443, Gg452, Gg454, Gg465, Gg471, Gg473, Gg-3-1, Gg-4, Gg-7-1, Ggu_216-1, Lut604, Ma-3-1, Mvis075, Tt-1, and Tt-4) and genetic sex determination results from North America and one Russian wolverine.
Tracking data for Emperor geese (Anser canagicus)
This metadata document describes the data contained in the "processedData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected by the Argos System from 53 satellite transmitters attached to Emperor geese on their breeding range in western Alaska, 1999-2003.
Genomic Data of North American Sea Ducks
This data set describes accession numbers for nucleotide sequence data derived from whole mitochondrial genome and double digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD).
Sequence Information from the Mitogenome and Four Nuclear Genes from Holarctic Ermine (Mustela spp.)
These data are comprised of two tables, one of primers used for PCR amplifications and the other containing North American (n = 105), Mongolian (n = 1) and Russian (n = 5) ermine (Mustela spp.) sample accessions and NCBI GenBank DNA sequence accessions for mitogenomes and four nuclear genes (agouti signaling protein [ASIP], feline sarcoma [FES], growth hormone receptor [GHR], and serotonin
Geochemistry of Water Sources in the Wolverine Glacier Watershed, Alaska in 2016 and 2017
Glaciers are critical sources of water and solutes to downstream riverine and marine ecosystems. Samples were collected from surface streams, groundwater, rain, snow, and ice in the Wolverine Glacier basin and analyzed for a broad suite of geochemical constituents including common field parameters, major ions, stable isotopes of water, nutrients, metals, and dissolved organic carbon.
Blood Parasite Infection Data from Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus) and Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii minima), Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 1998-2014
This dataset includes one table of blood parasite (hematozoa) infection data from 197 Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus) and 110 Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii minima) sampled on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, in 1998 and 2014.
Extended Seasonal Discharge Records for Selected Streamgage Sites in the Fortymile River Basin, Alaska, 1976-2020
Daily mean discharge is needed for water resource management of selected streams in the Fortymile River Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, developed a technique for estimating seasonal discharge at two short-record streamgage sites in the basin and evaluated the accuracy of the estimated records.
Low-Temperature Thermochronometric Data along the Fairweather Fault, Southeast Alaska, 2015-2020
This data set provides low-temperature thermochronometric data from 15 rock samples collected along the Fairweather fault in southeast Alaska. These data are from four different analyses used to estimate cooling ages: 1) apatite (U-Th)/He, 2) zircon (U-Th)/He, 3) apatite fission-track, and 4) zircon fission-track.
Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Concentrations in Polar Bear Hair and Prey from the Alaska Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, 1978-2019
This dataset includes carbon and nitrogen isotope concentrations measured in polar bear hair and marine mammal prey samples collected 1978-2017 in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Marine mammal prey samples were collected opportunistically either from polar bear seal kill sites or from marine mammals harvested by Native hunters.
Fatty Acid Composition of Polar Bear Adipose Tissue and Ringed and Bearded Seal Blubber Collected in the Chukchi Sea, 2008-2017
These data are the fatty acid compositions (in %) of adipose tissue samples collected from polar bears and of blubber samples collected from ringed and bearded seal killed by polar bears in the Chukchi Sea, 2008-2017. The dataset includes sex, age, and age class of the bears that were sampled.
Tracking Data for Three Large-bodied Gull Species and Hybrids (Larus spp.)
This metadata document describes the data contained in the "processedData" folder of this data package.
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) Genetic Data, North America
This data set provides NCBI accession numbers for nucleotide sequence data derived from a mitochondrial DNA locus (control region) and double digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD).
All US and Foreign territory north of the Arctic Circle and all US terrritory north and west of the boundary formed by the Porcupine, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers; all contiguous seas including the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort, Bering and Chukchi Seas, and the Aleutian chain.
All US and Foreign territory north of the Arctic Circle and all US terrritory north and west of the boundary formed by the Porcupine, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers; all contiguous seas including the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort, Bering and Chukchi Seas, and the Aleutian chain.
Region: Alaska. All US and Foreign territory north of the Arctic Circle and all US terrritory north and west of the boundary formed by the Porcupine, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers; all contiguous seas including the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort, Bering and Chukchi Seas, and the Aleutian chain.
Alaska's north coast has been home to indigenous communities for centuries. Changing coastlines threaten important infrastructure and historic sites that support indigenous communities. Changing coastlines also can potentially reduce habitat for Arctic wildlife, such as polar bears, shorebirds, and walruses. Oil- and gas-related development sites and U.S. Department of Defense installations
This map shows the provinces assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources.
This is an interactive version of the Alaska geologic map database which allows a user to view and access many features of the database and map through a standard web browser. In other words, there is no need for or knowledge of specialized GIS software.
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of standard digital elevation models (DEMs) at various horizontal resolutions, elevation source and associated datasets, an elevation point query service and bulk point query service. All 3DEP products are available, free of charge and without use restrictions.
Links to publications that contain maps of the sea floor or lake beds and the digital data used to create them.
New US Topo maps for Alaska are being produced statewide, with digital 7.5 minute 1:25,000-scale maps providing a comprehensive update to the 15-minute 1:63,360-scale printed maps produced nearly fifty years ago. You can view a status map showing where the new maps are available, and link to a site to download the maps.
On March 27, 1964 the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history struck southcentral Alaska. Click on the photos or the numbers to take a tour.
Dating fault damage along the eastern Denali fault zone with hematite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry
Unraveling complex slip histories in fault damage zones to understand relations among deformation, hydrothermal alteration, and surface uplift remains a challenge. The dextral eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ; southwest Yukon, Canada) bounds the Kluane Ranges and hosts a variety of fault-related rocks, including hematite fault surfaces, which have...
McDermott, Robert G.; Ault, Alexis K.; Caine, Jonathan Extreme Quaternary plate boundary exhumation and strike slip localized along the southern Fairweather fault, Alaska, USA
The Fairweather fault (southeastern Alaska, USA) is Earth’s fastest-slipping intracontinental strike-slip fault, but its long-term role in localizing Yakutat–(Pacific–)North America plate motion is poorly constrained. This plate boundary fault transitions northward from pure strike slip to transpression where it comes onshore and undergoes a <...
Lease, Richard O.; Haeussler, Peter; Witter, Robert C.; Stockli, Daniel F.; Bender, Adrian; Kelsey, Harvey; O'Sullivan, Paul Tectonic and magmatic controls on the metallogenesis of porphyry deposits in Alaska
Porphyry Cu and Mo deposits and occurrences are found throughout Alaska; they formed episodically during repeated subduction and arc-continent collisions spanning the Silurian to Quaternary. Porphyry systems occur in continental-margin and island arcs, which are broadly grouped into pre-accretionary or post-accretionary arcs. Pre-Mesozoic...
Kreiner, Douglas C.; Jones, James V.; Kelley, Karen D.; Graham, Garth E.
USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife...
Waldrop, Mark P.; Anderson, Lesleigh; Dornblaser, Mark; Erikson, Li H.; Gibbs, Ann E.; Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; James, Stephanie R.; Jones, Miriam C.; Koch, Joshua C.; Leewis, Mary-Cathrine; Manies, Kristen L.; Minsley, Burke J.; Pastick, Neal J.; Patil, Vijay; Urban, Frank; Walvoord, Michelle A.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Zimmerman, Christian Geochemistry of coastal permafrost and erosion-driven organic matter fluxes to the Beaufort Sea near Drew Point, Alaska
Accelerating erosion of the Alaska Beaufort Sea coast is increasing inputs of organic matter from land to the Arctic Ocean, and improved estimates of organic matter stocks in eroding coastal permafrost are needed to assess their mobilization rates under contemporary conditions. We collected three permafrost cores (4.5–7.5 m long) along a...
Bristol, Emily M.; Connolly, Craig T.; Lorenson, Thomas; Richmond, Bruce M.; Ilgen, Anastasia G.; Choens, Charles R.; Bull, Diana L.; Kanevskiy, Mikhail Z.; Iwahana, Go; Jones, Benjamin M.; McClelland, James M. The Alaska convergent margin backstop splay fault zone, a potential large tsunami generator between the frontal prism and continental framework
The giant tsunami that swept the Pacific from Alaska to Antarctica in 1946 was generated along one of three Alaska Trench instrumentally recorded aftershock areas following great and giant earthquakes. Aftershock areas were investigated during the past decade with multibeam bathymetry, ocean bottom seismograph wide‐angle seismic, reprocessed...
von Huene, Roland; Miller, John J.; Krabbenhoeft, Anne Hydrogeochemistry in the Yukon-Tanana Upland region of east-central Alaska: Possible exploration tool for porphyry-style deposits
A hydrogeochemical study using high resolution ICP-MS was undertaken at the Taurus and other porphyry Cu-Mo(-Au) occurrences and Ag-Au-Cu (+/- Pb, Zn) occurrences with epithermal-style characteristics in the Yukon-Tanana upland region of eastern Alaska. Surface water samples were collected from 30 sites on creeks that drain known deposits and...
Kelley, Karen D.; Graham, Garth E. Coastal permafrost erosion
Highlights• Since the early 2000s, erosion of permafrost coasts in the Arctic has increased at 13 of 14 sites with observational data that extend back to ca. 1960 and ca. 1980, coinciding with warming temperatures, sea ice reduction, and permafrost thaw.• Permafrost coasts along the US and Canadian Beaufort Sea experienced the largest increase in...
Jones, Benjamin M.; Irrgang, Anna M; Farquharson, Louise M.; Lantuit, Hugues; Whalen, Dustin; Ogorodov, Stanislav; Grigoriev, Mikhail; Tweedie, Craig E.; Gibbs, Ann E.; Strzelecki, Matt C; Baranskaya, Alisa; Belova, Nataliya; Sinitsyn, Anatoly; Kroon, Art; Maslakov, Alexey; Vieira, Gonçalo; Grosse, Guido; Overduin, Paul; Nitze, Ingmar; Maio, Christopher V.; Overbeck, Jacquelyn R.; Bendixen, Mette; Zagórski, Piotr; Romanovsky, Vladimir
Changing storm conditions in response to projected 21st century climate change and the potential impact on an arctic barrier island–lagoon system—A pilot study for Arey Island and Lagoon, eastern Arctic Alaska
Executive SummaryArey Lagoon, located in eastern Arctic Alaska, supports a highly productive ecosystem, where soft substrate and coastal wet sedge fringing the shores are feeding grounds and nurseries for a variety of marine fish and waterfowl. The lagoon is partially protected from the direct onslaught of Arctic Ocean waves by a barrier island...
Erikson, Li H.; Gibbs, Ann E.; Richmond, Bruce M.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Ohman, Karin
Alaska and Landsat
Alaska’s landscapes are changing at a more rapid rate than those of the lower 48. Its large size makes the collection of aerial surveys—a biannual occurrence for the conterminous United States—cost-prohibitive. That means the Landsat series of land imaging satellites offer the only publicly available, up-to-date imagery of land conditions for...
Detection and assessment of a large and potentially‐tsunamigenic periglacial landslide in Barry Arm, Alaska
The retreat of glaciers in response to global warming has the potential to trigger landslides in glaciated regions around the globe. Landslides that enter fjords or lakes can cause tsunamis, which endanger people and infrastructure far from the landslide itself. Here we document the ongoing movement of an unstable slope (total volume of 455...
Dai, Chunli; Higman, Bretwood; Lynett, Patrick J.; Jacquemart, Mylène; Howat, Ian; Liljedahl, Anna K.; Dufresne, Anja; Freymueller, Jeffery T.; Geertsema, Marten; Jones, Melissa Ward; Haeussler, Peter QCam: sUAS-based doppler radar for measuring river discharge
The U.S. Geological Survey is actively investigating remote sensing of surface velocity and river discharge (discharge) from satellite-, high altitude-, small, unmanned aircraft systems- (sUAS or drone), and permanent (fixed) deployments. This initiative is important in ungaged basins and river reaches that lack the infrastructure to deploy...
Fulton, John W.; Anderson, Isaac E.; Chiu, C.-L.; Sommer, Wolfram; Adams, Josip; Moramarco, Tommaso; Bjerklie, David M.; Fulford, Janice M.; Sloan, Jeff L.; Best, Heather; Conaway, Jeffrey S.; Kang, Michelle J.; Kohn, Michael S.; Nicotra, Matthew J.; Pulli, Jeremy J.
This R script will run one replicate of one scenario used by Weiser (in review) to quantify biases in estimates of nest survival when nests are not found at the beginning of the nesting interval (age 0). The script simulates nest monitoring histories based on input parameters, applies models with or without an age effect to estimate daily survival rates, and calculates nest survival (to the end of
This R script will run one example of the stochastic matrix models run by Weiser et al. (2020) to simulate shorebird populations. The model predicts population growth rates and elasticity values of vital rates. The example script is stand-alone and contains input values for one example species; input values for the other species are provided in the manuscript.
Bioinformatics software repository containing python scripts intended for search and download of genetic information obtained from GenBank NCBI genetics data resources in support of developing PCR primers, targeted genetic databases, genetic analyses, and data interpretation. Includes multiple functions to streamline this process.
Daily sea ice imagery and charting benefits logistics and navigational planning in the Alaskan Arctic waters, yet access to these data often requires high bandwidth data access and substantial GIS processing.
Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) mark-recapture models are widely utilized in ecology, providing estimates of vital rates and abundance that are difficult to obtain using other means.
Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA; Iverson et al. 2004) has become a common method of estimating diet composition, especially for marine mammals, but the performance of the method has received limited investigation.
The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst is an ArcGIS extension that estimates how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a hazardous area that was threatened by a sudden event such as a tsunami, flash flood, or volcanic lahar. It takes into account the elevation changes and the different types of landcover that a person would encounter along the way.
Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a method of diet estimation introduced over a decade ago (Iverson et al. 2004).
EarthShots — Satellite Images of Environmental Change
The US Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science Center, or "EROS" archive’s data from the LandSat satellites which have been in operation from 1972 to the present day. EarthShots presents environmental changes using Landsat images.
Earth As Art 1
The Earth As Art project began in the early 2000s, and its original intent remains the same: to produce images that do not look like satellite images at first glance. Earth As Art shows not only what satellites capture in the visible wavelengths of light you and I can see, but also what’s hiding in the invisible wavelengths that Landsat sensors can detect in the infrared
Earth As Art 1 (AD)
The Earth As Art project began in the early 2000s, and its original intent remains the same: to produce images that do not look like satellite images at first glance. Earth As Art shows not only what satellites capture in the visible wavelengths of light you and I can see, but also what’s hiding in the invisible wavelengths that Landsat sensors can detect in the infrared
Icy Alsek River in winter
Randy Host preparing to sample discharge and collect water quality samples on an icy Alsek River in winter.
Alsek River Layout
Illustration detailing the Alsek River layout. Visit USGS Transboundary River Monitoring in Southeast Alaska for more information about our research.
Salmon River Layout
Illustration detailing the Salmon River layout. Visit USGS Transboundary River Monitoring in Southeast Alaska for more information about our research.
Taku River Layout
Illustration detailing the Taku River layout. Visit USGS Transboundary River Monitoring in Southeast Alaska for more information about our research.
Unuk River Layout
Illustration detailing the Unuk River layout. Visit USGS Transboundary River Monitoring in Southeast Alaska for more information about our research.
Stikine River Layout
Illustration detailing the Stikine River layout. Visit USGS Transboundary River Monitoring in Southeast Alaska for more information about our research.
USGS Alaska Transboundary Rivers DEM
USGS Alaska Transboundary Rivers DEM. Visit USGS Transboundary River Monitoring in Southeast Alaska for more information about our research.
USGS Pacific Seabird Research
Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species. Researchers at the USGS Alaska Science Center work in collaboration with many partner agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities and rehabilitation centers to investigate seabirds. USGS ecosystems research is focused on
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — On May 9, 2021, Christina (Tina) Neal became the new director of the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Science Center, home of the Alaska, California, Cascades, Hawaiian and Yellowstone volcano observatories.
Marine heatwaves are global phenomena that can have major impacts on the structure and function of coastal ecosystems. The 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade.
The 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade. A new study led by NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners, including four USGS Alaska Science Center scientists, provides an ecosystem-wide look at immediate and lingering effects of the eastern Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska.
The USGS has added the critical mineral commodity tantalum to USMIN.
A new geonarrative shows how USGS Coastal Change Hazards research is directly addressing the ability to understand, measure and project coastal change in permafrost regions.
This video features an overview of USGS and Ecosystems research with a focus on Pacific seabirds. Our scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center and National Wildlife Health Center work on Pacific seabird research topics in collaboration with partner agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, and rehabilitation centers.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has updated its USMIN Mineral Deposit Database (USMIN) for the mineral commodity niobium, one of 35 mineral commodities declared critical by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Sites in this dataset occur in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Texas.
We hope you enjoy and subscribe. Below are links to recent publications, data releases, and highlights of on-going research programs. In this issue, we feature news on the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey, a USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS Transboundary River Monitoring, and Permafrost Thaw in the Arctic. See new additions to our Data & Tools and Publications pages.
USGS provides its first estimate of conventional natural gas resources in rock formations west of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The rock formations in this region are believed to contain no recoverable oil deposits, so no assessment was made of those resources in this study.
Permafrost thaw is occurring across the Arctic with potential consequences for hydrology, ecosystems, humans, and wildlife. A team of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, the National Park Service, and the Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory are collaborating to understand the impacts of warming on the ecosystems in the Noatak Preserve in Alaska.
USGS studies coastal change along Alaska’s 66,000 miles of complex coastline - which stands as a tremendous resource to the Nation.
A creative story map showcasing the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey (ALMS) has recently been developed by the Alaska Migratory Bird Management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This highly collaborative monitoring program was created by the USGS Alaska Science Center in cooperation with Boreal Partners in Flight to monitor breeding bird populations across the vast roadless area of Alaska.
Social Media
Locations
Alaska Science Center
Phone: (907) 786-7000
Fax: (907) 786-7020
Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center
Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/contact.php
Phone: 907-786-7497
Anchorage Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-786-7000
Fairbanks Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-479-5645
Juneau Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-586-7216
