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.
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Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species; from loons and seaducks that nest inland, to petrels and puffins that breed on islands off shore. All these birds depend on the sea to provide a wide variety of food types— from clams, crabs and urchins nearshore— to krill, forage fish, and squid offshore...
Bird Banding Laboratory
The Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) is an integrated scientific program established in 1920 supporting the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. This information is used to monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations. Because birds are good indicators of the health of the environment, the...
Terrestrial Ecosystems
The USGS conducts research on trust Department of Interior migratory bird and mammal species and their habitats to inform agencies such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service in their natural resource management decisions.
Marine Ecosystems
The USGS conducts research on marine wildlife, habitats, and processes to provide science to inform our partners as they make decisions relative to species status, resource use, and human activities.
Hazards in Alaska
A major goal of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to reduce the vulnerability of the people and areas most at risk from natural hazards. Working with partners throughout all sectors of society, the USGS provides information, products, and knowledge to help build more resilient communities. This site provides important links to a number of hazard related internet sites that provide important...
Arctic Lake Food Webs
From 2011 to 2013 we investigated freshwater food webs of Arctic Coastal Plain lakes in Alaska to improve our understanding how Arctic freshwater food webs may respond to landscape change the warmer, drier future.
Condition of Forage Fish in Prince William Sound During the Marine Heatwave
Changes in the body condition of a key forage fish species, Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), are examined to understand how energy transfer to predators may have been disrupted during the recent marine heatwave in the North Pacific (late 2013 to mid 2016).
Ecosystem Shifts in Arctic Seas
In addition to the direct effects of sea ice loss on walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) that use ice as a platform, the decline of Arctic sea ice is predicted to promote a fundamental ecosystem shift from benthic animals that forage on the sea floor to pelagic animals that forage near the sea surface.
Lake Trout Biochronologies as Long-term Climate and Productivity Indicators in Alaska Lake Ecosystems
High latitude ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to long-term climate change, yet continuous, multidecadal indicators by which to gauge effects on biology are scarce, especially in freshwater environments.
Primary Production Sources and Bottom-up Limitations in Nearshore Ecosystems
Kelp forests are among the world’s most productive habitats, but recent evidence suggests that production is highly variable.
Hydro-Ecology of Arctic Thawing (HEAT): Ecology
Permafrost thaw is leading to a myriad of changes in physical and chemical conditions throughout the Arctic.
Effect of Elodea spp. on Fish Performance Mediated Through Food Web Interactions
The potential for invasive species introductions in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems is growing as climate change manifests and human activity increases in high latitudes.
Inventory Data of Lowland-Breeding Birds and Associated Vegetation Types on the Alaska Peninsula, 2004-2007
These are data from a stratified random survey to inventory the birds breeding in lowlands (elevation below 100m) of the Alaska Peninsula, during summers 2004-2007. Data were collected at 792 points on 52 5-km x 5-km plots. The data are in six tables: 1) geographic coordinates of the bounding corners of each of the 52 plots, 2) geographic coordinates of each of the 792 bird count po
Migratory Timing and Site Use of Marbled Godwits Breeding in Alaska, 2008–2015
This dataset contains migration timing and land-based location information from nine Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa beringiae) equipped with solar-powered satellite transmitters on breeding grounds near Ugashik, Alaska, in June of 2008. Transmitters were programmed with a duty cycle of 10 hr on and 48 hr off, yielding 10,858 locations (47-3,490 locations per bird, depending on th
Orthophotomosaics, elevation point clouds, digital surface elevation models and supporting data from the north coast of Barter Island, Alaska
Aerial photographs were collected from a small, fixed-wing aircraft over the coast of Barter Island, Alaska on three separate dates: July 01 2014, September 07 2014, and July 05 2015. Precise aircraft position information and structure-from-motion photogrammetric methods were combined to derive high-resolution orthophotomosaics and elevation point clouds.
UAV-based methane data from Barter Island, Northern Alaska, September 2017
Here we present methane data from along the coast of Barter Island, Alaska that was produced with an unmanned aerial system and an off-the-shelf, cost-effective methane sensor. The data was recorded in September of 2017 as part of a larger Arctic coastal erosion investigation study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The datasets contain latitude, longitude and CH4 (ppm).
High-resolution multibeam bathymetry data collected southwest of Chenega Island, Alaska during field activity 2014-622-FA
High-resolution multibeam data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in May of 2014 southwest of Chenega Island, Alaska. Data were collected aboard the Alaska Department of Fish and Game vessel, R/V Solstice, during USGS field activity 2014-622-FA, using a pole mounted 100-kHz Reson 7111 multibeam echosounder.
Orthophotomosaic image (natural color) of the north coast of Barter Island, Alaska acquired on September 07 2014 (GeoTIFF image; 11-cm resolution)
Aerial photographs were collected from a small, fixed-wing aircraft over the coast of Barter Island, Alaska on September 07 2014. Precise aircraft position information and structure-from-motion photogrammetric methods were combined to derive a high-resolution orthophotomosaic. This orthophotomosaic contain 3-band, 8-bit, unsigned raster data (red/green/blue; file format-GeoTIFF)
Minimal offshore extent of ice-bearing (subsea) permafrost on the U.S. Beaufort Sea margin
The present-day distribution of subsea permafrost beneath high-latitude continental shelves has implications for sea level rise and climate change since the Last Glacial Maximum (~20,000 years ago). Because permafrost can be spatially associated with gas hydrate (which may be thermodynamically stable within the several hundred meters above and below the base of permafrost), the con
Geochemical analysis of seeps along the Queen Charlotte Fault
Geochemical analyses of authigenic carbonates, bivalves, and pore fluids were performed on samples collected from seep fields along the Queen Charlotte Fault, a right lateral transform boundary that separates the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Samples were collected using grab samplers and piston cores, and were collected during three different research cruises in 2011, 201
High-resolution acoustic backscatter data collected southwest of Chenega Island, Alaska during field activity 2014-622-FA
High-resolution acoustic backscatter data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in May of 2014 southwest of Chenega Island, Alaska. Data were collected aboard the Alaska Department of Fish and Game vessel, R/V Solstice, during USGS field activity 2014-622-FA, using a pole mounted 100-kHz Reson 7111 multibeam echosounder.
High-resolution multibeam bathymetry data collected southwest of Montague Island, Alaska during field activity 2014-622-FA
High-resolution multibeam data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in May of 2014 southwest of Montague Island, Alaska. Data were collected aboard the Alaska Department of Fish and Game vessel, R/V Solstice, during USGS field activity 2014-622-FA, using a pole mounted 100-kHz Reson 7111 multibeam echosounder.
Minisparker seismic-reflection data collected southwest of Montague Island and southwest of Chenega, Alaska during field activity 2014-622-FA
High-resolution single channel minisparker seismic-reflection data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in May 2014 in southern Prince William Sound southwest of Chenega and from southwest of Montague Island, Alaska. Data were collected aboard the Alaska Department of Fish and Game vessel, R/V Solstice, during field activity 2014-622-FA%2
Digital surface models of the north coast of Barter Island, Alaska acquired on July 01 2014, September 07 2014, and July 05 2015 (GeoTIFF image)
Digital surface elevation models (DSMs) of the coastline of Barter Island, Alaska derived from aerial photographs collected on July 01 2014, September 07 2014, and July 05 2015. Aerial photographs and coincident elevation data were processed using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques. These files are single-band, 32-bit floating point DSMs (digital surface mode
Tectonics of the March 27, 1964, Alaska earthquake: Chapter I in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: regional effects
The March 27, 1964, earthquake was accomp anied by crustal deformation-including warping, horizontal distortion, and faulting-over probably more than 110,000 square miles of land and sea bottom in south-central Alaska. Regional uplift and subsidence occurred mainly in two nearly parallel elongate zones, together about 600 miles long and as much as...
Plafker, George
Seismic seiches from the March 1964 Alaska earthquake: Chapter E in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on hydrologic regimen
Seismic seiches caused by the Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964, were recorded at more than 850 surface-water gaging stations in North America and at 4 in Australia. In the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, 763 of 6,435 gages registered seiches. Nearly all the seismic seiches were recorded at teleseismic distance. This is the first...
McGarr, Arthur; Vorhis, Robert C.
Effects of the Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964, on shore processes and beach morphology: Chapter J in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: regional effects
Some 10,000 miles of shoreline in south-central Alaska was affected by the subsidence or uplift associated with the great Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964. The changes in shoreline processes and beach morphology that were suddenly initiated by the earthquake were similar to those ordinarily caused by gradual changes in sea level operating over...
Stanley, Kirk W.
Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, on the Alaska highway system: Chapter C in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on transportation, communications, and utilities
The great earthquake that struck Alaska about 5:36 p.m., Alaska standard time, Friday, March 27, 1964 (03:36:1.3.0, Greenwich mean time, March 28, 1964), severely crippled the highway system in the south-central part of the State. All the major highways and most secondary roads were impaired. Damage totaled more than $46 million, well over $25...
Kachadoorian, Reuben
Effects of the March 1964 Alaska earthquake on glaciers: Chapter D in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on hydrologic regimen
The 1964 Alaska earthquake occurred in a region where there are many hundreds of glaciers, large and small. Aerial photographic investigations indicate that no snow and ice avalanches of large size occurred on glaciers despite the violent shaking. Rockslide avalanches extended onto the glaciers in many localities, seven very large ones occurring...
Post, Austin
Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, at Seward, Alaska: Chapter E in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on communities
Seward, in south-central Alaska, was one of the towns most devastated by the Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964. The greater part of Seward is built on an alluvial fan-delta near the head of Resurrection Bay on the southeast coast of the Kenai Peninsula. It is one of the few ports in south-central Alaska that is ice free all year, and the town’s...
Lemke, Richard W.
Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, on the communities of Kodiak and nearby islands: Chapter F in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on communities
The great earthquake (Richter magnitude of 8.4–8.5) that struck south-central Alaska at 5:36 p.m., Alaska standard time, on March 27, 1964 (03:36, March 28, Greenwich mean time), was felt in every community on Kodiak Island and the nearby islands. It was the most severe earthquake to strike this part of Alaska in modern time, and took the lives of...
Kachadoorian, Reuben; Plafker, George
Ground breakage and associated effects in the Cook Inlet area, Alaska, resulting from the March 27, 1964 earthquake: Chapter F in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: regional effects
The great 1964 Alaska earthquake caused considerable ground breakage in the Cook Inlet area of south-central Alaska. The breakage occurred largely in thick deposits of unconsolidated sediments. The most important types of ground breakage were (1) fracturing or cracking and the extrusion of sand and gravel with ground water along fractures in...
Foster, Helen L.; Karlstrom, Thor N.V.
Hydrologic effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, outside Alaska, with sections on Hydroseismograms from the Nunn-Bush Shoe Co. well, Wisconsin, and Alaska earthquake effects on ground water in Iowa: Chapter C in The Alaska earthquakes, March 27, 1964: effects on hydrologic regimen
The Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964, had widespread hydrologic effects throughout practically all of the United States. More than 1,450 water-level recorders, scattered throughout all the 50 States except Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island, registered the earthquake. Half of the water-level records were obtained from ground-water...
Vorhis, Robert C.; Rexin, Elmer E.; Coble, R.W.
Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, on air and water transport, communications, and utilities systems in south-central Alaska: Chapter B in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on transportation, communications, and utilities
The earthquake of March 27, 1964, wrecked or severely hampered all forms of transportation, all utilities, and all communications systems over a very large part of south-central Alaska. Effects on air transportation were minor as compared to those on the water, highway, and railroad transport systems. A few planes were damaged or wrecked by...
Eckel, Edwin B.
Surface faults on Montague Island associated with the 1964 Alaska earthquake: Chapter G in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: regional effects
Two reverse faults on southwestern Montague Island in Prince William Sound were reactivated during the earthquake of March 27, 1964. New fault scarps, fissures, cracks, and flexures appeared in bedrock and unconsolidated surficial deposits along or near the fault traces. Average strike of the faults is between N. 37° E. and N. 47° E.; they dip...
Plafter, George
Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, on the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project, Anchorage, Alaska, with a section on television examination of earthquake damage to underground communication and electrical systems in Anchorage: Chapter A in The Alaska earthquake, March 27, 1964: effects on transportation, communications, and utilities
The March 27, 1964, Alaska earthquake and its associated aftershocks caused damage requiring several million dollars worth of repair to the Eklwtna Hydroelectric Project, 34 miles northeast of Anchorage. Electric service from the Eklutna powerplant was interrupted during the early phase of the March 27 earthquake, built was restored (...
Logan, Malcolm H.; Burton, Lynn R.
Chilkat River bridge
Chilkat River bridge
Chilkat River sonar on a bridge
Chilkat River sonar on a bridge
Kashwitna River bridge debris
Kashwitna River bridge debris
Kashwitna River bridge
Kashwitna River bridge
Lowering minnow trap to fish
Supporting the project of winter habitat of juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River.
Minnow trap in icehole
Supporting the project of winter habitat of juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River.
Shublik Spring open water
Supporting the project of winter habitat of juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River.
Canning River with bars
Supporting the project of winter habitat of juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River.
Michael Carey and Vanessa von Biela on Canning River
Supporting the project of winter habitat of juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River.
Hole in the ice from an auger on Canning River
Supporting the project of winter habitat of juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River.
Under Ice Habitat in Canning River Delta
In the Arctic, rivers are often thought to freeze completely during winter. Since fish need liquid water to survive, there are few places where they can live. Fish usually inhabit deep river channels and areas where springwater enters a stream. However, this video shows that winter habitat occurs in places we didn't expect, below the ice in the delta of a shallow river.
Canning River with bars view
Supporting the project of winter habitat of juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska. — New maps highlighting areas with potential for placer gold and five other critical mineral deposit types in the Bureau of Land Management’s Central Yukon Planning Area in central and northern Alaska are being released today.
The latest edition of the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD 2011) for Alaska is now publicly available.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska Melting glaciers are not just impacting sea level, they are also affecting the flow of organic carbon to the world’s oceans, according to new research that provides the first ever global-scale estimates for the storage and release of organic carbon from glaciers.
The U.S. Geological Survey is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Stephen Hickman to serve as the new director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center, headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — In a new polar bear study published today, scientists from around the Arctic have shown that recent generations of polar bears are moving towards areas with more persistent year-round sea ice.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s Alaska Climate Science Center is awarding more than $500,000 to universities and other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A polar bear capture and release-based research program had no adverse long-term effects on feeding behavior, body condition, and reproduction, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
As part of the continued US Topo maps revision and improvement cycle, the USGS will be including mountain bike trails to upcoming quadrangles on a state-aligned basis.
In a new polar bear study published today, scientists from the United States and Canada found that during the first decade of the 21st century, the number of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea experienced a sharp decline of approximately 40 percent.
Scientists examined storm flooding events in the Bering Sea region of western Alaska from 1913 to 2011 and found that the largest events occurred in autumn and were associated with high tides and strong southwest winds.
Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a new mapping tool, the Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst, for use by researchers and emergency managers to estimate how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a tsunami-hazard zone.
The Pacific walrus population roughly halved between 1981 and 1999, the last year for which demographic data are available. A recent study by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey quantifies this historic population decline.
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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
