Unified Interior Regions
Region 11: Alaska
Alaska Science Center
4210 University Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
Phone: (907) 786-7000
Volcano Science Center
4230 University Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
Phone: (907) 786-7497
Climate Adaptation Science Center
4230 University Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
Phone: 907-301-7830
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
Human-polar bear interactions in a changing Arctic: Existing and emerging concerns
The behavior and sociality of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have been shaped by evolved preferences for sea ice habitat and preying on marine mammals. However, human behavior is causing changes to the Arctic marine ecosystem through the influence of greenhouse gas emissions that drive long-term change in ecosystem processes and via the presence of...
Atwood, Todd C.; Simac, Kristin S.; Breck, Stewart; York, Geoff; Wilder, James Implications of rapid environmental change for polar bear behavior and sociality
Historically, the Arctic sea ice has functioned as a structural barrier that has limited the nature and extent of interactions between humans and polar bears (Ursus maritimus). However, declining sea ice extent, brought about by global climate change, is increasing the potential for human-polar bear interactions. Loss of sea ice habitat is driving...
Atwood, Todd C. Monitoring the welfare of polar bear populations in a rapidly changing Arctic
Most programs for monitoring the welfare of wildlife populations support efforts aimed at reaching discrete management objectives, like mitigating conflict with humans. While such programs can be effective, their limited scope may preclude systemic evaluations needed for large-scale conservation initiatives, like the recovery of at-risk species....
Atwood, Todd C.; Duncan, Colleen G.; Patyk, Kelly A.; Sonsthagen, Sarah A. Polar bears, Ursus maritimus
Polar bears are the largest of the eight species of bears found worldwide and are covered in a pigment-free fur giving them the appearance of being white. They are the most carnivorous of bear species consuming a high-fat diet, primarily of ice-associated seals and other marine mammals. They range throughout the circumpolar Arctic to the...
Rode, Karyn D.; Stirling, Ian A swath across the great divide: Kelp forests across the Samalga Pass biogeographic break
Biogeographic breaks are often described as locations where a large number of species reach their geographic range limits. Samalga Pass, in the eastern Aleutian Archipelago, is a known biogeographic break for the spatial distribution of several species of offshore-pelagic communities, including numerous species of cold-water corals, zooplankton,...
Konar, Brenda H.; Edwards, Matthew S.; Bland, Aaron; Metzger, Jacob; Ravelo, Alexandra; Traiger, Sarah; Weitzman, Ben P. Regionalizing indicators for marine ecosystems: Bering Sea–Aleutian Island seabirds, climate, and competitors
Seabirds are thought to be reliable, real-time indicators of forage fish availability and the climatic and biotic factors affecting pelagic food webs in marine ecosystems. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that temporal trends and interannual variability in seabird indicators reflect simultaneously occurring bottom-up (climatic) and...
Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Piatt, John F.; García-Reyes, Marisol; Zador, Stephani; Williams, Jeffrey C.; Romano, Marc; Renner, Heather Intraspecific evolutionary relationships among peregrine falcons in western North American high latitudes
Subspecies relationships within the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) have been long debated because of the polytypic nature of melanin-based plumage characteristics used in subspecies designations and potential differentiation of local subpopulations due to philopatry. In North America, understanding the evolutionary relationships among...
Talbot, Sandra L.; Sage, George K.; Sonsthagen, Sarah A.; Gravley, Megan C.; Swem, Ted; Williams, Jeffrey C.; Longmire, Jonathan L.; Ambrose, Skip; Flamme, Melanie J.; Lewis, Stephen B.; Phillips, Laura M.; Anderson, Clifford; White, Clayton M Development of microsatellite loci exhibiting reverse ascertainment bias and a sexing marker for use in Emperor Geese (Chen canagica)
The Alaskan population of Emperor Geese (Chen canagica) nests on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska. Numbers of Emperor Geese in Alaska declined from the 1960s to the mid-1980s and since then, their numbers have slowly increased. Low statistical power of microsatellite loci developed in other waterfowl species and used in previous studies...
Gravley, Megan C.; Sage, George K.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Talbot, Sandra L. Using multiple data types and integrated population models to improve our knowledge of apex predator population dynamics
Current management of large carnivores is informed using a variety of parameters, methods, and metrics; however, these data are typically considered independently. Sharing information among data types based on the underlying ecological, and recognizing observation biases, can improve estimation of individual and global parameters. We present a...
Bled, Florent; Belant, Jerrold L.; Van Daele, Lawrence J.; Svoboda, Nathan; Gustine, David D.; Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Barnes, Victor G. Transgressive-regressive cycles in the metalliferous, oil-shale-bearing Heath Formation (Upper Mississippian), central Montana
The Upper Mississippian Heath Formation, which accumulated in the Big Snowy Trough of central Montana, has been known for three decades to contain mudrocks highly enriched in Zn, V, Mo, Ni and other metals, and source rocks for oil. The unit has more recently been recognized as a prospective tight oil play. Here we present petrographic,...
Dumoulin, Julie A.; Johnson, Craig A.; Kelley, Karen D.; Jarboe, Palma J.; Hackley, Paul C.; Scott, Clint; Slack, John F. Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica
The surface mass balance (SMB) of the Larsen C ice shelf (LCIS), Antarctica, is poorly constrained due to a dearth of in situ observations. Combining several geophysical techniques, we reconstruct spatial and temporal patterns of SMB over the LCIS. Continuous time series of snow height (2.5–6 years) at five locations allow for multi-year...
Kuipers Munneke, Peter; Mcgrath, Daniel; Medley, Brooke; Luckman, Adrian; Bevan, Suzanne; Kulessa, Bernd; Jansen, Daniela; Booth, Adam; Smeets, Paul; Hubbard, B.; Ashmore, David; Van den Broeke, Michiel; Sevestre, Heidi; Steffen, K.; Shepard, Andrew; Gourmelen, Noel Assessing the risk of non-native marine species in the Bering Sea
Invasive species are one of the leading global conservation concerns, which can have strong, negative impacts on ecosystems, vulnerable species, and valuable natural resources. Arctic regions have experienced a relatively low number of biological introductions to date. Their geographical remoteness, cold waters, and presence of sea ice present...
Reimer, Jesika; Droghini, Amanda ; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Watson, Jordan ; Bernard, Bonnie ; Poe, AaronBrowse a selection of videos, audio clips, images, and more from a wide range of science topics covered by USGS!
"Science for a Changing World" - watch the short film here!
Documentary on walruses here!
Watch the first-ever footage of a polar bear on Arctic sea ice!
Join USGS geologists as they collect lava samples from Kilauea Volcano.
Watch researchers in the Arctic!
Surveying the Taan Fjord tsunami runup
USGS scientists investigate trees knocked over by the tsunami at the mouth of Taan Fjord. Flow depth here was likely 5 m based on the height of branches stripped off trees in the background. This event had the 4th highest tsunami runup ever recorded.
Geologists' camp on Unga Island, Alaska
USGS geologists' camp overlooking Unga Village on Unga Island, Alaska.
Landslide Spreads 6 Miles Across Glacier Bay National Park
On June 28, 2016, a 4,000-foot-high mountainside in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve collapsed, sending rocky debris equivalent to 60 million mid-size SUVs tumbling onto nearby Lamplugh Glacier. Almost 6 weeks later, on August 7, the Operational Land Imager sensor aboard Landsat 8 captured the black stain of the landslide in the image on the right. No such
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Collecting seismic data in Taan Fjord
USGS scientists collect seismic data to image the 2015 Taan Fjord landslide in southeast Alaska.
Montana River bridge
Montana River bridge
Resource-2 AWiFS image over Norton Bay, Alaska
Resource-2 AWiFS image over Norton Bay, Alaska.
Constructing a limnocorral at McKinley Lake
Constructing a limnocorral at McKinley Lake for Elodea spp. experiment. This experiment is studying the effect of the invasive species Elodea spp. on aquatic ecosystems.
Deploying of a limnocorral at McKinley Lake
Deployment of a limnocorral at McKinley Lake, near Cordova, Alaska for Elodea spp. experiment. This experiment is studying the effect of the invasive species Elodea spp. on aquatic ecosystems.
Deployment of a limnocorral in McKinley Lake
A completed limnocorral positioned over a bed of Elodea spp.. This experiment is studying the effect of the invasive species Elodea spp. on aquatic ecosystems.
Sorting aquatic macroinvertebrates in the field
Three researchers from the University of Waterloo hunt for aquatic insects among the detritus scooped from the lake’s nearshore zone.
Fyke net contents from a lake near Atqasuk, Alaska
Contents of the fyke net that was set in the lake near Atqasuk in 2016. All sticklebacks.
Common Murres stand at the edge of their colony on Gull Island
Common Murres stand at the edge of their colony on Gull Island, Cook Inlet on July 23, 2016.
Browse a collection of stories about prominent USGS scientists and projects in Alaska news.
A computer-generated map published by the U.S. Geological Survey provides a striking portrayal of Alaska’s varied landscape.
China and Indonesia suffered the deadliest and most destructive earthquakes in 1996, while the U.S. remained relatively quiet according to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. The last deadly earthquake in the U.S. was the 1994 Northridge, Calif., quake that took 60 lives.
Just in time for Christmas, Pavlof volcano in Alaska and Montserrat volcano in the Caribbean are more active but are not expected to alter or delay Santa’s trip around the world, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
From glaciers and lava flats to white spruce woodlands and bog communities, a new U.S. Geological Survey report will aid scientists, managers and planners in organizing environmental data.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred Thurs., Oct. 5, 1995, in Alaska, about 40 miles northwest of Fairbanks, at 9:23 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time (1:23 a.m. EDT, Oct. 6), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
"After seven months of near-stagnation, Alaska’s Bering Glacier resumed surging. Between May 19th and June 1, part of the glacier advanced almost half a mile (about 2,500 ft). As of mid-September, the surge was continuing," said Bruce F. Molnia, leader of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bering Glacier Research Project.
Stay up-to-date with what is happening in the Alaska Region by checking out our different social media accounts. You can also contact Alaska Regional Office staff or Center Directors for more information.
Social Media
Locations
Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center
Alaska Science Center
Phone: (907) 786-7000
Fax: (907) 786-7020
USGS Volcano Science Center
Phone: 360-993-8900
Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/contact.php
Phone: 907-786-7497
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
yvowebteam@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8906
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO)
vhpweb@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8900
Fax: 360-993-8980
USGS California Volcano Observatory (CalVO package delivery)
askcalvo@usgs.gov
Phone: 650-329-5083
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
askHVO@usgs.gov
Phone: (808) 967-7328
Fax: (808) 967-8890
Anchorage Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-786-7000
Fairbanks Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-479-5645
Juneau Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-586-7216
