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
USGS research activities relevant to Alaska have yielded more than 9400 historical publications. This page features some of the most recent newsworthy research findings.
Search USGS publications for Alaska
Arctic Science for Decision Maker
2019 USGS Alaska Annual Science Report
Legal, ethical, and procedural bases for the use of aseptic techniques to implant electronic devices
The popularity of implanting electronic devices such as transmitters and data loggers into captive and free-ranging animals has increased greatly in the past two decades. The devices have become smaller, more reliable, and more capable (Printz 2004; Wilson and Gifford 2005; Metcalfe et al. 2012). Compared with externally mounted devices, implanted...
Mulcahy, Daniel M. Bokan Mountain peralkaline granitic complex, Alexander terrane (southeastern Alaska): evidence for Early Jurassic rifting prior to accretion with North America
The circular Bokan Mountain complex (BMC) on southern Prince of Wales Island, southernmost Alaska, is a Jurassic peralkaline granitic intrusion about 3 km in diameter that crosscuts igneous and metasedimentary rocks of the Alexander terrane. The BMC hosts significant rare metal (rare earth elements, Y, U, Th, Zr, and Nb) mineralization related to...
Dostal, Jaroslav; Karl, Susan M.; Keppie, J. Duncan; Kontak, Daniel J.; Shellnutt, J. Gregory Fat or lean: adjustment of endogenous energy stores to predictable and unpredictable changes in allostatic load
1. The ability to store energy endogenously is an important ecological mechanism that allows animals to buffer predictable and unpredictable variation in allostatic load. The secretion of glucocorticoids, which reflects changes in allostatic load, is suggested to play a major role in the adjustment of endogenous stores to these varying conditions...
Schultner, Jannik; Kitaysky, Alexander S.; Welcker, Jorg; Hatch, Scott Ecosystem services from converted land: the importance of tree cover in Amazonian pastures
Deforestation is responsible for a substantial fraction of global carbon emissions and changes in surface energy budgets that affect climate. Deforestation losses include wildlife and human habitat, and myriad forest products on which rural and urban societies depend for food, fiber, fuel, fresh water, medicine, and recreation. Ecosystem services...
Barrett, Kirsten; Valentim, Judson; Turner, B. L.
Wildlife disease and environmental health in Alaska
Environmental health is defined by connections between the physical environment, ecological health, and human health. Current research within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recognizes the importance of this integrated research philosophy, which includes study of disease and pollutants as they pertain to wildlife and humans. Due to its key...
Van Hemert, Caroline R.; Pearce, John M.; Oakley, Karen; Whalen, Mary E. Effects of food availability on yolk androgen deposition in the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), a seabird with facultative brood reduction
In birds with facultative brood reduction, survival of the junior chick is thought to be regulated primarily by food availability. In black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) where parents and chicks are provided with unlimited access to supplemental food during the breeding season, brood reduction still occurs and varies interannually. Survival...
Benowitz-Fredericks, Z.M.; Kitaysky, Alexander S.; Welcker, Jorg; Hatch, Scott A.
Mercury and water-quality data from Rink Creek, Salmon River, and Good River, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska, November 2009-October 2011
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP), Alaska, like many pristine high latitude areas, is exposed to atmospherically deposited contaminants such as mercury (Hg). Although the harmful effects of Hg are well established, information on this contaminant in southeast Alaska is scarce. Here, we assess the level of this contaminant in several...
Nagorski, Sonia A.; Neal, Edward G.; Brabets, Timothy P. Modern foraminifera, δ13C, and bulk geochemistry of central Oregon tidal marshes and their application in paleoseismology
We assessed the utility of δ13C and bulk geochemistry (total organic content and C:N) to reconstruct relative sea-level changes on the Cascadia subduction zone through comparison with an established sea-level indicator (benthic foraminifera). Four modern transects collected from three tidal environments at Siletz Bay, Oregon, USA, produced three...
Engelhart, Simon E.; Horton, Benajamin P.; Vane, Christopher H.; Nelson, Alan R.; Witter, Robert C.; Brody, Sarah R.; Hawkes, Andrea D. Method- and species-specific detection probabilities of fish occupancy in Arctic lakes: Implications for design and management
Studies examining species occurrence often fail to account for false absences in field sampling. We investigate detection probabilities of five gear types for six fish species in a sample of lakes on the North Slope, Alaska. We used an occupancy modeling approach to provide estimates of detection probabilities for each method. Variation in gear-...
Haynes, Trevor B.; Rosenberger, Amanda E.; Lindberg, Mark S.; Whitman, Matthew; Schmutz, Joel A. Detecting unfrozen sediments below thermokarst lakes with surface nuclear magnetic resonance
A talik is a layer or body of unfrozen ground that occurs in permafrost due to an anomaly in thermal, hydrological, or hydrochemical conditions. Information about talik geometry is important for understanding regional surface water and groundwater interactions as well as sublacustrine methane production in thermokarst lakes. Due to the direct...
Parsekian, Andrew D.; Grosse, Guido; Walbrecker, Jan O.; Müller-Petke, Mike; Keating, Kristina; Liu, Lin; Jones, Benjamin M.; Knight, Rosemary Effects of currents and tides on fine-scale use of marine bird habitats in a Southeast Alaska hotspot
Areas with high species richness have become focal points in the establishment of marine protected areas, but an understanding of the factors that support this diversity is still incomplete. In coastal areas, tidal currents—modulated by bathymetry and manifested in variable speeds—are a dominant physical feature of the environment. However,...
Drew, Gary S.; Piatt, John F.; Hill, David J. Controls on variations in MODIS fire radiative power in Alaskan boreal forests: implications for fire severity conditions
Fire activity in the Alaskan boreal forest, though episodic at annual and intra-annual time scales, has experienced an increase over the last several decades. Increases in burned area and fire severity are not only releasing more carbon to the atmosphere, but likely shifting vegetation composition in the region towards greater deciduous dominance...
Barrett, Kirsten; Kasischke, Eric S.Browse 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!
Remnants of a spruce forest
Remnants of a spruce forest complex following a severe wildfire in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Wildfires are the dominant landscape-scale disturbance operating at annual time scales in Alaska, and fires play a major role in the rate and extent of vegetation growth and productivity of a site. Wildland fires typically result in the reduction of
...
Erosion along Alaska’s Arctic coastline near the village of Kaktovik
Neal Pastick – lead author of the study – investigating erosion along Alaska’s Arctic coastline near the village of Kaktovik. Permafrost-dominated coasts of Alaska have drastically changed as the result of coastal transgression and storm-surge flooding which can result in the loss of cultural sites and damage to infrastructure. Photo by M. Torre Jorgenson
Yellow Warbler in Alaska
Scientist holding an Yellow Warbler on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. This photo is part of the Changing Arctic Ecosystems Boreal-Arctic Transition program.
Fourhorn sculpin captured near Kaktovik, Alaska
Fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) captured near Kaktovik, Alaska
Fourhorn sculpin on a measuring board captured near Kaktovik, Alaska
Fourhorn sculpin on a measuring board captured near Kaktovik, Alaska.
Fyke net set in Kaktovik Lagoon with Kaktovik, AK in the background
Fyke net set in Kaktovik Lagoon with the town of Kaktovik, Alaska in the background
Young of year Arctic cisco
Young of year Arctic cisco (Coregonus autumnalis).
Pink salmon captured near Kaktovik, Alaska
Pink salmon captured near Kaktovik, Alaska
One of two trawl winches on the R/V Alaskan Gyre
One of two trawl winches on the R/V Alaskan Gyre
Randy Brown adjusts a fish wheel trap on the Yukon River
Randy Brown adjusts a fish wheel trap on the Yukon River that will catch Chinook salmon.
Benthic invertebrates captured in a bottom trawl
Benthic invertebrates captured in a bottom trawl. This was from the Ecosystem Shifts in Arctic Seas project.
Jannelle Trowbridge sorts through benthic invertebrates for bivalves
ANSEP intern Jannelle Trowbridge sorts through a catch of benthic invertebrates for bivalves on the Norseman II. This was from the Ecosystem Shifts in Arctic Seas 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.
Contacts
Locations
Alaska Science Center
Phone: (907) 786-7000
Fax: (907) 786-7020
Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center
USGS Volcano Science Center
Phone: 360-993-8900
Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/contact.php
Phone: 907-786-7497
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
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
yvowebteam@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8906
Anchorage Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-786-7000
Fairbanks Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-479-5645
Juneau Field Office - Water
Phone: 907-586-7216
