Movements and dive patterns of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) released from a mass stranding in the Florida Keys
Randall S. Wells, Erin M. Fougeres, Arthur G. Cooper, Robert O. Stevens, Micah Brodsky, Robert Lingenfelser, Chris Dold, David C. Douglas
2013, Aquatic Mammals (39) 61-72
Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) are among the most common cetaceans to engage in mass strandings in the southeastern United States. Because these are primarily pelagic, continental shelf-edge animals, much of what is known about this species has derived from mass stranding events. Post-release monitoring via satellite-linked telemetry was conducted...
Patterns of social association in the franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei
Randall S. Wells, Pablo Bordino, David C. Douglas
2013, Marine Mammal Science (29) E520-E528
Little is known from living animals about the social patterns of the franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei, a small dolphin inhabiting a narrow strip of coastal waters off Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. These dolphins tend to be found in small groups, typically composed of two or three individuals (Bordino et al. 1999)....
Abundance, size distributions and trace-element binding of organic and iron-rich nanocolloids in Alaskan rivers, as revealed by field-flow fractionation and ICP-MS
Bjorn Stolpe, Laodong Guo, Alan M. Shiller, George R. Aiken
2013, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (105) 221-239
Water samples were collected from six small rivers in the Yukon River basin in central Alaska to examine the role of colloids and organic matter in the transport of trace elements in Northern high latitude watersheds influenced by permafrost. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), selected elements (Al, Si, Ca,...
MODIS-informed greenness responsesto daytime land surface temperaturefluctuations and wildfire disturbancesin the Alaskan Yukon River Basin
Zhengxi Tan, Shu-Guang Liu, Calli B. Jenkerson, Jennifer Oeding, Bruce K. Wylie, Jennifer R. Rover, Claudia J. Young
2013, International Journal of Remote Sensing (34) 2187-2199
Pronounced climate warming and increased wildfire disturbances are known to modify forest composition and control the evolution of the boreal ecosystem over the Yukon River Basin (YRB) in interior Alaska. In this study, we evaluate the post-fire green-up rate using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from 250 m...
High seroprevalence of antibodies to avian influenza viruses among wild waterfowl in Alaska: implications for surveillance
Heather M. Wilson, Jeffery S. Hall, Paul L. Flint, J. Christian Franson, Craig R. Ely, Joel A. Schmutz, Michael D. Samuel
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
We examined seroprevalence (presence of detectable antibodies in serum) for avian influenza viruses (AIV) among 4,485 birds, from 11 species of wild waterfowl in Alaska (1998–2010), sampled during breeding/molting periods. Seroprevalence varied among species (highest in eiders (Somateria and Polysticta species), and emperor geese (Chen canagica)), ages (adults higher than...
Geological analysis of aeromagnetic data from southwestern Alaska: Implications for exploration in the area of the Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit
Eric D. Anderson, Murray W. Hitzman, Thomas Monecke, Paul A. Bedrosian, Anjana K. Shah, Karen D. Kelley
2013, Economic Geology (108) 421-436
Aeromagnetic data are used to better understand the geology and mineral resources near the Late Cretaceous Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwestern Alaska. The reduced-to-pole (RTP) transformation of regional-scale aeromagnetic data shows that the Pebble deposit is within a cluster of magnetic anomaly highs. Similar to Pebble, the Iliamna, Kijik,...
The response of soil organic carbon of a rich fen peatland in interior Alaska to projected climate change
Zhaosheng Fan, Anthony David McGuire, Merritt R. Turetsky, Jennifer W. Harden, James Michael Waddington, Evan S. Kane
2013, Global Change Biology (19) 604-620
It is important to understand the fate of carbon in boreal peatland soils in response to climate change because a substantial change in release of this carbon as CO2 and CH4 could influence the climate system. The goal of this research was to synthesize the results of a field water...
Response of anaerobic carbon cycling to water table manipulation in an Alaskan rich fen
E.S. Kane, M.R. Chivers, M.R. Turetsky, Claire C. Treat, D.G. Petersen, M. Waldrop, J.W. Harden, A. D. McGuire
2013, Soil Biology and Biochemistry (58) 50-60
To test the effects of altered hydrology on organic soil decomposition, we investigated CO2 and CH4 production potential of rich-fen peat (mean surface pH = 6.3) collected from a field water table manipulation experiment including control, raised and lowered water table treatments. Mean anaerobic CO2 production potential at 10 cm...
Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Alaska and the Arctic Regional Information Sheet
Stacey A. Leicht-Young, Carolyn A.F. Enquist, Jake F. Weltzin
2013, Report
This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Kunduz mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter S in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Scott A. Arko, Michelle L. Harbin
2013, Data Series 709-S
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Dudkash mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter R in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Scott A. Arko, Michelle L. Harbin
2013, Data Series 709-R
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Salmon-mediated nutrient flux in selected streams of the Columbia River basin, USA
Andre E. Kohler, Paul C. Kusnierz, Timothy Copeland, David A. Venditti, Lytle Denny, Josh Gable, Bert Lewis, Ryan Kinzer, Bruce Barnett, Mark S. Wipfli
2013, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (70) 502-512
Salmon provide an important resource subsidy and linkage between marine and land-based ecosystems. This flow of energy and nutrients is not uni-directional (i.e., upstream only); in addition to passive nutrient export via stream flow, juvenile emigrants actively export nutrients from freshwater environments. In some cases, nutrient export can exceed import....
The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange
Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Torben R. Christensen, Lise Lotte Sorensen, Soren Rysgaard, A. David McGuire, Paul A. Miller, Donald A. Walker
2013, Nature Climate Change (3) 195-202
In September 2012, Arctic sea-ice extent plummeted to a new record low: two times lower than the 1979–2000 average. Often, record lows in sea-ice cover are hailed as an example of climate change impacts in the Arctic. Less apparent, however, are the implications of reduced sea-ice cover in the Arctic...
Introduced northern pike predation on salmonids in southcentral Alaska
Adam Sepulveda, David S. Rutz, Sam S. Ivey, Kristine J. Dunker, Jackson A. Gross
2013, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (22) 268-279
Northern pike (Esox lucius) are opportunistic predators that can switch to alternative prey species after preferred prey have declined. This trophic adaptability allows invasive pike to have negative effects on aquatic food webs. In Southcentral Alaska, invasive pike are a substantial concern because they have spread to important spawning and...
Summary of 2012 reconnaissance field studies related to the petroleum geology of the Nenana Basin, interior Alaska
Marwan A. Wartes, Robert J. Gillis, Trystan M. Herriott, Richard G. Stanley, Kenneth P. Helmold, C. Shaun Peterson, Jeffrey A. Benowitz
2013, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Preliminary Interpretive Report 2013-2
The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) recently initiated a multi-year review of the hydrocarbon potential of frontier sedimentary basins in Alaska (Swenson and others, 2012). In collaboration with the Alaska Division of Oil & Gas and the U.S. Geological Survey we conducted reconnaissance field studies in two...
Hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone in the Upper Jurassic Naknek Formation on the south shore of Kamishak Bay
Richard G. Stanley, Trystan M. Herriott, Kenneth P. Helmold, Robert J. Gillis, Paul G. Lillis
2013, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Preliminary Interpretive Report 2013-1E
The presence of an active petroleum system in Kamishak Bay is demonstrated by an outcrop of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone in the Upper Jurassic Naknek Formation near the south shore of the bay (fig. 1). The outcrop is about 140 km southwest of Homer on a small, unnamed island near the mouth...
Reconnaissance studies of potential petroleum source rocks in the Middle Jurassic Tuxedni Group near Red Glacier, eastern slope of Iliamna Volcano
Richard G. Stanley, Trystan M. Herriott, David L. LePain, Kenneth P. Helmold, C. Shaun Peterson
2013, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Preliminary Interpretive Report 2013-1B
Previous geological and organic geochemical studies have concluded that organic-rich marine shale in the Middle Jurassic Tuxedni Group is the principal source rock of oil and associated gas in Cook Inlet (Magoon and Anders, 1992; Magoon, 1994; Lillis and Stanley, 2011; LePain and others, 2012; LePain and others, submitted). During...
Preliminary stratigraphy and facies analysis of the Upper Cretaceous Kaguyak Formation, including a brief summary of newly discovered oil stain, upper Alaska Peninsula
Marwan A. Wartes, Paul L. Decker, Richard G. Stanley, Trystan M. Herriott, Kenneth P. Helmold, Robert J. Gillis
2013, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Preliminary Interpretive Report 2013-1F
The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys has an ongoing program aimed at evaluating the Mesozoic forearc stratigraphy, structure, and petroleum systems of lower Cook Inlet. Most of our field studies have focused on the Jurassic component of the petroleum system[this report.] However, in late July and early August...
Plausible combinations: An improved method to evaluate the covariate structure of Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture models
Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Trent L. McDonald, Steven C. Amstrup
2013, Open Journal Of Ecology (3) 11-22
Mark-recapture models are extensively used in quantitative population ecology, providing estimates of population vital rates, such as survival, that are difficult to obtain using other methods. Vital rates are commonly modeled as functions of explanatory covariates, adding considerable flexibility to mark-recapture models, but also increasing the subjectivity and complexity of...
Rapid runoff via shallow throughflow and deeper preferential flow in a boreal catchment underlain by frozen silt (Alaska, USA)
Joshua C. Koch, Stephanie A. Ewing, Robert G. Striegl, Diane M. McKnight
2013, Hydrogeology Journal (21) 93-106
In high-latitude catchments where permafrost is present, runoff dynamics are complicated by seasonal active-layer thaw, which may cause a change in the dominant flowpaths as water increasingly contacts mineral soils of low hydraulic conductivity. A 2-year study, conducted in an upland catchment in Alaska (USA) underlain by frozen, well-sorted eolian...
Towards integration of GLAS data into a national fuels mapping program
Birgit E. Peterson, Kurtis Nelson, Bruce Wylie
2013, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (79) 175-183
Comprehensive canopy structure and fuel data are critical for understanding and modeling wildland fire. The LANDFIRE project produces such data nationwide based on a collection of field observations, Landsat imagery, and other geospatial data. Where field data are not available, alternate strategies are being investigated. In this study, vegetation structure...
Water-quality and flow data, Chulitna River basin, Southwest Alaska, October 2009-June 2012
Timothy P. Brabets
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1009
The Chulitna River basin in southwest Alaska drains an area of about 1,160 square miles, with the lower 158 square miles of the basin in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Water from this basin influences Lake Clark ecosystems that support salmon that, in part, sustain the Bristol Bay fishery....
Impacts of climate, lake size, and supra- and sub-permafrost groundwater flow on lake-talik evolution, Yukon Flats, Alaska (USA)
Tristan Wellman, Clifford I. Voss, Michelle Ann Walvoord
2013, Hydrogeology Journal (21) 281-298
In cold regions, hydrologic systems possess seasonal and perennial ice-free zones (taliks) within areas of permafrost that control and are enhanced by groundwater flow. Simulation of talik development that follows lake formation in watersheds modeled after those in the Yukon Flats of interior Alaska (USA) provides insight on the coupled...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report – July 2012 to September 2012
Anne Ballmann, C. Leann White, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Jennifer Buckner
2013, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 16-19
No abstract available....
Testing the use of microfossils to reconstruct great earthquakes at Cascadia
S. E. Engelhart, B. P Horton, Alan R. Nelson, A. D. Hawkes, Robert C. Witter, K. Wang, P.-L. Wang, C. H. Vane
2013, Geology (41) 1067-1070
Coastal stratigraphy from the Pacific Northwest of the United States contains evidence of sudden subsidence during ruptures of the Cascadia subduction zone. Transfer functions (empirical relationships between assemblages and elevation) can convert microfossil data into coastal subsidence estimates. Coseismic deformation models use the subsidence values to constrain earthquake magnitudes. To...
