Status and Trends of Sea Otter Populations in Southeast Alaska, 1969-2003
George G. Esslinger, James L. Bodkin
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5045
Aerial surveys of all known sea otter (Enhydra lutris) habitat in Southeast Alaska (SE AK) in 2002-2003 indicated a population size of 8,949 otters [Standard Error (SE) = 899] at an average density of 0.92 otters per square kilometer. These findings on sea otter distribution and abundance were compared to...
Occurrence of Selected Nutrients, Trace Elements, and Organic Compounds in Streambed Sediment in the Lower Chena River Watershed near Fairbanks, Alaska, 2002-03
Ben W. Kennedy, Cassidee C. Hall
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5067
In 2002-03, the U.S. Geological Survey collected samples of streambed sediment at 18 sites in the lower Chena River watershed for analysis of selected nutrients, traces elements, and organic compounds. The purpose of the project was to provide Federal, State, and local agencies as well as neighborhood committees, with information...
Federal standards and procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD)
Kimberly A. Jones, Lily S. Niknami, Susan G. Buto, Drew Decker
2009, Techniques and Methods 11-A3
The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) is a seamless, national hydrologic unit dataset developed using the guidelines and specifications outlined in this document. A hydrologic unit defines the areal extent of surface-water drainage to an outlet point on a dendritic stream network or to outlet points where the stream network is...
Model-Based Predictions of the Effects of Harvest Mortality on Population Size and Trend of Yellow-Billed Loons
Joel A. Schmutz
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1040
Yellow-billed loons (Gavia adamsii) breed in low densities in northern tundra habitats in Alaska, Canada, and Russia. They migrate to coastal marine habitats at mid to high latitudes where they spend their winters. Harvest may occur throughout the annual cycle, but of particular concern are recent reports of harvest from...
Surface rupture map of the 2002 M7.9 Denali fault earthquake, Alaska: Digital data
Peter J. Haeussler
2009, Data Series 422
The November 3, 2002, Mw7.9 Denali Fault earthquake produced about 340 km of surface rupture along the Susitna Glacier Thrust Fault and the right-lateral, strike-slip Denali and Totschunda Faults. Digital photogrammetric methods were primarily used to create a 1:500-scale, three-dimensional surface rupture map, and 1:6,000-scale aerial photographs were used for...
Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, 2007
Peter J. Haeussler, John P. Galloway
2009, Professional Paper 1760
The collection of papers that follow continues the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigative reports in Alaska under the broad umbrella of the geologic sciences. This series represents new and sometimes-preliminary findings that are of interest to Earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers;...
Mesozoic magmatism and base-metal mineralization in the Fortymile mining district, eastern Alaska — Initial results of petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic studies in the Mount Veta area
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, John F. Slack, John N. Aleinikoff, James K. Mortensen
2009, Professional Paper 1760-A
We present here the initial results of a petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic study of Mesozoic intrusive rocks and spatially associated Zn-Pb-Ag-Cu-Au prospects in the Fortymile mining district in the southern Eagle quadrangle, Alaska. Analyzed samples include mineralized and unmineralized drill core from 2006 and 2007 exploration by Full Metal Minerals,...
Vulnerability and adaptation to climate-related fire impacts in rural and urban interior Alaska
Sarah F. Trainor, Monika Calef, David Natcher, F. Stuart Chapin III, A. David McGuire, Orville Huntington, Paul A. Duffy, T. Scott Rupp, La’Ona DeWilde, Mary Kwart, Nancy Fresco, Amy Lauren Lovecraft
2009, Polar Research (28) 100-118
This paper explores whether fundamental differences exist between urban and rural vulnerability to climate-induced changes in the fire regime of interior Alaska. We further examine how communities and fire managers have responded to these changes and what additional adaptations could be put in place. We engage a variety of social...
Geography of Alaska lake districts: Identification, description, and analysis of lake-rich regions of a diverse and dynamic state
Christopher D. Arp, Benjamin M. Jones
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5215
Lakes are abundant landforms and important ecosystems in Alaska, but are unevenly distributed on the landscape with expansive lake-poor regions and several lake-rich regions. Such lake-rich areas are termed lake districts and have landscape characteristics that can be considered distinctive in similar respects to mountain ranges. In this report, we...
Optical satellite data volcano monitoring: a multi-sensor rapid response system
Kenneth A. Duda, Michael Ramsey, Rick L. Wessels, Jonathan Dehn
2009, Book chapter, Geoscience and remote sensing
In this chapter, the use of satellite remote sensing to monitor active geological processes is described. Specifically, threats posed by volcanic eruptions are briefly outlined, and essential monitoring requirements are discussed. As an application example, a collaborative, multi-agency operational volcano monitoring system in the north Pacific is highlighted with a...
Paleoceanography of the Gulf of Alaska during the past 15,000 years: Results from diatoms, silicoflagellates, and geochemistry
John A. Barron, David Bukry, Walter E. Dean, Jason A. Addison, Bruce Finney
2009, Marine Micropaleontology (72) 176-195
High-resolution records of diatoms, silicoflagellates, and geochemistry covering the past 15,000 years were studied in three cores from the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Core EW0408-85JC in an oceanic setting on the Kayak Slope displays a paleoceanographic record similar to that at several locations on the California margin during deglaciation. Biologic...
Estuarine Ecology of Juvenile Salmon in Western Alaska: a Review
Christian E. Zimmerman, Nicola Hillgruber
2009, Book chapter, American Fisheries Society Symposium
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, large declines in numbers of chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta and Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha returning to the Arctic-YukonKuskokwim (AYK) region (Alaska, USA) illuminated the need for an improved understanding of the variables controlling salmon abundance at all life stages. In addressing questions about...
Multi-segment earthquakes and tsunami potential of the Aleutian megathrust
I. Shennan, R. Bruhn, George Plafker
2009, Quaternary Science Reviews (28) 7-13
Large to great earthquakes and related tsunamis generated on the Aleutian megathrust produce major hazards for both the area of rupture and heavily populated coastlines around much of the Pacific Ocean. Here we use paleoseismic records preserved in coastal sediments to investigate whether segment boundaries control the largest ruptures or...
Historical abundance and morphology of Didymosphenia species in Naknek Lake, Alaska
D.P. Pite, K.A. Lane, A.K. Hermann, S. A. Spaulding, B. P. Finney
2009, Conference Paper, Acta Botanica Croatica
Since the 1980s, nuisance blooms of Didymosphenia geminata (Lyngbye) M. Schmidt have been documented in sites that are warmer and more mesotrophic than historical records indicate. While the invasion of D. geminata in New Zealand is well documented, it is less clear whether nuisance blooms in North America are a...
Late Proterozoic-Paleozoic evolution of the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka terrane based on U-Pb igneous and detrital zircon ages: Implications for Neoproterozoic paleogeographic reconstructions
J.M. Amato, J. Toro, E. L. Miller, G. E. Gehrels, G. L. Farmer, E.S. Gottlieb, A.B. Till
2009, Geological Society of America Bulletin (121) 1219-1235
The Seward Peninsula of northwestern Alaska is part of the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka terrane, a crustal fragment exotic to western Laurentia with an uncertain origin and pre-Mesozoic evolution. U-Pb zircon geochronology on deformed igneous rocks reveals a previously unknown intermediate-felsic volcanic event at 870 Ma, coeval with rift-related magmatism associated with...
Ecological factors regulating brood attendance patterns of the western sandpiper calidris mauri
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, J.N. Keller, D.J. Rizzolo
2009, Ibis (151) 523-534
Parental brood attendance patterns vary greatly among shorebird species. For monogamous calidridine species, biparental care with female-first brood departure is most common. It is believed that adult sandpipers balance potential individual survival costs associated with extended parental care against the benefit gained by their brood of prolonged parental care. These...
Geomechanical response of permafrost-associated hydrate deposits to depressurization-induced gas production
J. Rutqvist, G. J. Moridis, T. Grover, T. Collett
2009, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering (67) 1-12
In this simulation study, we analyzed the geomechanical response during depressurization production from two known hydrate-bearing permafrost deposits: the Mallik (Northwest Territories, Canada) deposit and Mount Elbert (Alaska, USA) deposit. Gas was produced from these deposits at constant pressure using horizontal wells placed at the top of a hydrate layer...
Provenance of Holocene sediment on the Chukchi-Alaskan margin based on combined diffuse spectral reflectance and quantitative X-Ray Diffraction analysis
J.D. Ortiz, L. Polyak, J.M. Grebmeier, D. Darby, D. D. Eberl, S. Naidu, D. Nof
2009, Global and Planetary Change (68) 73-84
Sediment clay and silt mineral assemblages provide an excellent means of assessing the provenance of fine-grained Arctic sediment especially when a unique mineral assemblage can be tied to specific source areas. The diffuse spectral reflectance (DSR) first derivative measurements and quantitative X-Ray Diffraction (qXRD) on a high-resolution sediment core from...
Emsian (late Early Devonian) sponges from west-central and south-central Alaska
J.K. Rigby, R. B. Blodgett, N.K. Anderson
2009, Journal of Paleontology (83) 293-298
Relatively common specimens of the hypercalcified agelasiid sponge Hormospongia labyrinthica Rigby and Blodgett, 1983 and specimens of associated species of Hormospongia have been previously reported from Emsian and Eifelian stratigraphic units at several localities in south-central and southeastern Alaska (Rigby and Blodgett, 1983). Those sponges were first described from the...
Dramatic declines of DDE and other organochlorines in spring migrant Peregrine Falcons from Padre Island, Texas, 1978-2004
Charles J. Henny, M.A. Yates, W.S. Seegar
2009, Journal of Raptor Research (43) 37-42
Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) captured in the spring at Padre Island, Texas, nest across the arctic and subarctic from Alaska to Greenland and winter throughout Latin America. Padre Island, located immediately north of the Mexican border, is the peregrines' first landfall in the U.S.A. after spending about 6 mo in...
Interactive effects of fire, soil climate, and moss on CO2 fluxes in black spruce ecosystems of interior Alaska
J. A. O'Donnell, M.R. Turetsky, J.W. Harden, K.L. Manies, L.E. Pruett, G. Shetler, J. C. Neff
2009, Ecosystems (12) 57-72
Fire is an important control on the carbon (C) balance of the boreal forest region. Here, we present findings from two complementary studies that examine how fire modifies soil organic matter properties, and how these modifications influence rates of decomposition and C exchange in black spruce (Picea mariana) ecosystems of...
Exhumation along the Fairweather fault, southeastern Alaska, based on low-temperature thermochronometry
R.J. McAleer, J.A. Spotila, E. Enkelmann, A.L. Berger
2009, Tectonics (28)
The southern Alaskan syntaxis marks the spectacular junction between the >1000-km-long Pacific-North America transform margin and the Chugach-St. Elias belt, where subduction and terrane accretion drive rapid convergent deformation and rock uplift. New low-temperature thermochronometry reveals that intense orogenic deformation is not restricted to one side of the syntaxis but...
Numerical study of tsunami generated by multiple submarine slope failures in Resurrection Bay, Alaska, during the MW 9.2 1964 earthquake
E. Suleimani, R. Hansen, Peter J. Haeussler
2009, Conference Paper, Pure and Applied Geophysics
We use a viscous slide model of Jiang and LeBlond (1994) coupled with nonlinear shallow water equations to study tsunami waves in Resurrection Bay, in south-central Alaska. The town of Seward, located at the head of Resurrection Bay, was hit hard by both tectonic and local landslide-generated tsunami waves during...
Strategies for nest-site selection by king eiders
R.L. Bentzen, A.N. Powell, R.S. Suydam
2009, Journal of Wildlife Management (73) 932-938
Nest site selection is a critical component of reproduction and has presumably evolved in relation to predation, local resources, and microclimate. We investigated nest-site choice by king eiders (Somateria spectabilis) on the coastal plain of northern Alaska, USA, 2003-2005. We hypothesized that nest-site selection is driven by predator avoidance and...
Lesser scaup breeding probability and female survival on the yukon flats, Alaska
K. H. Martin, M. S. Lindberg, Joel A. Schmutz, M.R. Bertram
2009, Journal of Wildlife Management (73) 914-923
Information on the ecology of waterfowl breeding in the boreal forest is lacking, despite the boreal region's importance to continental waterfowl populations and to duck species that are currently declining, such as lesser scaup (Aythya affinis). We estimated breeding probability and breeding season survival of female lesser scaup on the...
