Seismic anomalies expand Alaska’s Umiat Anticline potential
Paul McColgan, Nilesh Dixit, Jacob T. Murchek
2025, Oil and Gas Journal
Recent seismic advancements, including AVO analysis, have redefined Alaska's Umiat field potential, revealing deeper reservoirs and increasing estimated oil in place....
Warming Alaskan rivers affect first-year growth in critical northern food fishes
Peyton Thomas, Dylan Blaskey, Yifan Cheng, Michael P. Carey, Heidi K. Swanson, Andrew J. Newman, Cassandra M. Brooks, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Keith N. Musselman
2025, Scientific Reports (15)
Arctic and subarctic rivers are warming rapidly, with unknown consequences for migratory fishes and the human communities dependent on them. To date, few studies have provided a comprehensive assessment of possible climate change impacts on the hydrology and temperature of Arctic rivers at the regional scale, and even fewer have...
Geologic map of the Greater Antilles and Virgin Islands
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3534
Introduction The geologic map of the Greater Antilles and Virgin Islands is a compilation of information from the literature, integrated to provide a seamless geologic map of the region. This map was prepared to serve as a base map for a mineral resource assessment of the region. Several small-scale regional geologic...
Vibrio pectenicida strain FHCF-3 is a causative agent of sea star wasting disease
Melanie B. Prentice, Grace Crandall, Amy M. Chan, Katherine M. Davis, Paul Hershberger, Jan F. Finke, Jason Hodin, Andrew McCracken, Colleen T. Kellogg, Rute Carvalho, Carolyn Prentice, Kevin X. Zhong, Drew Harvell, Curtis A. Suttle, Alyssa-Lois M. Gehman
2025, Nature Ecology & Evolution (9) 1739-1751
More than 10 years following the onset of the sea star wasting disease (SSWD) epidemic, affecting over 20 asteroid species from Mexico to Alaska, the causative agent has been elusive. SSWD killed billions of the most susceptible species, sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides), initiating a trophic cascade involving unchecked urchin population...
Rapid Holocene deposition in the Mackenzie Trough and Barrow Canyon areas in the western Arctic Ocean
Masanobu Yamamoto, Kenta Suzuki, Masafumi Murayama, Laura Gemery, Koji Seike, Leonid Polyak, Young Jin Joe, Shoma Uchida, Minoru Kobayashi, J. Onodera, Keiji Horikawa, Yuhji Yamamoto, Takayuki Omori, Michinobu Kuwae, Tomohisa Irino, Yutaka Watanabe, Motoyo Itoh, Eiji Watanabe
2025, Progress in Earth and Planetary Science (12)
The Arctic Ocean and terrestrial environment have recently been reported to be changing drastically, but it is unclear whether these changes are similar to natural variations in the past or how sudden and large the changes are compared to natural variations. This premise served as motivation to collect sediment cores...
The 3D National Topography Model Call for Action—Part 2: The Next Generation 3D Elevation Program
Vicki Lukas, Larry Sugarbaker, Cindy A. Thatcher, Allyson L. Jason, Jason M. Stoker
2025, Circular 1553
The three-dimensional (3D) National Topography Model initiative to integrate elevation and hydrography data includes the next generation of hydrography data from the 3D Hydrography Program and the next generation of elevation data from the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). The first-ever collection of light detection and ranging (lidar) data for the...
Selected special conditions affecting peak streamflow and extreme floods in Alaska through water year 2022
Janet H. Curran
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5056
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, inventoried selected special conditions for annual peak flows and identified extreme floods at streamgages in Alaska through water year 2022 to facilitate hydrologic analysis. Special conditions identified from U.S. Geological Survey gaging records and basin...
Constraining snow water equivalent of wet snowpacks in southeast Alaska
Mikaila Mannello, Scott Braddock, Seth Campbell, Emma Erwin, Kristin Schild, Christopher McNeil
2025, Annals of Glaciology (66)
Quantifying snow water equivalent (SWE) with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in a warming climate is complicated by the incidence and variability of liquid water in snow. Snow surveys conducted during the melt season serve as a valuable analog to conditions under future warming. Here, we determine the variability of wet snowpack...
DNA metabarcoding and video camera collars yield different inferences about the summer diet of an arctic ungulate
Heather E. Johnson, Gabrielle Lys Coulombe, Layne G. Adams, Colleen Arnison, Perry Barboza, Martin Kienzler, William Leacock, Michael J. Suitor
2025, Ecosphere (16)
The diets of wild ungulates are a foundational component of their ecology, influencing their behavior, body condition, and demography. With changing environmental conditions, there is a significant need to identify important forage items for ungulates, but this has often proved challenging. Declines in several barren-ground caribou herds across the North...
‘The fish that stop’: Drivers of historical decline for Pacific cod and implications for modern management in an era of rapidly changing climate
Loren McClenachan, Bruce T. Anderson, Jason A. Addison, Steven J. Barbeaux, Karoline Moore, Kai Muir, Katherine L. Reedy, Ingrid B. Spies, Catherine F. West
2025, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (380)
n the Gulf of Alaska, a series of marine heat waves depleted Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) biomass to the lowest abundance ever recorded and led to the fishery’s closure in 2020. Although the fishery has been productive for decades, this collapse may have historical precedents. Traditional knowledge holders refer to...
Identifying presence or absence of grizzly and polar bear cubs from the movements of adult females with machine learning
Erik Andersen, Justin Clapp, Milan Vinks, Todd C. Atwood, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Cecily M. Costello, David Gustine, Mark A. Haroldson, Lori L. Roberts, Karyn D. Rode, Frank T. van Manen, Ryan H. Wilson
2025, Movement Ecology (13)
BackgroundInformation on reproductive success is crucial to understanding population dynamics but can be difficult to obtain, particularly for species that birth while denning. For grizzly (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus), den visits are impractical because of safety and logistical considerations. Reproduction is typically documented through direct...
Environmental drivers of productivity explain population patterns of an Arctic-nesting goose across a half-century
Antti Piironen, Jeffrey M. Knetter, Kyle A. Spragens, Joshua Dooley, Vijay P. Patil, Eric T. Reed, Megan V. Ross, Daniel Gibson, Adam C. Behney, Mark J. Petrie, Todd Sanders, Mitch D. Weegman
2025, Ecological Applications (35)
Joint estimation of demographic rates and population size has become an essential tool in ecology because it enables evaluating mechanisms for population change and testing hypotheses about drivers of demography in a single modeling framework. This approach provides a comprehensive perspective on population dynamics and how animal populations will respond...
2024 Surprise Inlet landslides: Insights from a prototype landslide‐triggered tsunami monitoring system in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Ezgi Karasozen, Michael E. West, Katherine R. Barnhart, John J. Lyons, Terry Nichols, Lauren N. Schaefer, Bohyun Bahng, Summer Ohlendorf, Dennis M. Staley, Gabriel J. Wolken
2025, Geophysical Research Letters (52)
Alaska's coastal communities face growing landslide hazards owing to glacier retreat and extreme weather intensified by the warming climate, yet hazard monitoring remains challenging. As part of ongoing experimental monitoring in Prince William Sound, we detected three large landslides (0.5–2.3 M m3) at Surprise Inlet on 20 September 2024, within the span...
Arctic speleothems reveal nearly permafrost-free Northern Hemisphere in the Late Miocene
Anton Vaks, Andrew Mason, Sebastian F.M. Breitenbach, Alena Maria Giesche, Alexander Osinzev, Irina Adrian, Aleksandr Kononov, Stuart Umbo, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Marcelo Rosensaft, Gideon M. Henderson
2025, Nature Communications (16)
Arctic warming is happening at nearly four times the global average rate. Long-term trends of permafrost dynamics cannot be estimated directly from monitoring of present-day thaw processes, requiring paleoclimate-proxy information. Here we use cave carbonates (speleothems) from a northern Siberian cave to determine when the Northern Hemisphere was mostly permafrost-free....
Makushin Volcano: Recent eruptive history and ash hazards
Hannah R. Dietterich, Janet Schaefer, Jessica Larsen, James W. Vallance, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Kristi L. Wallace
2025, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Information Circular 86 v. 2
No abstract available....
Paralytic shellfish toxins and seabirds: Evaluating sublethal effects, behavioral responses, and ecological implications of saxitoxin ingestion by common murres (Uria aalge)
Matthew M. Smith, Robert J. Dusek, Tuula E. Hollmen, Sarah K. Schoen, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Kristen Steinmetzer, Aidan Lee, Jenna Schlenner, Vijay P. Patil, D. Ransom Hardison, David Kulis, Donald M. Anderson, Clark D. Ridge, Sherwood Hall
2025, Harmful Algae (148)
Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), including saxitoxin (STX) and its congeners, are neurotoxins that can be produced during harmful algal blooms and cause illness or death in humans, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Since 2014, multiple large-scale seabird mortality events have occurred in Alaska waters, with STXs detected in some carcasses....
Hybridization and asymmetrical introgression between the vulnerable Gray‐Headed Chickadee and a more abundant congener, the Boreal Chickadee: Implications for conservation
Matthew Armstrong, Robert E. Wilson, James A. Johnson, Travis L. Booms, Callie Gesmundo, Zachary M. Pohlen, Paul Leonard, Sarah A. Sonsthagen
2025, Ecology and Evolution (15)
Hybridization is a common process among bird species that can precipitate a mix of positive or negative species outcomes. Particularly for rare populations, detrimental effects of hybridization on demographic growth rates and genetic integrity are of serious concern. In Alaska and a small region of northwestern Canada, the endemic subspecies...
Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes
Anna Talucci, Michael M. Loranty, Jean E. Holloway, Brendan M. Rogers, Heather D. Alexander, Natalie Baillargeon, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Logan T. Berner, Amy Breen, Leya Brodt, Brian Buma, Jacqueline Dean, Clement J.F. Delcourt, Lucas R. Diaz, Catherine M. Dieleman, Thomas A. Douglas, Gerald Frost, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Rebecca E. Hewitt, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, M. Torre Jorenson, Mark J. Lara, Rachel A. Loehman, Michelle C. Mack, Kristen L. Manies, Christina Minions, Susan M. Natali, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, David Olefeldt, Alison K. Paulson, Adrian V. Rocha, Lisa B. Saperstein, T.A. Shestakova, Seeta Sistla, Oleg Sizov, Andrey Soromotin, Merritt R. Turetksy, Sander Veraverbeke, Michelle A. Walvoord
2025, Earth System Science Data 2887-2909
As the northern high-latitude permafrost zone experiences accelerated warming, permafrost has become vulnerable to widespread thaw. Simultaneously, wildfire activity across northern boreal forest and Arctic/subarctic tundra regions impacts permafrost stability through the combustion of insulating organic matter, vegetation, and post-fire changes in albedo. Efforts to synthesis the impacts of wildfire...
Beak deformities in Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk) signal possible emergence of avian keratin disorder among raptors
Caroline R. Van Hemert, Colleen M. Handel, Susan Cottrell, Danielle Elizabeth Gerik, Robert J. Bildfell
2025, Ornithology (142)
Beginning in the late 1990s, an unusual cluster of beak deformities was observed among Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk) in the Pacific coastal region of North America. However, information was not available to determine the scope of this problem nor to assess a potential link between beak deformities in hawks and avian keratin...
Evaluating mark–resight survey design performance using simulation: A case study of endangered Steller sea lions
Amanda J. Warlick, Brian S. Fadely, Peter Mahoney, Sharon R. Melin, Tom Gelatt, Kim Raum-Suryan, Sarah J. Converse
2025, Ecosphere (16)
Effective monitoring is fundamental to estimating wildlife population parameters with a level of accuracy and precision that is adequate to inform management decisions. However, managers must balance trade-offs between the costs of monitoring and the resulting data quality to identify cost-effective monitoring survey designs. As such, evaluating the expected performance...
U.S. Geological Survey science strategy to address highly pathogenic avian influenza and its effects on wildlife health 2025–29
Andrew M. Ramey, Diann J. Prosser, Laura E. Hubbard, Guelaguetza Vazquez-Meves, Amy George, M. Camille Hopkins
2025, Circular 1558
Executive SummaryHighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is an ecologically and economically important animal disease that can also directly affect humans (a “zoonotic” disease). HPAI was once limited almost exclusively to domestic poultry but has rapidly adapted to diverse animal hosts. Viruses causing HPAI now appear to be maintained and dispersed...
A generalized deep learning model to detect and classify volcano seismicity
David Fee, Darren Tan, John J. Lyons, Mariangela Sciotto, Andrea Cannata, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Tarsilo Girona, Aaron Wech, Diana Roman, Matthew M. Haney, Silvio De Angelis
2025, Volcanica (8) 305-323
Volcano seismicity is often detected and classified based on its spectral properties. However, the wide variety of volcano seismic signals and increasing amounts of data make accurate, consistent, and efficient detection and classification challenging. Machine learning (ML) has proven very effective at detecting and classifying tectonic seismicity, particularly using Convolutional...
Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets
Ana M. M. Sequeira, Jorge P. Rodriguez, Sarah A. Marley, Hannah J. Calich, Mirjam van der Mheen, Michelle VanCompernolle, Lucy M. Arrowsmith, Lauren R. Peel, Nuno Queiroz, Marisa Vedor, Ivo da Costa, Gonzalo Mucientes, Ana Couto, Nicolas E. Humphries, Sara Abalo-Morla, Francisco J. Abascal, Debra L. Abercrombie, Katya Abrantes, F. Alberto Abreu-Grobois, André S. Afonso, Pedro Afonso, Heidi Ahonen, Susanne Åkesson, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, Russel D. Andrews, Frederic Angelier, Marina Antonopoulou, Javier A. Arata, Gonzalo Araujo, Randall Arauz, Jose Manuel Arcos, Igor Arregui, Haritz Arrizabalaga, Marie Auger-Methe, Steffen Bach, Fred Bailleul, Robin W. Baird, George H. Balazs, Susan G. Barco, Adam Barnett, Warren Baverstock, Alastair M. M. Baylis, Annalea Beard, Juan Bécares, Eduardo J. Belda, Ian Bell, Ashley Bennison, Scott R. Benson, Diego Bernal, Michael L. Berumen, Sandra Bessudo, Natalia P.A. Bezerra, Antonin V. Blaison, Gabriela S. Blanco, Barbara A. Block, Mark Bolton, Mark E. Bond, Ramón Bonfil, Camrin D. Braun, Annette C. Broderick, Michael de L. Brooke, Annabelle M.L. Brooks, Edward J. Brooks, Ignacio M. Bruno, Jennifer M. Burns, Michael E. Byrne, Steven E. Campana, Hamish A. Campbell, Richard A. Campbell, Aaron Carlisle, Ruth H. Carmichael, Gemma Carroll, Paolo Casale, Filipe R. Ceia, Demian D. Chapman, Taylor K. Chapple, Jean-Benoit Charrassin, Andre Chiaradia, John Chisholm, Christopher R. Clarke, Thomas A. Clay, Christophe Cleguer, Elizabeth Clingham, Eric E. G. Clua, Jesse E.M. Cochran, Rochelle Constantine, Robert W. Cooper, Estelle Crochelet, Michelle Cronin, Eduardo Cuevas, Kayla P. DaCosta, Laurent Dagorn, Ryan Daly, Randall W. Davis, Nico P. J. de Bruyn, Carlos Delgado-Trejo, Thomas Dellinger, Solène Derville, Stella Diamant, Andrew DiMatteo, Kara L. Dodge, Philip D. Doherty, Michael C. Double, Alistair D. M. Dove, Thomas K Doyle, Michael J. Drew, Lindsay L. Dubbs, Clinton A.J. Duffy, Peter H. Dutton, Ewan W.J. Edwards, Luke D. Einoder, Mark V. Erdmann, Eduardo Espinoza, Nicole Esteban, Ana Isabel Fagundes, Chris Feare, Steven H. Ferguson, Luciana C. Ferreira, Francesco Ferretti, John Filmalter, Brittany Finucci, G. Chris Fischer, Richard J. Fitzpatrick, Jorge Fontes, Angela Formia, Sabrina Fossette, Malcolm P. Francis, Ari S. Friedlaender, Miguel Furtado, Austin J. Gallagher, Claire Garrigue, Enrico Gennari, H. Grant Gilchrist, Brendan J. Godley, Simon D. Goldsworthy, Matthew Gollock, Victoria González Carman, W. James Grecian, Jonathan R. Green, Christophe Guinet, Johan Gustafson, Tristan L. Guttridge, Hector M. Guzman, Derek Hamer, Keith C. Hamer, Neil Hammerschlag, Mike O. Hammill, Luke Harman, Emma Harrison, Catherine E. Hart, A. Errol Harris, Gordon Hastie, Fabio H.V. Hazin, Matt Heard, Alex R. Hearn, Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen, Leeann Henry, Robert William Henry III, Vicente Guzman Hernandez, Arturo E. Herrera, Mark A. Hindell, John C. Holdsworth, Bonnie J. Holmes, Lucy A. Howey, Edgar Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, Luis A. Huckstadt, Robert E. Hueter, Paulo H. Lara, Nigel E. Hussey, Charlie Huveneers, Kevin Hyland, Dylan T. Irion, David M.P. Jacoby, Audrey Jaeger, Mohammed Y. Jaidah, Mark Jessopp, Oliver J.D. Jewell, Ryan Johnson, Carl G. Jones, Ian D. Jonsen, Lance K.B. Jordan, Salvador J. Jorgensen, Akiko Kato, James T. Ketchum, Alexander S. Kitaysky, A. Peter Klimley, Alison A. Kock, Pieter Koen, Felipe Ladino Archila, Fernanda O. Lana, Jude V. Lane, Matthieu Le Corre, Mary-Anne Lea, Eliza H.K. Leat, Olivia A. Lee, J. Jacob Levenson, César P. Ley-Quiñonez, Fiona Llewellyn, Gwen Lockhart, Gustave G. Lopez, Milagros Lopez Mendilaharsu, Andrew D. Lowther, Paolo Luschi, Molly E. Lutcavage, Warrick S. Lyon, Bruno C.L. Macena, Alice I. Mackay, Christine A. Madden Hof, Mark L. Mallory, Jeffrey C. Mangel, Michael Manning, Kate L. Mansfield, David March, Adolfo Marco, Marianne Marcoux, David Acuña-Marrero, Helene Marsh, Heather Marshall, Bruce R Mate, Jaime D. McAllister, Rebecca L. McGuire, Jane McKenzie, Lachlan McLeay, Clive R. McMahon, Michelle Modest, John T Morris, Mônica M.C. Muelbert, Naveen Namboothri, Wallace J. Nichols, Malcolm A. C. Nicoll, Bradley M. Norman, Ken Norris, Erik Olsen, Steffen Oppel, Sabine Orlowski, Anthony M. Pagano, Brad Page, Vitor H. Paiva, Daniel M. Palacios, Yannis P. Papastamatiou, Denise M. Parker, Charitha B Pattiaratchi, Hoyt Peckham, Cesar R. Peñaherrera-Palma, Julian G. Pepperell, Richard A. Phillips, Simon J. Pierce, Stephen K. Pikesley, Nicolas J. Pilcher, Patrick Pinet, Matt Pinkerton, Enrico Pirotta, Virginie Plot, Abby Powell, Kevin D. Powers, Clare E.M. Prebble, Tiana J. Preston, Rui Prieto, Laura Prosdocimi, John L. Quinn, Lina Maria Quintero, Thierry Raclot, Iván Ramirez, Dení Ramírez-Macías, Jaime A. Ramos, Andrew J. Read, Rolf Ream, Alan F. Rees, Richard D. Reina, Ryan R. Reisinger, Ohiana Revuelta, Samantha D. Reynolds, Anthony J. Richardson, Leena Riekkola, Federico G. Riet-Sapriza, David P. Robinson, Patrick W. Robinson, Carlos F.D. Rocha, Tracey L. Rogers, Christoph A. Rohner, Yan Ropert-Coudert, Monica Ross, David R. L. Rowat, Kevin Ruhomaun, Paul M. Sagar, Melita A. Samoilys, Sonia Sanchez, Alejandra G. Sandoval-Lugo, Erik A.P. dos Santos, António M. Santos, Kylie L. Scales, Gail Schofield, Jayson M. Semmens, Edy Setyawan, Scott A. Shaffer, Kartik Shanker, Marcus Sheaves, George L. Shillinger, Mahmood S. Shivji, Abraham Sianipar, Janet R.D. Silk, Mónica A. Silva, Jolene Sim, Samantha J. Simpson, Gregory B. Skomal, David J. Slip, Malcolm J. Smale, German A. Soler, Marc Soria, Lara L. Sousa, Emily J. Southall, Jean-Claude Stahl, Kilian M. Stehfest, Jeremy T. Sterling, John D. Stevens, Guy M.W. Stevens, Joshua D. Stewart, Adhith Swaminathan, Akinori Takahashi, Vikash Tatayah, Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, Paul M. Thompson, Simon R. Thorrold, Michele Thums, Jesus Tomas, Leigh G. Torres, Alison Towner, Philip N. Trathan, John P. Tyminski, Ricardo Sagarminaga van Buiten, Robert P. van Dam, Frederic Vandeperre, Nuria Varo-Cruz, Jeremy J. Vaudo, Michel Vely, Stella Villegas-Amtmann, Cecile Vincent, David Waayers, Sarah Wanless, Yuuki Y. Watanabe, Cortney A. Watt, Sam B. Weber, Nicola Weber, Michael J. Weise, Linda Welch, Randall S. Wells, Jonathan M. Werry, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Timothy D. White, Scott D. Whiting, Andrea U. Whiting, Annelise Wiebkin, Barbara Wienecke, Natalie E. Wildermann, David N. Wiley, Alexis Will, Sean Williams, Marie Windstein, Saskia Wischnewski, Matthew J. Witt, Freya C. Womersley, Andrew G. Wood, Lucy J. Wright, José C. Xavier, Takashi Yamamoto, David J. Yurkowski, Patricia M. Zarate, Alan Zavala-Norzagaray, Alexandre N. Zerbini, Daniel P. Costa, Robert Harcourt, Mark G. Meekan, Graeme C. Hays, David W. Sims, Carlos M. Duarte, Víctor M. Eguíluz
2025, Science (388) 1086-1097
The recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals but no clear pathway for how zero loss of important biodiversity areas and halting human-induced extinction of threatened species will be achieved. We assembled a multi-taxa tracking dataset (11 million geopositions from 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species) to provide...
Observing northern high-latitude river systems to understand changes in a warming Arctic
Joshua C. Koch, J. A. O’Donnell
2025, Current Climate Change Reports (11)
Purpose of ReviewStreams and rivers are undergoing rapid change as the Arctic warms and thaws. We review recent observations in Arctic stream systems to identify ubiquitous changes and the most useful tools for observing change and exploring the underlying processes.Recent FindingsRecent literature indicates increasingly significant trends...
Mount Spurr unrest highlights health risks of volcanic ashfall
David Damby, Kristi L. Wallace
2025, Newsletter
No abstract available....
