Water supply in the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, water years 2010–20
Galen Gorski, Edward G. Stets, Martha A. Scholl, James R. Degnan, John R. Mullaney, Amy E. Galanter, Anthony J. Martinez, Julie Padilla, Jacob H. LaFontaine, Hayley R. Corson-Dosch, Allen Shapiro
2025, Professional Paper 1894-B
We present an assessment of water supply across the conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico covering water years 2010–20. Our analysis drew on two national hydrologic models, the National Hydrologic Model Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System and the Weather Research and Forecasting model hydrologic modeling system. Both models produced...
Chemostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Hue Shale in Arctic Alaska: Exploring paleoceanographic controls on trace element enrichment, organic matter accumulation, and source-rock evolution
Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, William A. Rouse, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera, Brett J. Valentine
2025, Applied Geochemistry (180)
We document chemostratigraphy in an outcrop of late Albian to early Campanian (∼103–82 Ma) marine source rocks to better understand paleoenvironmental controls on trace element (TE) enrichment and organic matter accumulation in the distal Colville foreland basin of Arctic Alaska and how those drivers are linked to arc volcanism and successions...
Site-level connectivity identified from multiple sources of movement data to inform conservation of a migratory bird
M. Beal, J. Nightingale, J.R. Belo, C. Batey, H. Belting, P. Bocher, M. Burgess, T.B. Craft, N. Crockford, P. Delaporte, L. Donaldson, G. Gelinaud, J.A. Gill, T.G. Gunnarsson, B. J. Morrison, J.S. Gutierrez, J. Hooijmeijer, R.A. Howison, P. Hunke, L. Jomat, H. Lemke, J. P. Ludwig, F.A. Majoor, C. Marlow, J.A. Masero, J. Melter, I. Nicholson, M. Parejo, B. O'Mahony, E. Pasanen, J. Pessa, T. Piersma, A.D. Rocha, F. Robin, M. Roodbergen, P. Rousseau, V. Salewski, L. Schmidt, J. Smart, A. Staneva, T. Lee Tibbitts, S. Timonen, J.A. Alves, M.P. Dias
2025, Journal of Applied Ecology (62) 303-316
Migratory birds depend on a suite of sites across their annual cycles, making them vulnerable to a wide variety of anthropogenic pressures. Current area-based conservation measures have been found inadequate to safeguard migratory birds, in part due to a lack of consideration for the connectivity between sites mediated by...
Generalized Bancroft algorithm for locating earthquakes with P- and S-wave arrival times
Matthew M. Haney
2025, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (115) 367-378
Because of similarities between locating an earthquake with seismic stations and locating a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver from satellites, the Bancroft algorithm developed for GPS processing can be used to locate earthquakes. Such an approach to earthquake location differs from the conventional method of choosing an initial or trial...
Invited perspectives: Integrating hydrologic information into the next generation of landslide early warning systems
Benjamin B. Mirus, Thom Bogaard, Roberto Greco, Manfred Stähli
2025, Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences (NHESS) (25) 169-182
Although rainfall-triggered landslides are initiated by subsurface hydro-mechanical processes related to the loading, weakening, and eventual failure of slope materials, most landslide early warning systems (LEWS) have relied solely on rainfall event information. In previous decades, several studies demonstrated the value of integrating proxies for subsurface hydrologic information to improve...
Leveraging airborne imaging spectroscopy and multispectral satellite imagery to map glacial sediment plumes in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Lea Hartl, Carl Schmitt, Martin Stuefer, J. Jenckes, Benjamin Patrick Page, Christopher J. Crawford, Gail L. Schmidt, R. Yang, R. Hock
2025, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (57)
Study RegionKachemak Bay is a fjord-type estuary in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Water quality and habitat characteristics are strongly influenced by freshwater and sediment input from multiple glacierized catchments.Study FocusWe present a new method combining imaging spectroscopy from an...
Sex differences in migration routes and non-breeding areas of a declining shorebird
Ann E. McKellar, Cheri L Gratto-Trevor, T. Lee Tibbitts
2025, Avian Conservation and Ecology (20)
Migratory birds face different threats and pressures across their annual cycle, and understanding the impact of these factors on individuals is critical to the conservation of avian populations. Individuals from the same breeding population may share the same non-breeding areas, and thus experience similar conditions, or they may travel to...
Evaluating effects of tracking device attachment methods on Black Oystercatchers Haematopus bachmani
Cole Rankin, Lena Ware, Brian H. Robinson, Daniel Esler, Heather Coletti, Mark Maftei, J Mark Hipfner, David Green
2025, Wader Study (131) 204-213
Advances in tracking technology are greatly improving our understanding of many aspects of avian ecology. However, the diversity of tracking devices and attachment methods necessitates better evaluation of how they affect particular taxa. We evaluated effects of tracking devices mounted on leg bands or attached using leg-loop harnesses on resighting...
Glass laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analysis methods, precision, and accuracy data for tephra studies in Alaska
Jordan Edward Lubbers, Matthew W. Loewen
2025, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Techniques and Methods 1
This publication reports the analytical conditions, standard reference material (SRM) results, and preferred post-processing methodologies for laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) measurements supporting tephra studies in Alaska between 2018 and 2024. We evaluate the long-term accuracy and precision of our methodologies by comparing our calculated SRM concentrations...
Mountain sentinels in a changing world: Review and conservation implications of weather and climate effects on mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus)
Kevin White, Becky Cadsand, Steeve D. Cote, Tabitha A. Graves, Sandra Hamel, Richard B. Harris, Forest Hayes, Eran Hood, Kevin Hurley, Tyler Jessen, Bill Jex, Erich Peitzsch, Wesley Sarmento, Helen M. Schwantje, Joel Berger
2025, Global Ecology and Conservation (57)
Climate change is occurring at an accelerated rate in high-elevation alpine and mountain ecosystems. Cold-adapted, mountain species are at risk due to forecasted change and knowledge is needed to respond to current and future conservation challenges. Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) are an iconic species of North American mountain cultures and...
Assessing the sustainability of Pacific walrus harvest in a changing environment
Devin L. Johnson, Joseph Michael Eisaguirre, Rebecca L. Taylor, Erik M. Andersen, Joel L. Garlich-Miller
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
Harvest sustainability is a primary goal of wildlife management and conservation, and in a changing world, it is increasingly important to consider environmental drivers of population dynamics alongside harvest in cohesive management plans. This is particularly pertinent for harvested species that acutely experience effects of climate change. The Pacific walrus...
International data gaps at the Center for Engineering Strong Motion Data
Han Shao, Jeff Brody, Lisa Sue Schleicher, Kristin Marano, Jamison Haase Steidl, Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, James Luke Blair
2025, Conference Paper
The Center for Engineering Strong Motion Data (CESMD) is utilized by seismologists, engineers, and disaster management professionals in the US and has historically achieved and distributed waveforms from across the globe for significant earthquakes. The increased access to the waveforms via Web API (Application Programming Interface) offers a unique opportunity...
Oblique contraction along the fastest ocean-continent transform plate boundary focuses rock uplift west of the Fairweather fault, southeast Alaska
Robert C. Witter, Harvey M. Kelsey, Richard O. Lease, Adrian Bender, Katherine M. Scharer, Peter J. Haeussler, Daniel S. Brothers
Natalia A. Ruppert, M. Jadamec, Jeffery T. Freymueller, editor(s)
2025, Book chapter, Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
Contraction along the Yakutat–North America plate boundary drives 4.6–9.0 mm/year Holocene rock uplift rates along Earth's fastest slipping (≥49 mm/year) ocean–continent transform fault, the Fairweather Fault. Between Icy Point and Lituya Bay, the near-vertical Fairweather fault focuses rock uplift and rapid right-lateral slip by accommodating both vertical and fault-parallel strain during oblique-slip...
Constraining the earthquake recording threshold of intraslab earthquakes with turbidites in southcentral Alaska’s lakes and fjords
Drake Moore Singleton, Daniel S. Brothers, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert C. Witter, Jenna C. Hill
Natalia A. Ruppert, M. Jadamec, Jeffrey T. Freymueller, editor(s)
2025, Book chapter, Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
Strong ground motion from intraslab earthquakes, which do not produce primary paleoseismic evidence, may initiate gravity-driven turbidity flows in subaqueous basins. The resulting deposits (turbidites) can provide a paleoseismic proxy if the conditions that initiate these flows are known. To better constrain the initiating conditions, we use two recent intraslab...
Tectonic tremor observations across Alaska
Aaron Wech
Natalia A. Ruppert, M. Jadamec, Jeffery T. Freymueller, editor(s)
2025, Book chapter, Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
Tectonic tremor is a semicontinuous, low-frequency seismic signal associated with stable fault motion at major plate boundaries worldwide. In subduction zones, tremor often coincides with geodetic transients that indicate discrete slow slip on the subducting plate interface. Because tremor epicenters offer better spatial and temporal resolution than geodetic inversions of...
Perspectives on transportable array Alaska background noise levels
Adam T. Ringler, Kasey Aderhold, Robert E. Anthony, Robert W. Busby, Andy Frassetto, Toshiro Tanimoto, David C. Wilson
Natalia A. Ruppert, M. Jadamec, Jeffery T. Freymueller, editor(s)
2025, Book chapter, Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
Background seismic noise fundamentally sets a lower bound on our ability to record signals arising from earthquakes. The background noise spectrum at a station is a combination of cultural noise, ocean-generated microseism noise, intrinsic instrument self-noise, and the sensitivity of the instrument to nonseismic noise sources. The USArray-Transportable Array Alaska...
Multiscale processes drive formation of logjam habitats and use by juvenile Chinook salmon across a boreal stream network in Alaska
Charles N. Cathcart, Jeffrey A. Falke, Jimmy Fox, Robert Henszey, Katherine Lininger
2025, River Research and Applications (41) 593-608
Boreal forest streams are characterized by large volumes of instream wood, yet the relationship between logjams and Pacific salmon productivity remains underqualified. We located logjams (n = 427) within the distribution of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Chena River, Alaska (Yukon River tributary) and measured dimensions, classified formative process, and snorkel-sampled...
Strontium isotopes reveal diverse life history variations, migration patterns, and habitat use for Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) in Arctic, Alaska
Jason C. Leppi, Daniel J. Rinella, Mark S. Wipfli, Randy J. Brown, Karen J. Spaleta, Matthew S. Whitman
2025, PLoS ONE (17)
Conservation of Arctic fish species is challenging partly due to our limited ability to track fish through time and space, which constrains our understanding of life history diversity and lifelong habitat use. Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) is an important subsistence species for Alaska’s Arctic Indigenous communities, yet little is known...
Simulating present and future groundwater/surface-water interactions and stream temperatures in Beaver Creek, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Andrew T. Leaf, Megan J. Haserodt, Benjamin E. Meyer, Stephen, M. Westenbroek, Joshua C. Koch
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5126
In many places, coldwater ecosystems are facing increasing pressure from anthropogenic warming. This study examined stream temperatures and the water balance in the Beaver Creek watershed on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska—an area that is experiencing rapid warming. Low-gradient streams near the Kenai coast provide important spawning and rearing...
Photogrammetry-based body condition for monitoring an Arctic marine mammal experiencing habitat loss
Karyn D. Rode, Anthony S. Fischbach, Mitzi Synnott, John Stewart, Nick Northcraft, Erika Allen, Kelly Trotto, Catherine Vancsok, Nicolas Issenjou, Sheriden Ploof, Stephanie Rager, Stacy DiRocco, Staci Owens, Adriane Prahl
2024, Marine Ecology Progress Series (751) 211-227
Monitoring animal body condition can provide insight on population responses to environmental change. Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) are experiencing loss of their sea ice habitat which has decreased the time that females spend foraging during a critical period of pregnancy and lactation. Here we investigate the potential for body...
A benchmark for computational analysis of animal behavior, using animal-borne tags
Benjamin Hoffmann, Maddie Cusimano, Vittorio Baglione, Daniela Canestrari, Damien Chevallier, Dominic L. DeSantis, Lorene Jeantet, Monique Ladds, Takuya Maekawa, Mata-Silva Vicente, Victor Moreno-Gonzalez, Anthony M. Pagano, Eva Trapote, Outi Vainio, Antti Vehkaoja, Ken Yoda, Katherine Zacarian, Ari Friedlaender
2024, Movement Ecology (12)
BackgroundAnimal-borne sensors (‘bio-loggers’) can record a suite of kinematic and environmental data, which are used to elucidate animal ecophysiology and improve conservation efforts. Machine learning techniques are used for interpreting the large amounts of data recorded by bio-loggers, but there exists no common framework for comparing the different...
Using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio method to estimate thickness of the Barry Arm landslide, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Andrew L. Collins, Kate E. Allstadt, Dennis M. Staley
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1071
Conducting detailed investigations of large landslides is difficult, especially in the subsurface, largely due to environmental factors such as steep slopes, difficult access, and numerous objective hazards. These factors have made it challenging to accurately estimate the depth to the failure surface of the Barry Arm landslide, a large (roughly...
The dynamics of sea otter prey selection under population growth and expansion
Clint Leach, Ben Weitzman, Jim Bodkin, Daniel Esler, George G. Esslinger, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Daniel Monson, Jamie N. Womble, Mevin B. Hooten
2024, Ecosphere (15)
Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) were extirpated from much of their range in the North Pacific by the early 1900s but have made a remarkable recovery in Southeast Alaska. Sea otter populations have been particularly successful in Glacier Bay, Alaska, a protected tidewater glacier fjord with a diverse and productive nearshore...
Seismicity and anisotropic imaging reveal an active detachment beneath the northern Alaska Range foothills
Vera Schulte-Pelkum, Adrian Bender, Natalia A. Ruppert
Natalia A. Ruppert, M. Jadamec, Jeffery T. Freymueller, editor(s)
2024, Book chapter, Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
North of the Denali Fault, the collision between the Yakutat block with North America is accommodated by a fold-thrust belt giving rise to the northern Alaska Range foothills. At the western end, the Kantishna Hills anticline hosts prominent microseismicity and surface deformation, interpreted as active folding of the Kantishna Hills...
The effects of spatio-temporal variation in marine resources on the occupancy dynamics of a terrestrial avian predator
Joshua H. Schmidt, Heather A. Coletti, Kyle A. Cutting, Tammy L. Wilson, Buck A. Mangipane, Carlene N. Schultz, Dylan T. Schertz
2024, Ecosphere (15)
Identifying how species respond to system drivers such as weather, climate, habitat, and resource availability is critical in understanding population change. In coastal areas, the transfer of nutrients across the marine and terrestrial interface increases complexity. Nesting populations of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) along the Pacific coast of North America,...
