Ongoing efforts to make ash-cloud model forecasts more accurate
Larry G. Mastin, Alexa R. Van Eaton, David J. Schneider, Roger P. Denlinger
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of impact of volcanic ash clouds on military operations
The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland changed the rules for air travel in Europe and introduced the use of restricted fly zones based on ash-cloud concentrations calculated by dispersion models. This change prompted a sustained effort to improve the accuracy of ash-cloud model forecasts. In this paper we...
Potential effects of permafrost thaw on arctic river ecosystems
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Christian E. Zimmerman, Michael P. Carey, Joshua C. Koch
2017, Alaska Park Science (16) 47-49
No abstract available....
A lake-centric geospatial database to guide research and inform management decisions in an Arctic watershed in northern Alaska experiencing climate and land-use changes
Benjamin M. Jones, Christopher D. Arp, Matthew S. Whitman, Debora A. Nigro, Ingmar Nitze, John Beaver, Anne Gadeke, Callie Zuck, Anna K. Liljedahl, Ronald Daanen, Eric Torvinen, Stacey Fritz, Guido Grosse
2017, Ambio (46) 769-786
Lakes are dominant and diverse landscape features in the Arctic, but conventional land cover classification schemes typically map them as a single uniform class. Here, we present a detailed lake-centric geospatial database for an Arctic watershed in northern Alaska. We developed a GIS dataset consisting of 4362 lakes that provides...
Fracture propagation and stability of ice shelves governed by ice shelf heterogeneity
Chris Borstad, Daniel Mcgrath, Allen Pope
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 4186-4194
Tabular iceberg calving and ice shelf retreat occurs after full‐thickness fractures, known as rifts, propagate across an ice shelf. A quickly evolving rift signals a threat to the stability of Larsen C, the Antarctic Peninsula's largest ice shelf. Here we reveal the influence of ice shelf heterogeneity on the growth...
Low-pathogenic influenza A viruses in North American diving ducks contribute to the emergence of a novel highly pathogenic influenza A(H7N8) virus
Yifei Xu, Andrew M. Ramey, Andrew S. Bowman, Thomas J. DeLiberto, Mary L. Killian, Scott Krauss, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Mia Kim Torchetti, Andrew B. Reeves, Richard J. Webby, David E. Stallknecht, Xiu-Feng Wan
2017, Journal of Virology (91)
Introductions of low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses of subtypes H5 and H7 into poultry from wild birds have the potential to mutate to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses, but such viruses' origins are often unclear. In January 2016, a novel H7N8 HPAI virus caused an outbreak in turkeys in...
Growth of black brant and lesser snow goose goslings in northern Alaska
Jerry W. Hupp, David H. Ward, Kyle R. Hogrefe, James S. Sedinger, Philip D. Martin, Alice A Stickney, Tim Obritschkewitsch
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 846-857
Gosling body mass can affect first year survival, recruitment, adult body size, and future fecundity of geese, and can serve as an indicator of forage availability and quality on brood-rearing areas. From 2012–2014 we measured body mass of 76 black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) and 268 lesser snow goose (Chen...
Genetic structure among greater white-fronted goose populations of the Pacific Flyway
Craig R. Ely, Robert E. Wilson, Sandra L. Talbot
2017, Ecology and Evolution (7) 2956-2968
An understanding of the genetic structure of populations in the wild is essential for long-term conservation and stewardship in the face of environmental change. Knowledge of the present-day distribution of genetic lineages (phylogeography) of a species is especially important for organisms that are exploited or utilize habitats that may be...
The Beringian coevolution project: Holistic collections of mammals and associated parasites reveal novel perspectives on evolutionary and environmental change in the North
Joseph A. Cook, Kurt E. Galbreath, Mariel Campbell, Susanne Carriere, Jocelyn P. Colella, Natalie G. Dawson, Jonathan L. Dunnum, Ralph P. Eckerlin, Stephen E. Greiman, Vadim B. Fedorov, Genevieve M. S. Haas, Voitto Haukisalmi, Heikki Henttonen, Andrew G. Hope, Donavan Jackson, Tom Jung, Anson V. Koehler, John M. Kinsella, Dianna Krejsa, Susan J. Kutz, Schuyler Liphardt, Stephen O. MacDonald, Jason L. Malaney, Arseny Makarikov, Jon Martin, Bryan S. McLean, Robert Mulders, Batsaikhan Nyamsuren, Sandra L. Talbot, Vasyl V. Tkach, Albina Tsvetkova, Heather M. Toman, Eric C. Waltari, Jackson S. Whitman, Eric P. Hoberg
2017, Arctic Science (3) 585-617
The Beringian Coevolution Project (BCP), a field program underway in the high northern latitudes since 1999, has focused on building key scientific infrastructure for integrated specimen-based studies on mammals and their associated parasites. BCP has contributed new insights across temporal and spatial scales into how ancient climate and environmental change...
Geographic and temporal patterns of variation in total mercury concentrations in blood of harlequin ducks and blue mussels from Alaska
Lucas Savoy, Paul L. Flint, Denny Zwiefelhofer, Heather Brant, Christopher R. Perkins, Robert J. Taylor, Oksana P. Lane, Jefferson S. Hall, David C. Evers, Jason Schamber
2017, Marine Pollution Bulletin (117) 178-183
We compared total mercury (Hg) concentrations in whole blood of harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) sampled within and among two geographically distinct locations and across three years in southwest Alaska. Blue mussels were collected to assess correlation between Hg concentrations in locally available forage and birds. Mercury concentrations in harlequin duck...
Geometry, mass balance and thinning at Eklutna Glacier, Alaska: an altitude-mass-balance feedback with implications for water resources
Louis C. Sass, Michael G. Loso, Jason Geck, Evan Thoms, Daniel Mcgrath
2017, Journal of Glaciology (63) 343-354
We analyzed glacier surface elevations (1957, 2010 and 2015) and surface mass-balance measurements (2008–2015) on the 30 km2 Eklutna Glacier, in the Chugach Mountains of southcentral Alaska. The geodetic mass balances from 1957 to 2010 and 2010 to 2015 are −0.52 ± 0.46 and −0.74 ± 0.10 m w.e. a<span...
The 3.6 ka Aniakchak tephra in the Arctic Ocean: A constraint on the Holocene radiocarbon reservoir age in the Chukchi Sea
Christof Pearce, Aron Varhelyi, Stefan Wastegard, Francesco Muschitiello, Natalia Barrientos Macho, Matt O’Regan, Thomas M. Cronin, Laura Gemery, Igor Semiletov, Jan Backman, Martin Jakobsson
2017, Climate of the Past (13) 303-316
The caldera-forming eruption of the Aniakchak volcano in the Aleutian Range on the Alaskan Peninsula at 3.6 cal kyr BP was one of the largest Holocene eruptions worldwide. The resulting ash is found as a visible sediment layer in several Alaskan sites and as a cryptotephra on Newfoundland and Greenland. This large...
Reassortment of influenza A viruses in wild birds in Alaska before H5 Clade 2.3.4.4 Outbreaks
Nichola J. Hill, Islam T. M. Hussein, Kimberly R. Davis, Eric J. Ma, Timothy J. Spivey, Andrew M. Ramey, Wendy Blay Puryear, Suman R. Das, Rebecca A. Halpin, Xudong Lin, Nadia B. Federova, David L. Suarez, Walter M. Boyce, Jonathan A. Runstadler
2017, Emerging Infectious Diseases (23) 654-657
Sampling of mallards in Alaska during September 2014–April 2015 identified low pathogenic avian influenza A virus (subtypes H5N2 and H1N1) that shared ancestry with highly pathogenic reassortant H5N2 and H5N1 viruses. Molecular dating indicated reassortment soon after interhemispheric movement of H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4, suggesting genetic exchange in Alaska or surrounds...
A global threats overview for Numeniini populations: synthesising expert knowledge for a group of declining migratory birds.
James W. Pearce-Higgins, Daniel J. Brown, David J.T. Douglas, José A. Alves, Mariagrazia Bellio, Pierrick Bocher, Graeme M. Buchannan, Robert P. Clay, Jesse R. Conklin, Nicola Crockford, Peter Dann, Jaanus Elts, Christian Friis, Richard A. Fuller, Jennifer A. Gill, Ken Gosbell, James A. Johnson, Rocio Marquez-Ferrando, Jose A. Masero, David S. Melville, Spike Millington, Clive Minton, Taej Mundkur, Erika Nol, Hannes Pehlak, Theunis Piersma, Danny I. Rogers, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Nathan R. Senner, Junid Nazeer Shah, Rob D. Sheldon, Sergej A. Soloviev, Pavel S. Tomkovich, Yvonne I. Verkuil
2017, Bird Conservation International (27) 6-34
The Numeniini is a tribe of 13 wader species (Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes) of which seven are Near Threatened or globally threatened, including two Critically Endangered. To help inform conservation management and policy responses, we present the results of an expert assessment of the threats that members of this taxonomic group face...
Five-year external reviews of the eight Department of Interior Climate Science Centers: Alaska Climate Science Center
Mark Shasby, C. Andrew Dolloff, Jeffrey A. Hicke, Bruce G. Marcot, Bruce McCarl, Gerard McMahon, John M. Morton
2017, Report
This report primarily addresses the first two purposes of the review while providing comments on the third as identified by the science review team (SRT). A separate report of recommendations for the recompetition, based upon compiled observation from all three reviews conducted in 2016, was submitted to NCCWSC on April...
Reconnaissance sedimentology of selected tertiary exposures in the upland region bordering the Yukon Flats basin, east-central Alaska
David L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley
2017, Preliminary Interpretive Report 2016-6
This report summarizes reconnaissance sedimentologic and stratigraphic observations made during six days of helicopter-supported fieldwork in 2002 on Tertiary sedimentary rocks exposed in the upland region around the flanks of the Yukon Flats basin in east-central Alaska (fig. 1). This project was a cooperative effort between the Alaska Division of...
A synthesis of thermokarst lake water balance in high-latitude regions of North America from isotope tracers
Lauren A. MacDonald, Brent B. Wolfe, Kevin W. Turner, Lesleigh Anderson, Christopher D. Arp, Jean Birks, Frederic Bouchard, Thomas W.D. Edwards, Nicole Farquharson, Roland I. Hall, Ian McDonald, Biljana Narancic, Chantal Ouimet, Reinhard Pienitz, Jana Tondu, Hilary White
2017, Arctic Science (3) 118-149
Numerous studies utilizing remote sensing imagery and other methods have documented that thermokarst lakes are undergoing varied hydrological transitions in response to recent climate changes, from surface area expansion to drainage and evaporative desiccation. Here, we provide a synthesis of hydrological conditions for 376 lakes of mainly thermokarst origin across...
Evaluation of a method using survey counts and tag data to estimate the number of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) using a coastal haulout in northwestern Alaska
Brian Battaile, Chadwick V. Jay, Mark S. Udevitz, Anthony S. Fischbach
2017, Polar Biology (40) 1359-1369
Increased periods of sparse sea ice over the continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea in late summer have reduced offshore haulout habitat for Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) and increased opportunities for human activities in the region. Knowing how many walruses could be affected by human activities would...
A science of integration: frameworks, processes, and products in a place-based, integrative study
Andrew Kliskey, Lilian Alessa, Sarah Wandersee, Paula Williams, Jamie Trammell, Jim Powell, Jess Grunblatt, Mark S. Wipfli
2017, Sustainability Science (12) 293-303
Integrative research is increasingly a priority within the scientific community and is a central goal for the evolving field of sustainability science. While it is conceptually attractive, its successful implementation has been challenging and recent work suggests that the move towards interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity in sustainability science is being only...
Harvest dynamics and annual survival of mallards and grey ducks
Matthew B. McDougall, Courtney L. Amundson
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 449-460
We examined how hunter behavior, environmental covariates, and mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and grey duck (A. superciliosa) population indices affected per capita harvest, hunter effort (i.e., hours hunted), and hunter participation (i.e., license sales) between 1997 and 2012 in the Eastern Fish and Game Region of New Zealand. Additionally, we examined...
Mineral potential mapping in an accreted island-arc setting using aeromagnetic data: An example from southwest Alaska
Eric Anderson, Thomas Monecke, Murray W. Hitzman, Wendy Zhou, Paul A. Bedrosian
2017, Economic Geology (112) 375-396
The distribution of volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), porphyry-epithermal, Alaska-type ultramafic-mafic complexes, intrusion-related Au, and granitoid Sn-W ore deposits in southwest Alaska supports current metallogenic models linking the formation of these deposit types to the emplacement of different suites of igneous rocks during the evolution of this convergent plate margin....
Bedrock geologic map of the northern Alaska Peninsula area, southwestern Alaska
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 2942
The northern Alaska Peninsula is a region of transition from the classic magmatic arc geology of the Alaska Peninsula to a Proterozoic and early Paleozoic carbonate platform and then to the poorly understood, tectonically complex sedimentary basins of southwestern Alaska. Physiographically, the region ranges from the high glaciated mountains of...
Geospatial analysis identifies critical mineral-resource potential in Alaska
Susan M. Karl, Keith A. Labay
Katherine Jacques, Claire Landowski, editor(s)
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3012
Alaska consists of more than 663,000 square miles (1,717,000 square kilometers) of land—more than a sixth of the total area of the United States—and large tracts of it have not been systematically studied or sampled for mineral-resource potential. Many regions of the State are known to have significant mineral-resource potential, and there are currently six operating mines...
Regional patterns of Mesozoic-Cenozoic magmatism in western Alaska revealed by new U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar ages
Dwight Bradley, Marti L. Miller, Richard M. Friedman, Paul W. Layer, Heather A. Bleick, James V. Jones III, Steven E. Box, Susan M. Karl, Nora B. Shew, Timothy S. White, Alison B. Till, Julie A. Dumoulin, Thomas K. Bundtzen, Paul B. O'Sullivan, Thomas D. Ullrich
Julie A. Dumoulin, editor(s)
2017, Professional Paper 1814-D
In support of regional geologic framework studies, we obtained 50 new argon-40/argon-39 (40Ar/39Ar) ages and 33 new uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages from igneous rocks of southwestern Alaska. Most of the samples are from the Sleetmute and Taylor Mountains quadrangles; smaller collections or individual samples are from the Bethel,...
Walrus haul-out and in water activity levels relative to sea ice availability in the Chukchi Sea
Chadwick V. Jay, Rebecca L. Taylor, Anthony S. Fischbach, Mark S. Udevitz, William S. Beatty
2017, Journal of Mammalogy (98) 386-396
An animal’s energetic costs are dependent on the amount of time it allocates to various behavioral activities. For Arctic pinnipeds, the time allocated to active and resting behaviors could change with future reductions in sea ice cover and longer periods of open water. The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is...
Surface geophysical methods for characterising frozen ground in transitional permafrost landscapes
Martin A. Briggs, Seth Campbell, Jay Nolan, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Dimitrios Ntarlagiannis, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, John W. Lane Jr.
2017, Permafrost and Periglacial Processes (28) 52-65
The distribution of shallow frozen ground is paramount to research in cold regions, and is subject to temporal and spatial changes influenced by climate, landscape disturbance and ecosystem succession. Remote sensing from airborne and satellite platforms is increasing our understanding of landscape-scale permafrost distribution, but typically lacks the resolution to...
