Latitudinal gradients and sex differences in morphology of the Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)
Hannah Roodenrijs, Lena Ware, Cole Rankin, Mark Maftei, Mark Hipfner, Brian H. Robinson, Daniel Esler, Heather Coletti, David Green
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Environment and behavior are widely understood to affect bird morphology, which can lead to differences among subspecies or populations within a wide-ranging species. Several patterns of latitudinal gradients in morphology have been described, though Allen's and Bergmann's rules are the most well-known and have...
Anomalously high relief on Denali, Alaska, caused by tectonic, lithologic, and climatic drivers
Ari Matmon, Peter J. Haeussler, Michael Loso, ASTER Team
2024, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (646)
We assess the growth of anomalously high relief on Denali, located in the Alaska Range, Alaska, and the tallest mountain in North America (6190 masl). Denali is 3000 m taller than most surrounding peaks. It lies inside a 19° restraining bend in the active Denali fault system that is moving...
Parsimonious high-resolution landslide susceptibility modeling at continental scales
Benjamin B. Mirus, Gina Marie Belair, Nathan J. Wood, Jeanne M. Jones, Sabrina N. Martinez
2024, AGU Advances (5)
Landslide susceptibility maps are fundamental tools for risk reduction, but the coarse resolution of current continental-scale models is insufficient for local application. Complex relations between topographic and environmental attributes characterizing landslide susceptibility at local scales are not transferrable across areas without landslide data. Existing maps with multiple...
Sod farms drive habitat selection of a migratory grassland shorebird during a critical stopover period
Tara Rodkey, Bart M Ballard, T. Lee Tibbitts, Richard B. Lanctot
2024, Scientific Reports (14)
Migratory shorebirds are one of the fastest declining groups of North American avifauna. Yet, relatively little is known about how these species select habitat during migration. We explored the habitat selection of Buff-breasted Sandpipers (Calidris subruficollis) during spring and fall migration through the Texas Coastal Plain,...
Event classification, seismicity, and eruption forecasting at Great Sitkin Volcano, Alaska: 1999–2023
John Power, Diana Roman
2024, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (454)
The frequency content of volcanogenic seismicity is often used to classify events and their spatial and temporal progression is then used to map subsurface volcanic processes. The progression of volcano-seismic events and associated source processes also plays a critical role...
U.S. Geological Survey climate science plan—Future research directions
Tamara Wilson, Ryan P. Boyles, Nicole DeCrappeo, Judith Z. Drexler, Kevin D. Kroeger, Rachel A. Loehman, John M. Pearce, Mark P. Waldrop, Peter D. Warwick, Anne M. Wein, Sara L. Zeigler, Beard Jr.
2024, Circular 1526
Executive Summary Climate is the primary driver of environmental change and is a key consideration in defining science priorities conducted across all mission areas in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Recognizing the importance of climate change to its future research agenda, the USGS’s Climate Science Steering Committee requested the development of...
New U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Paleozoic metaigneous rocks from western Yukon and eastern Alaska, cross-border synthesis, and implications for tectonic models
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, James K. Mortensen
2024, Professional Paper 1888
The tectonic evolution of and relation between the Yukon-Tanana terrane and the Lake George assemblage, as well as other associated tectonic assemblages in western Yukon and eastern Alaska, have been debated for decades. The Yukon-Tanana terrane is widely considered to be an allochthonous rifted fragment derived from the Laurentian continental...
Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma)
Richard O. Lease, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, David W. Houseknecht, Palma J. Botterell, Mark F. Dreier, Neil Patrick Griffis, Roland Mundil, Andrew Kylander-Clark, Margaret M. Sanders, John W. Counts, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, William A. Rouse, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera
2024, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (646)
The middle Cretaceous greenhouse period experienced profound environmental change including episodes of enhanced global burial of organic carbon marked by carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs). However, the role and response of polar regions like the newly formed, partially enclosed Arctic Ocean Basin...
Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion
Chaopeng Li, Dewen Zheng, Jingxing Yu, Richard O. Lease, Yizhou Wang, Jianzhang Pang, Ying Wang, Yuqi Hao, Yigang Xu
2024, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (646)
Two contrasting age models for initial mountain building in the northeastern (NE) Tibetan Plateau (Paleocene-early Eocene versus late Oligocene-early Miocene) have led to the debate on how the deformed continental lithosphere absorbs plate convergence in general. The initial compressional deformation in the West Qinling (WQL) of the NE Tibetan Plateau...
From field station to forecast: Managing data at the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Michelle L. Coombs, Cheryl Cameron, Hannah R. Dietterich, Eleanor Boyce, Aaron Wech, Ronni Grapenthin, Kristi L. Wallace, Thomas Parker, Taryn Lopez, Scott Crass, David Fee, Matthew M. Haney, Dane M. Ketner, Matthew W. Loewen, John J. Lyons, Jenny Sha Nakai, John Power, Steven M Botnick, Israel Brewster, Max L. Enders, Dain Harmon, Peter J. Kelly, Michael J. Randall
2024, Bulletin of Volcanology (86)
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) uses multidisciplinary data to monitor and study dozens of active and potentially active volcanoes. Here, we provide an overview of internally and externally generated data types, tools and resources used in their management, and challenges faced. Data sources include the following: (1) a multiparameter (seismic,...
Reference 1D seismic velocity models for volcano monitoring and imaging: Methods, models, and applications
Jeremy D. Pesicek, Trond Ryberg
2024, Seismological Research Letters (95) 2722-2744
Seismic velocity models of the crust are an integral part of earthquake monitoring systems at volcanoes. 1D models that vary only in depth are typically used for real‐time hypocenter determination and serve as critical reference models for detailed 3D imaging studies and...
26 August 2024 Reduced representation sequencing reveals weak genetic differentiation between Canadian and European Larus hyperboreus (Glaucous Gull)
Emma Lachance Linklater, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Gregory J. Robertson, Lila Colston-Nepali, Freydís Vigfusdottir, Vicki L. Friesen
2024, Ornithological Applications (126) 1-11
Climate change poses a significant threat to Arctic ecosystems. Evaluation of genetic diversity within and differentiation among populations is needed to effectively conserve Arctic species and ensure genetic variation is appropriately managed.This research examined the population genetic structure in Larus hyperboreus (Glaucous Gull), a circumpolar Arctic species that is declining in parts...
Seasonal patterns in riverine carbon form and export from a temperate forested watershed in Southeast Alaska
Claire Delbecq, Jason B. Fellman, J. Ryan Bellmore, Emily J. Whitney, Eran Hood, Kevin Fitzgerald, Jeffrey A. Falke
2024, Biogeochemistry (167) 1353-1369
Riverine export of carbon (C) is an important part of the global C cycle; however, most riverine C budgets focus on individual forms of C and fail to comprehensively measure both organic and inorganic C species in concert. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted high frequency sampling of multiple...
ShakeAlert® and schools: Incorporating earthquake early warning in school districts in Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington
Rachel M. Adams, Holly Davies, Lori Peek, Meghan Mordy, Jennifer Tobin, Jolie Breeden, Sara K. McBride, Robert Michael deGroot
2024, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (112)
The U.S. Geological Survey-managed ShakeAlert® earthquake early warning system is the first public alerting system in the United States to provide rapid mass notification when an earthquake is detected. Although public alert delivery via mobile phones began in California in 2019 followed by Oregon and Washington in 2021, little is...
The effect of drying boreal lakes on plants, soils, and microbial communities in lake margin habitats
Vijay P. Patil, Jack McFarland, Kimberly Wickland, Kristen L. Manies, Mark Winterstein, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Mark Waldrop
2024, JGR Biogeosciences (129)
Decadal scale lake drying in interior Alaska results in lake margin colonization by willow shrub and graminoid vegetation, but the effects of these changes on plant production, biodiversity, soil properties, and soil microbial communities are not well known. We studied changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) storage,...
Glaciers and ice caps outside Greenland
D. Burgess, G. Wolken, B. Wouters, L.M. Andreassen, Caitlyn Florentine, J. Kohler, B. Luks, F. Palsson, Louis C. Sass, L. Thomson, T. Thorsteinsson
2024, Report, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, State of the Climate, 2023 report
No abstract available....
Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquin M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Ines Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Andreas Kaab, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis C. Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Desiree Treichler, Anja Wendt, Ruitang Yang
2024, The Cryosphere (18) 3195-3230
Observations of glacier mass changes are key to understanding the response of glaciers to climate change and related impacts, such as regional runoff, ecosystem changes, and global sea level rise. Spaceborne optical and radar sensors make it possible to quantify glacier elevation changes, and...
Mapping eelgrass cover and biomass at Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, using in-situ field data and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery
David C. Douglas, Michael D. Fleming, Vijay P. Patil, David H. Ward
2024, Preprint
Two eelgrass (Zostera marina) maps of Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, were generated by first creating maps of spectrally unique classes from each of two Sentinel-2 satellite images collected on July 1, 2016, and August 14, 2020, then attributing the spectral classes with information about eelgrass conditions based on field data. Maps...
The Amazon Basin’s rivers and lakes support Nearctic-breeding shorebirds during southward migration
Jennifer A. Linscott, Enzo Basso, Rosalyn Bathrick, Juliana Bosi de Almeida, Alexandra Anderson, Fernando Angulo-Pratolongo, Bart M Ballard, Joel Bety, Stephen Brown, Katherine S. Christie, Sarah J. Clements, Christian Friis, Callie Gesmundo, Marie-Andree Giroux, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Christopher M. Harwood, Jason M. Hill, James A. Johnson, Bart Kempenaers, Benoit Laliberte, Jean-Francois Lamarre, Richard B. Lanctot, Christopher Latty, Nicolas Lecomte, Laura Anne McDuffie, Juan G. Navedo, Erica Nol, Zachary M. Pohlen, Jennie Rausch, R.B. Renfrew, Jorge Ruiz, Mike Russell, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Brett K. Sandercock, Shiloh A. Schulte, Paul A Smith, Audrey R. Taylor, T. Lee Tibbitts, Mihai Valcu, Mitch D. Weegman, James R. Wright, Nathan R. Senner
2024, Ornithological Applications (126)
Identifying the migration routes and stopover sites used by declining species is critical for developing targeted conservation actions. Long-distance migratory shorebirds are among the groups of birds declining most rapidly, yet we frequently lack detailed knowledge about the routes and stopover sites they use during their hemisphere-spanning migrations. This is...
Assessing the risk of climate maladaptation for Canadian polar bears
L. Ruth Rivkin, Evan Richardson, Joshua D. Miller, Todd C. Atwood, Steven Baryluk, Erik W. Born, Corey Davis, Marcus Dyck, Evelien de Greef, Kristin L. Laidre, Nick Lunn, Sarah McCarthy-Neumann, Martyn E. Obbard, Megan A. Owen, Nicholas Pilfold, Amelie Roberto-Charro, Oystein Wiig, Aryn Wilder, Colin J Garroway
2024, Ecology Letters (27)
The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, threatening the persistence of many Arctic species. It is uncertain if Arctic wildlife will have sufficient time to adapt to such rapidly warming environments. We used genetic forecasting to measure the risk of maladaptation to warming temperatures...
The 2023 Alaska National Seismic Hazard Model
Peter M. Powers, Jason M. Altekruse, Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Kirstie Lafon Haynie, Peter J. Haeussler, Adrian Bender, Sanaz Rezaeian, Morgan P. Moschetti, James Andrew Smith, Richard W. Briggs, Robert Witter, Charles Mueller, Yuehua Zeng, Demi Leafar Girot, Julie A. Herrick, Allison Shumway, Mark D. Petersen
2024, Earthquake Spectra (40) 2545-2597
US Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Models (NSHMs) are used extensively for seismic design regulations in the United States and earthquake scenario development, as well as risk assessment and mitigation for both buildings and infrastructure. This 2023 update of the long-term, time-independent Alaska NSHM includes substantial changes to both...
Capelin on the rebound: Using seabird diets to track trends in forage fish populations
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, John F. Piatt, Scott Hatch, Shannon Wheland
2024, Newsletter
Capelin are cold-water forage fish that respond rapidly to fluctuating ocean temperatures. They are prized food for seabirds and other marine predators in Alaska. Researchers have monitored seabird diets at Middleton Island for decades to make connections between changes in abundance of predators and their prey. During a prolonged marine...
Permafrost history in the sporadic zone as context for recent carbon loss using acryostratigraphy, plant macrofossil, and stable isotope approach
Miriam C. Jones, Lesleigh Anderson, Eva Anne Stephani, Benjamin M. Jones
2024, Conference Paper, 12th International conference on permafrost, proceedings
Permafrost and landscape history, in addition to ground ice content, are increasingly identified as important components in predicting permafrost thaw trajectories. Together with cryostratigraphy, plant remains and stable isotopes can provide useful information about past permafrost aggradation and thaw. We applied these methods with radiocarbon dating on peat and permafrost...
Return rates of GPS-tagged Pacific Golden-Plovers: A controlled study in Hawaii
Oscar W. Johnson, Michael Weber, David R. Bybee, T. Lee Tibbitts, Susan Scott, Joshua Fisher, Wendy A. Kuntz, Susanne Spiessberger, Sigrid Southworth, Elizabeth Maynard, Laura Zoller, Carolyn Smith
2024, Wader Study (131) 152-155
In a study of GPS-tagged Pacific Golden-Plovers wintering at Moorea, French Polynesia, Johnson et al. (2020) raised questions about possible tag-induced mortality. Similar concerns in other species have generated considerable attention in recent years. Of 19 tagged plovers that departed Moorea on northward migration, only one bird (5 %)...
Geolocators, stable isotopes, and citizen science identify migratory timing, route, and spring molt of Smith’s Longspurs
Alexis Will, Heather McFarland, Christopher Latty, Abby Powell
2024, Avian Conservation and Ecology (19)
Climate change is having a disproportionate impact on the Arctic. For Arctic breeding birds, basic knowledge of their annual cycle, specifically the timing, route, and movement behavior of migration, is needed to understand when and where populations may experience threats. We used a combination of geolocators and stable isotope analysis...
