Refinement of a framework for Moving Aircraft River Velocimetry (MARV) and application to particle tracking along Alaskan rivers
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Mark Laker, Jeff Conaway
2026, Water Resources Research (62)
Information on river velocities enhances understanding flood hazards, evaluating habitat conditions, and predicting the transport of floating materials. In this follow-up study, we used data from two new sites, one with a more complex morphology and the other with a lower suspended sediment concentration, to provide further evidence that Moving...
Nest site and habitat changes over 15 years in a predicted climate refugium in Beluga, AK, USA, have a positive impact on Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) nest survival
Eden Smith, Rose J. Swift, Anna Courtemanche, Feipeng Huang, Mary Margaret Pelton, Lauren Puleo, Josiah Simmonds, Matthew Waller, Hannah Walton, Casey Weissburg, Luke R. Wilde, Nathan R. Senner
2026, Polar Biology (49)
Climate change is transforming the Arctic and sub-Arctic at a pace that threatens many taxa with population declines and extinction. However, some habitats–such as muskeg bogs–can serve as climatic refugia and lessen the effects of a changing climate on the species that rely on them. Hudsonian Godwits (Limosa haemastica) are...
Dynamic drainage reorganization in Eastern Tibet: Insights from the Yangtze River first bend
Xudong Zhao, Yifei Li, Huiping Zhang, Richard O. Lease, Ying Wang, Yuqi Hao, Zifa Ma, Hao Xie, Huan Kang, Jianguo Xiong, Peizhen Zhang
2026, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (686)
The modern drainage network of eastern Tibet is widely believed to have developed through a series of river capture and flow reversal events; however, the timing and mechanisms driving this reorganization remain contentious. Among these events, the river capture that formed the First Bend of the Yangtze River (YFB) stands...
Evaluating snow depth measurements from ground-penetrating radar and airborne lidar in boreal forest and tundra environments during the NASA SnowEx 2023 campaign
Kajsa Holland-Goon, Randall Ray Bonnell, Daniel McGrath, W. Brad Baxter, Tate Meehan, Ryan Webb, Christopher F. Larsen, Hans-Peter Marshall, Megan A. Mason, Carrie Vuyovich
2026, The Cryosphere (20) 2169-2179
Snow is a vital component of high-latitude terrestrial systems, but environmental factors (e.g., permafrost) and complex vegetation challenge the accurate measurement of key snowpack properties. We evaluated local-scale ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and large-scale airborne lidar retrievals of snow depth collected during the NASA SnowEx 2023 campaign in tundra and boreal...
A practical decision tool for marine bird mortality assessments
Johanna Harvey, Andrew M. Ramey, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Gregory J. Robertson, Marc D. Romano, Jennifer M Mullinax, Megan L Boldenow, Philip W. Atkinson, Diann Prosser
2026, Ornithological Applications
Given the rise in anthropogenic, environmental, and disease events contributing to marine bird mortality, there is a critical need to improve the rigor of mortality assessments. Deficits in data collection and mortality estimation can hinder a manager’s ability to document the scale of events and assess population level impacts. Therefore,...
The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project Phase 2 data release: An open data resource for the study of Earth's environmental history
Una Farrell, Hunter Olson, Maya Thompson, Michelle L. Abshire, Oyeleye Adeboye, Anne-Sofie Ahm, Lewis Alcott, Thomas Algeo, Ross Anderson, Arif Ansari, Lucas Bastos, Kohen Bauer, Brian Beaty, Justin E. Birdwell, Fred Bowyer, Jochen J. Brocks, Tessa Brunoir, James F. Busch, Donald Canfield, Fabrício Caxito, Chao-Chin Chang, Meng Cheng, Jean Clemente, David Cordie, Peter W. Crockford, Huan Cui, Celeste Cunningham, Tais Dahl, Janaina Rodrigues de Paula, Carol Dehler, Lucas Del Mouro, Keith Dewing, Dermeval Aparecido do Carmo, Stephen Dornbos, Nadja Drabon, Julie A. Dumoulin, Omabehere Ejeh, Emily Ellefson, Maya Elrick, Joseph Emmings, Bokanda Eric, Hao Fang, Gabriella Fazio, Henrique Fernandes, Katherine L. French, Robert R. Gaines, Richard Gaschnig, Timothy M. Gibson, Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau, Karin Goldberg, Zheng Gong, Amy Hagen, Galen P. Halverson, Kalev G. Hantsoo, Emma R. Haxen, Miles A. Henderson, João-Pedro Hippertt, Malcolm S. W. Hodgskiss, Paul Hoffman, Edward Huang, Benjamin Johnson, Pavel B. Kabanov, Junyao Kang, C. Brenhin Keller, Brian Kendall, Julien Kimmig, Sara Kimmig, Michael A. Kipp, Andrew H. Knoll, Timmu Kreitsmann, Anurag Kulkarni, Alexandra Kunert, Marcus Kunzmann, Jiankang Lai, Richard O. Lease, Chao Li, Sen Li, Alex Lipp, Yang Liu, David Loydell, Xinze Lu, Katie Maloney, Kaarel Mänd, Alexie E. G. Millikin, N. Tanner Mills, Kento Motomura, Chiza N. Mwinde, Lyle Nelson, Nora M. Nieminski, Brennan O'Connell, Edel Mary O'Sullivan, Juliana Okubo, Jaden Olah, Frantz Ossa Ossa, Chadlin Ostrander, Kärt Paiste, Camille A. Partin, Egberto Pereira, Shanan Peters, Tiffany L. Playter, Susannah M. Porter, Simon W. Poulton, Sara B. Pruss, Zhen Qiu, Daven Quinn, Mariano Remirez, Sebastian Richiano, Sylvain Richoz, Kathryn Rico, Samantha R. Ritzer, Zachary Roney, Alan D. Rooney, William C. Rose, Elias Rugen, Swapan K. Sahoo, Shane D. Schoepfer, Judith A. Sclafani, Nathan D. Sheldon, Yanan Shen, Graham Shields, Pulkit Singh, Arvind Singh, Sarah P. Slotznick, Emily Smith, Haijun Song, Sam Spinks, Richard G. Stockey, Justin Strauss, Eva Stüeken, Zongyuan Sun, Dongjie Tang, Lidya Tarhan, Danielle Thomson, Nicholas Tosca, Rosalie Tostevin, Chenyi Tu, Maoli Vizcaíno, Yuxuan Wang, Changle Wang, Xiaomei Wang, Lucas Warren, Lucy Webb, Philip R. Wilby, Christina R. Woltz, Rachel Wood, Yuyang Wu, Xiuqing Yang, Inessa A. Yurchenko, Junpeng Zhang, Jessica Whiteside, Benjamin C. Gill, Akshay Mehra, Kimberly V. Lau, Noah J. Planavsky, David T. Johnston, Erik A Sperling
2026, Chemical Geology (712)
Geochemical data from sedimentary rocks are the primary source of information regarding Earth's surface evolution through time, including its air and water envelopes and interactions with life and deep Earth processes. The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project (SGP) is a scientific consortium centered around open data and community-driven development of...
Global glacier mass change in 2025
Michael Zemp, Ethan Z. Welty, Samuel U. Nussbaumer, Jacqueline Bannwart, Isabelle Gärtner-Roer, Albin Wells, Andreas Peter Ahlstrøm, Brian Anderson, Liss Marie Andreassen, Mohd. Farooq Azam, Jamie Barnett, Carlo Baroni, Nicholas Edward Barrand, Andreas Bauder, Eric Bernard, Etienne Berthier, Giulia Bertolotti, Tobias Bolch, Mylène Bonnefoy-Demongeot, Matthias H. Braun, David Burgess, David Cappelletti, Jonathan L. Carrivick, Luca Carturan, Daniele Cat Berro, Jorge Luis Ceballos, Guillermo Cobos, Rolando Cruz, Nicolas Cullen, Bolívar Cáceres, Johanna Dahlkvist, Otgonbayar Demberel, Simon de Villiers, Roberto Dinale, Eugene Drozdov, Inés Dussaillant, Luzmila Dávila, Nelly Elagina, Hallgeir Elvehøy, Alexander Erofeev, Daniel Falaschi, Andrea Fischer, Mauro Fischer, Caitlyn Florentine, Koji Fujita, Stephan Peter Galos, Ayon Garcia, Noel Gourmelen, Federico Grosso, Afanasiy Gubanov, Andri Gunnarsson, Anne Guyez, Lea Hartl, Martin Hoelzle, Jorge Huenante, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Bernhard Hynek, Takuro Imazu, Rodolfo Iturraspe, Livia Jakob, Sharad Joshi, Neamat Karimi, Nina Kirchner, Bjarne Kjøllmoen, Jack Kohler, Stanislav Kutuzov, Ivan Lavrentiev, James Matthew Lea, Amerigo Lendvai, Huilin Li, Shenghai Li, Zhongqin Li, Andreas Linsbauer, Sebastián Marinsek, Enrico Mattea, Christoph Mayer, Christopher McNeil, Luca Mercalli, Alexandra Messerli, Carolyn Michael, Umberto Morra di Cella, Francisco Navarro, Hofiz Navruzshoev, Anton Neureiter, Gennady Nosenko, Massimo Pecci, Mauri Pelto, Victor Popovnin, Rainer Prinz, Carla Puigdomenech, Heather Purdie, Finnur Pálsson, Alberto Rossotto, Lucas Ruiz, Louis Sass, Erik Schytt Mannerfelt, Riccardo Scotti, Donghui Shangguan, Brenda Shepherd, Delphine Six, Andrey Smirnov, Ireneusz Sobota, Markus Strudl, Shin Sugiyama, Emmanuel Thibert, Laura Thomson, Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson, Levan Tielidze, Florian Tolle, Pavel Toropov, Paolo Tuccella, Gulomjon Umirzakov, Ryskul Usubaliev, Lauren Vargo, Wei Yang, Bernhard Zagel
2026, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment (7) 213-215
Glaciers lost 408 ± 132 Gt of mass during the hydrological year 2025, equivalent to 1.1 ± 0.4 mm sea-level rise. Since 1975, glacier mass loss has totalled 9,583 ± 1,211 Gt, equivalent to 26.4 ± 3.3 mm of sea-level rise, with six of the highest mass-loss years on record...
Geologic map of the Emmons Lake volcanic center, Alaska
Thomas P. Miller, Christopher F. Waythomas, Margaret T. Mangan, Frank A. Trusdell, Andrew T. Calvert
2026, Scientific Investigations Map 3519
Introduction The Emmons Lake volcanic center is a spatially clustered group of stratovolcanoes and calderas in the southwestern part of the Alaska Peninsula, Alaska. The volcanic center is characterized by several ice- and snow-clad stratovolcanoes located within and along the margins of a nested-caldera complex that includes Emmons Lake. A shieldlike...
Post-hatch ecology, diet, and first migration of juvenile Alaskan Bar-tailed Godwits
Jesse R. Conklin, Dan Ruthrauff, Mihai Valcu, Yvonne I. Verkuil, James A. Johnson, Bart Kempenaers
2026, Wader Study (133) 12-25
Life stages between hatching and adult recruitment are poorly described for most migratory shorebird species and represent a critical knowledge gap in understanding long-term population dynamics. We conducted a pilot study on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, to assess the feasibility of following juvenile Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica baueri from their breeding grounds...
Challenges and opportunities for national-scale projections of future coastal landscape change
Erika E. Lentz, Davina L. Passeri, Sara L. Zeigler, Kate White, Thomas Wahl, Amanda D. Stoltz, Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Shubhra Misra, Trevor D. Meckley, Ben Hamlington, Neil K. Ganju, Amanda E. Cravens, Joel Carr, Christine A. Buckel
2026, Earth's Future (14)
Local to global scale projections of future coastal landscape change are essential to improve land and resource management decisions that aim to prepare for and reduce risk exposure to impending coastal hazards. However, the availability of actionable knowledge is often limited due to the complexity of drivers...
Rapid seismic and infrasound assessment of large landslides: A case study from Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Liam Toney, Michael E. West, Ezgi Karasözen, Denny M Capps, Elaine A. Collins, Kate E. Allstadt, Jana Pursley, Heather McFarlin, Anne Mangeney, David Fee, Dennis M. Staley, Matthew M. Haney, John J. Lyons, John Bellini
2026, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (131)
Large, rapid landslides are a global hazard that can occur in remote, mountainous areas. Eyewitness reports of landslides and satellite imagery can often be limited or delayed, particularly during inclement weather. However, landslide-generated seismic and infrasound (low-frequency atmospheric sound) waves can be remotely detected in near real-time. This information can...
The collective application of shorebird tracking data to conservation
Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Candace Stenzel, Alexandra Anderson, Jessica Howell, Richard B. Lanctot, Marley Aikens, Joaquín Aldabe, Liam A. Berigan, Joël Bêty, Erik Blomberg, Juliana Bosi de Almeida, Andy J. Boyce, David W. Bradley, Stephen C. Brown, Jay D. Carlisle, Edward Cheskey, Katherine Christie, Sylvain Christin, Rob Clay, Ashley A. Dayer, Jill L. Deppe, Willow B. English, Scott A. Flemming, Olivier Gilg, Christine Gilroy, Susan Heath, Jason M. Hill, J. Mark Hipfner, James A. Johnson, Luanne Johnson, Bart Kempenaers, Paul Knaga, Eunbi Kwon, Benjamin J. Lagassé, Jean-François Lamarre, Christopher Latty, Don-Jean Léandri-Breton, Nicolas Lecomte, Pam Loring, Laura Anne McDuffie, Rebecca L McGuire, Scott Moorhead, Juan G. Navedo, David Newstead, Erica Nol, Alina Olalla-Kerstupp, Bridget Olson, Elizabeth Olson, Julie Paquet, Allison K. Pierce, Jennie Rausch, Kevin Regan, Matthew E. Reiter, Amber M. Roth, Mike Russell, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Amy L. Scarpignato, Shiloh Schulte, Nathan R. Senner, Joseph A.M. Smith, Paul A. Smith, Zach Spector, Kelly Srigley Werner, Michelle L. Stantial, Audrey R. Taylor, T. Lee Tibbitts, Mihai Valcu, Nils Warnock, Walter Wehtje, Brad Winn, Michael B. Wunder
2026, Conservation Biology
Addressing urgent conservation issues, such as the drastic declines of North American migratory birds, requires creative, evidence-based, efficient, and collaborative approaches. The abundance of over 50% of monitored North American shorebird populations has declined by over 50% since 1980. To address these declines, we developed a partnership...
Intertidal community responses to perturbations along Alaska park coastlines
Sarah Beth Traiger, Brenda Ballachey, Heather Coletti, Daniel Esler
2026, Alaska Park Science (24) 72-79
Nearshore ecosystems are highly productive zones with strong connections to both terrestrial and open ocean ecosystems. The rocky intertidal is a highly dynamic ecosystem and changes over a variety of spatial and temporal scales depending on the factors contributing to the change. Here we summarize how nearshore communities and species responded to several perturbations...
Investigating the role of lake environments and food chains on the transfer of mercury to lake trout
Sarah M. Laske, Krista K. Bartz, Daniel Young
2026, Alaska Park Science (24) 46-55
Mercury contamination can pose threats to fish, wildlife, and people. Methylmercury, found in fish, can be particularly detrimental, especially to children. This study explores the sources and concentrations of mercury and proposes how people can become aware and limit their exposure....
Glaciers in Alaska and western North America
Caitlyn Florentine
Scott A. Elias, Richard Kelly, editor(s)
2026, Book chapter, Comprehensive cryospheric science and environmental change
This chapter summarizes the location, status, and projections of glaciers in Alaska and western North America. Recent events, including the 2021 surge of Muldrow Glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, are summarized. The implications of glacier loss...
Validation and application of a standardized quantitative PCR assay for the assessment of antimicrobial resistance genes in surface water
Laura Celeste Scott, Christina Ahlstrom, Hanna Woksepp, Jonas Bonnedahl, Cherie Marie Mckeeman, Mark E. Miller, Dave Shirokauer, Andrew M. Ramey
2026, Scientific Reports (16)
Antimicrobial resistance can be an indicator of anthropogenic contamination in surface waters and is a potential public health threat. Methodological standardization for characterization of antimicrobial resistance in the environment is lacking. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is used for rapid assessment of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from environmental sources, including surface water....
Brewing change in the (glacier) percolation zone
Louis Sass, Christopher McNeil, Emily A. Baker, Zanden Arthur Frederick, Michael Loso
2026, Alaska Park Science (24) 2-15
Alaska's glaciers are losing mass at the fastest rate of any region globally, significantly affecting both the volume and distribution of water across the landscape. Though glaciers in the Alaska region (as defined by glaciologists this includes both Alaska and portions of adjacent Canada) range from sea level to nearly...
Understanding flooding and channel dynamics along the Taiya River: Providing context for resource management
Janet H. Curran
2026, Alaska Park Science (24) 26-35
Flooding and channel change in the Taiya River Basin in recent decades have directly affected park infrastructure and cultural resources. The complexities of flooding and channel change are compounded by the changing sediment and flow regime from a changing climate and shrinking glaciers, which will continue to drive dynamic riverine change. Streamflow...
Exploring how Dolly Varden in Arctic streams respond to changes from permafrost thaw
Michael P. Carey, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Joshua C. Koch, Kenneth Hill, Brett Poulin
2026, Alaska Park Science (24) 64-71
The influence of permafrost thaw on aquatic ecosystems is complex. Carbon, nutrients, and metals in stream discharge result in changing stream color, chemistry, and temperature. These different processes create a mosaic of spatially and temporally dynamic disturbances across the landscape with complex effects on the ecology. ...
Living with wildfire in Cooper Landing, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska: 2023 data report
Colleen Donovan, Suzanne Wittenbrink, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Josh Kuehn, Tim Weekley, Patricia A. Champ, Christopher M. Barth, James R. Meldrum, Carolyn Wagner, Christine Taniguchi
2026, Research Note RMRS-RN-112
Homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and preparedness are important components of community wildfire readiness. This report describes the data collected through two efforts conducted in the Cooper Landing, Alaska, study area: (1) parcel-level rapid wildfire risk assessments performed by trained assessors and (2) homeowner surveys in which respondents provided self-assessments of...
Living with wildfire in Nikiski, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska: 2023 Data report
Colleen Donovan, Suzanne Wittenbrink, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Josh Kuehn, Brenda Ahlberg, Patricia A. Champ, Christopher M. Barth, James R. Meldrum, Carolyn Wagner, Christine Taniguchi
2026, Research Note RMRS-RN-110
Homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and preparedness are important components of community wildfire readiness. This report describes the data collected through two efforts conducted in the Nikiski, Alaska, study area: (1) parcel-level rapid wildfire risk assessments performed by trained assessors and (2) homeowner surveys in which respondents provided self-assessments of their...
Breeding shorebird surveys in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, suggest population declines over two decades for most species
Stephen C. Brown, James E. Lyons, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Shiloh Schulte, Christopher J. Latty, Metta McGarvey, Lindall R. Kidd, Kirsti L.K. Carr, Richard B. Lanctot
2026, Ornithological Applications
Shorebird populations are declining globally but it generally remains unclear how those declines translate to changes at the regional scale. We conducted the first longitudinal surveys of breeding shorebirds in Alaska under the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM), resurveying the Coastal Plain (1002 Area)...
Intertidal ecosystem indicators in the northern Gulf of Alaska
Heather Coletti, Sarah Beth Traiger, Katrin Iken, James L. Bodkin, Brenda Ballachey, George G. Esslinger, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Brenda H. Konar, Robert M. Suryan
2026, Report, Gulf of Alaska
No abstract available....
Prince William Sound Herring Program, fiscal year 2024
Paul Hershberger, David James Páez
2026, Report
Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) were collected from three sites in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska (Table 1) during the spring pre-spawn period from March 29 – April 1, 2024, to test for viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), viral erythrocytic necrosis (VEN), and Ichthyophonus prevalence (Table 1). Ichthyophonus was detected in...
Shifting winter atmospheric teleconnections to the North Pacific reconcile Younger-Dryas and Holocene δ18O signals
Lesleigh Anderson, Bruce P. Finney, W. Brad Baxter
2026, Nature Communications (17)
Using Alaskan lake sediment oxygen isotope records (δ18O), which trace the δ18O of precipitation, we establish that abrupt atmospheric shifts occurred during the last deglacial period in the North Pacific-Arctic. The robust lake δ18O chronologies confidently correlate Younger-Dryas (YD) atmospheric adjustments in Alaska with Greenland ice-core records and their seasonal...
