Climatic changes and effect on wild sheep habitat
Edwin L. Pfeifer, Wayne Heimer, Gretchen Roffler, Raul Valdez, Megan Gahl
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3060
Wild sheep are sensitive to environmental change and may be an effective indicator species of climate change in arctic and high mountain ecosystems. To understand the effects of climatic changes on Dall sheep habitat, U.S. Geological Survey scientists have been studying selected areas in Alaska since 2007. The research focus...
Preliminary observations of voluminous ice-rich and water-rich lahars generated during the 2009 eruption of Redoubt, Alaska
Christopher F. Waythomas, Thomas C. Pierson, Jon J. Major, William E. Scott
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1078
Redoubt Volcano in south-central Alaska began erupting on March 15, 2009, and by April 4, 2009, had produced at least 20 explosive events that generated plumes of ash and lahars. The 3,108-m high, snow- and -ice-clad stratovolcano has an ice-filled summit crater that is breached to the north. The volcano...
Studying ocean acidification in the Arctic Ocean
Lisa Robbins
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3058
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healey and its United Nations Convention Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) cruises has produced new synoptic data from samples collected in the Arctic Ocean and insights into the patterns and extent of ocean acidification. This framework of...
Alaska Geochemical Database - Mineral Exploration Tool for the 21st Century - PDF of presentation
Matthew Granitto, Jeanine M. Schmidt, Keith A. Labay, Nora B. Shew, Bruce M. Gamble
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1060
The U.S. Geological Survey has created a geochemical database of geologic material samples collected in Alaska. This database is readily accessible to anyone with access to the Internet. Designed as a tool for mineral or environmental assessment, land management, or mineral exploration, the initial version of the Alaska Geochemical Database...
Shifts in identity and activity of methanotrophs in arctic lake sediments in response to temperature changes
Ruo He, Matthew J. Wooller, John W. Pohlman, John Quensen, James M. Tiedje, Mary Beth Leigh
2012, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (78) 4715-4723
Methane (CH4) flux to the atmosphere is mitigated via microbial CH4 oxidation in sediments and water. As arctic temperatures increase, understanding the effects of temperature on the activity and identity of methanotrophs in arctic lake sediments is important to predicting future CH4 emissions. We used DNA-based stable-isotope probing (SIP), quantitative PCR (Q-PCR),...
Estimating survival rates with time series of standing age‐structure data
Mark S. Udevitz, Peter J. Gogan
2012, Ecology (93) 726-732
It has long been recognized that age‐structure data contain useful information for assessing the status and dynamics of wildlife populations. For example, age‐specific survival rates can be estimated with just a single sample from the age distribution of a stable, stationary population. For a population that is...
Identification of metapopulation dynamics among Northern Goshawks of the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, and Coastal British Columbia
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Erica L. McClaren, Frank I. Doyle, K. Titus, George K. Sage, Robert E. Wilson, Judy R. Gust, Sandra L. Talbot
2012, Conservation Genetics (13) 1045-1057
Northern Goshawks occupying the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, and coastal British Columbia nest primarily in old-growth and mature forest, which results in spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of individuals across the landscape. We used microsatellite and mitochondrial data to infer genetic structure, gene flow, and fluctuations in population demography through evolutionary...
Bibliography of groundwater resources of the glacial aquifer systems in Washington, Idaho, and northwestern Montana, 1905-2011
Sue C. Kahle, Zoe O. Futornick
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1053
The U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program is undertaking a series of regional groundwater availability studies to improve our understanding of groundwater availability in major aquifers across the Nation. One of the objectives of the Glacial Principal Aquifers study (proposed) is to provide information on the occurrence of groundwater in...
The regional abundance and size distribution of lakes and reservoirs in the United States and implication for estimates of global lake extent
Cory P. McDonald, Jennifer Rover, Edward G. Stets, Robert G. Striegl
2012, Limnology and Oceanography (57) 597-606
We analyzed complete geospatial data for the 3.5 million lakes and reservoirs larger than 0.001 km2, with a combined surface area of 131,000 km2, in the contiguous United States (excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes) and identified their regional distribution characteristics. For Alaska, we also analyzed (1) incomplete data that suggest...
Calculation of hydrocarbon-in-place in gas and gas-condensate reservoirs - Carbon dioxide sequestration
Mahendra K. Verma
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1033
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140) authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2), requiring estimation of hydrocarbon-in-place volumes and formation volume factors for all the oil, gas, and gas-condensate reservoirs within the U.S....
Database for volcanic processes and geology of Augustine Volcano, Alaska
Jacqueline McIntire, David W. Ramsey, Evan Thoms, Richard B. Waitt, James E. Beget
2012, Data Series 677
Augustine Island (volcano) in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, has erupted repeatedly in late-Holocene and historical times. Eruptions typically beget high-energy volcanic processes. Most notable are bouldery debris avalanches containing immense angular clasts shed from summit domes. Coarse deposits of these avalanches form much of Augustine's lower flanks. This geologic map...
Surface Mass Balance of the Columbia Glacier, Alaska, 1978 and 2010 Balance Years
Shad O'Neel
2012, Data Series 676
Although Columbia Glacier is one of the largest sources of glacier mass loss in Alaska, surface mass balance measurements are sparse, with only a single data set available from 1978. The dearth of surface mass-balance data prohibits partitioning of the total mass losses between dynamics and surface forcing; however, the...
Oceanographic gradients and seabird prey community dynamics in glacial fjords
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt, Erica N. Madison, Jeffrey S. Conaway, N. Hillgruber
2012, Fisheries Oceanography (21) 148-169
Glacial fjord habitats are undergoing rapid change as a result of contemporary global warming, yet little is known about how glaciers influence marine ecosystems. These ecosystems provide important feeding, breeding and rearing grounds for a wide variety of marine organisms, including seabirds of management concern. To characterize ocean conditions and...
Will a changing climate increase interaction between rare and non-native plant species in Alaska?
Lindsey Flagstad, Matthew L. Carlson, Helen Cortes-Burnes, Catherine Jarnevich, Tracy Holcombe
Wendy J. Gibble, Julie K. Combs, Sarah H. Reichard, editor(s)
2012, Conference Paper, Conserving plant biodiversity in a changing world: A view from northwestern North America
No abstract available....
U.S. Department of the Interior Southeast Climate Science Center Science and Operational Plan
Sonya A. Jones, Melinda S. Dalton
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1034
Climate change challenges many of the basic assumptions routinely used by conservation planners and managers, including the identification and prioritization of areas for conservation based on current environmental conditions and the assumption those conditions could be controlled by management actions. Climate change will likely alter important ecosystem drivers (temperature, precipitation,...
First description of autumn migration of Sooty Falcon Falco concolor from the United Arab Emirates to Madagascar using satellite telemetry
Sàlim Javed, David C. Douglas, Shahid Noor Khan, Junid Nazeer Shah, Abdullah Ali Al Hammadi
2012, Bird Conservation International (22) 106-119
The movement and migration pattern of the 'Near Threatened' Sooty Falcon Falco concolor is poorly known. Sooty Falcons breed on the islands of the Arabian Gulf after arriving from their non-breeding areas that are mainly in Madagascar. In the first satellite tracking of the species we fitted a 9.5 g...
Cross-seasonal patterns of avian influenza virus in breeding and wintering migratory birds: a flyway perspective
Nichola J. Hill, John Y. Takekawa, Carol J. Cardona, Brandt W. Meixell, Joshua T. Ackerman, Jonathan A. Runstadler, Walter M. Boyce
2012, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases (12) 243-253
The spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV) in nature is intrinsically linked with the movements of wild birds. Wild birds are the reservoirs for the virus and their migration may facilitate the circulation of AIV between breeding and wintering areas. This cycle of dispersal has become widely accepted; however, there...
Deep magmatic degassing versus scrubbing: Elevated CO2 emissions and C/S in the lead-up to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
Cynthia A. Werner, William C. Evans, Peter J. Kelly, Robert G. McGimsey, Melissa Pfeffer, Michael P. Doukas, Christina A. Neal
2012, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (13)
We report CO2, SO2, and H2S emission rates and C/S ratios during the five months leading up to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska. CO2emission rates up to 9018 t/d and C/S ratios ≥30 measured in the months prior to the eruption were critical for fully informed forecasting efforts. Observations...
Assessment of potential oil and gas resources in source rocks of the Alaska North Slope, 2012
David W. Houseknecht, William A. Rouse, Christopher P. Garrity, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, Christopher J. Schenk, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Mark A. Kirschbaum, Richard M. Pollastro
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3013
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated potential, technically recoverable oil and gas resources for source rocks of the Alaska North Slope. Estimates (95-percent to 5-percent probability) range from zero to 2 billion barrels of oil and from zero to nearly 80 trillion cubic feet of gas....
Fission products in National Atmospheric Deposition Program—Wet deposition samples prior to and following the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant incident, March 8?April 5, 2011
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Timothy M. Debey, Mark A. Nilles, Christopher M.B. Lehmann, David A. Gay
2012, Open-File Report 2011-1277
Radioactive isotopes I-131, Cs-134, or Cs-137, products of uranium fission, were measured at approximately 20 percent of 167 sampled National Atmospheric Deposition Program monitoring sites in North America (primarily in the contiguous United States and Alaska) after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant incident on March 12, 2011. Samples from...
Uranium isotopes (234U/238U) in rivers of the Yukon Basin (Alaska and Canada) as an aid in identifying water sources, with implications for monitoring hydrologic change in arctic regions
Thomas F. Kraemer, Timothy P. Brabets
2012, Hydrogeology Journal (20) 469-481
The ability to detect hydrologic variation in large arctic river systems is of major importance in understanding and predicting effects of climate change in high-latitude environments. Monitoring uranium isotopes (234U and 238U) in river water of the Yukon River Basin of Alaska and northwestern Canada (2001–2005) has enhanced the ability to...
Genetic diversity of a newly established population of golden eagles on the Channel Islands, California
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Timothy J. Coonan, Brian C. Latta, George K. Sage, Sandra L. Talbot
2012, Biological Conservation (146) 116-122
Gene flow can have profound effects on the genetic diversity of a founding population depending on the number and relationship among colonizers and the duration of the colonization event. Here we used data from nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA control region loci to assess genetic diversity in golden eagles of...
Microanatomy of passerine hard-cornified tissues: Beak and claw structure of the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Caroline R. Van Hemert, Colleen M. Handel, John E. Blake, Rhonda Swor, Todd M. O'Hara
2012, Journal of Morphology (273) 226-240
The microanatomy of healthy beaks and claws in passerine birds has not been well described in the literature, despite the importance of these structures in avian life. Histological processing of hard‐cornified tissues is notoriously challenging and only a few reports on effective techniques have been published. An emerging epizootic of...
Monitoring floods and fires during the summer of 2011--The value of the Landsat satellite 40-year archives
Linda Owen
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3006
The summer of 2011 proved to be a season of extreme events. Heavy snowfall in the western mountains and excessive spring rains caused flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers; whereas extended dry conditions enabled fires to rage out of control from Alaska and Canada, south to Texas, Arizona, New...
Changing Arctic ecosystems--research to understand and project changes in marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Arctic
Joy Geiselman, Anthony R. DeGange, Karen Oakley, Dirk V. Derksen, Mary E. Whalen
2012, Fact Sheet 2011-3136
Ecosystems and their wildlife communities are not static; they change and evolve over time due to numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. A period of rapid change is occurring in the Arctic for which our current understanding of potential ecosystem and wildlife responses is limited. Changes to the physical environment include...
