Arctic Research Plan: FY2017-2021
Sandy Starkweather, Martin O Jeffries, Simon Stephenson, Rebecca Anderson, Benjamin M. Jones, Rachel A. Loehman, Vanessa R. von Biela
2016, Report
The United States is an Arctic nation—Americans depend on the Arctic for biodiversity and climate regulation and for natural resources. America’s Arctic—Alaska—is at the forefront of rapid climate, environmental, and socio-economic changes that are testing the resilience and sustainability of communities and ecosystems. Research to increase fundamental understanding of these...
Dissolved organic matter composition of Arctic rivers: Linking permafrost and parent material to riverine carbon
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, George R. Aiken, David K. Swanson, Panda Santosh, Kenna D. Butler, Andrew P. Baltensperger
2016, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (30) 1811-1826
Recent climate change in the Arctic is driving permafrost thaw, which has important implications for regional hydrology and global carbon dynamics. Permafrost is an important control on groundwater dynamics and the amount and chemical composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) transported by high-latitude rivers. The consequences of permafrost thaw for...
Sedimentary petrology and reservoir quality of the Middle Jurassic Red Glacier Formation, Cook Inlet forearc basin: Initial impressions
K. P. Helmold, D. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley
2016, Preliminary Interpretive Report 2016-1-4
The Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys and Division of Oil & Gas are currently conducting a study of the hydrocarbon potential of Cook Inlet forearc basin (Gillis, 2013, 2014; LePain and others, 2013; Wartes, 2015; Herriott, 2016 [this volume]). The Middle Jurassic Tuxedni Group is recognized as a major...
High-latitude dust in the Earth system
Joanna E Bullard, Matthew Baddock, Tom Bradwell, John Crusius, Eleanor Darlington, Diego Gaiero, Santiago Gasso, Gudrun Gisladottir, Richard Hodgkins, Robert McCulloch, Cheryl NcKenna Neuman, Tom Mockford, Helena Stewart, Throstur Thorsteinsson
2016, Reviews of Geophysics (54) 447-485
Natural dust is often associated with hot, subtropical deserts, but significant dust events have been reported from cold, high latitudes. This review synthesizes current understanding of high-latitude (≥50°N and ≥40°S) dust source geography and dynamics and provides a prospectus for future research on the topic. Although the fundamental processes controlling...
Modeling ancient land use and resilient forests in the Jemez Mountains
Rachel A. Loehman
2016, Archaeology Southwest Magazine (30)
No abstract available....
Leveraging constraints and biotelemetry data to pinpoint repetitively used spatial features
Brian M. Brost, Mevin Hooten, Robert J. Small
2016, Ecology (98) 12-20
Satellite telemetry devices collect valuable information concerning the sites visited by animals, including the location of central places like dens, nests, rookeries, or haul‐outs. Existing methods for estimating the location of central places from telemetry data require user‐specified thresholds and ignore common nuances like measurement error. We present a fully...
Nonmarine facies in the Late Triassic(?) to Early Jurassic Horn Mountain Tuff member of the Talkeetna Formation, Horn Mountain, lower Cook Inlet basin, Alaska
D. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley, K. P. Helmold
2016, Preliminary Interpretive Report 2016-1-2
The Talkeetna Formation is a prominent lithostratigraphic unit in south-central Alaska. In the Iniskin–Tuxedni area, Detterman and Hartsock (1966) divided the formation into three mappable units including, from oldest to youngest, the Marsh Creek Breccia, the Portage Creek Agglomerate, and the Horn Mountain Tuff Members. The Horn Mountain Tuff Member...
Reconnaissance stratigraphy of the Red Glacier Formation (Middle Jurassic) near Hungryman Creek, Cook Inlet basin, Alaska
D. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley, K. P. Helmold
2016, Preliminary Interpretive Report 2016-1-3
Geochemical data suggest the source of oil in upper Cook Inlet fields is Middle Jurassic organic-rich shales in the Tuxedni Group (Magoon and Anders, 1992; Lillis and Stanley, 2011; LePain and others, 2012, 2013). Of the six formations in the group (Detterman, 1963), the basal Red Glacier Formation is the...
An empirical approach for estimating stress-coupling lengths for marine-terminating glaciers
Ellyn Enderlin, Gordon S. Hamilton, Shad O'Neel, Timothy C. Bartholomaus, Mathieu Morlighem, John W. Holt
2016, Frontiers in Earth Science (4) 1-12
Variability in the dynamic behavior of marine-terminating glaciers is poorly understood, despite an increase in the abundance and resolution of observations. When paired with ice thicknesses, surface velocities can be used to quantify the dynamic redistribution of stresses in response to environmental perturbations through computation of the glacier force balance. However,...
Katmai National Park and Preserve and Alagnak Wild River: Geologic resources inventory report
Chad Hults, Judith E. Fierstein
2016, Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2016/1314
The Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI) is one of 12 inventories funded by the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Geologic Resources Division of the NPS Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate administers the GRI. This GRI report was written for resource managers to support science-informed decision making....
Deciduous trees are a large and overlooked sink for snowmelt water in the boreal forest
Jessica Young, W. Robert Bolton, Uma Bhatt, Jordi Cristobal, Richard Thoman
2016, Scientific Reports (6) 1-10
The terrestrial water cycle contains large uncertainties that impact our understanding of water budgets and climate dynamics. Water storage is a key uncertainty in the boreal water budget, with tree water storage often ignored. The goal of this study is to quantify tree water content during the snowmelt and growing...
Increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant E. coli in gulls sampled in southcentral Alaska is associated with urban environments
Clara Atterby, Andrew M. Ramey, Gabriel Gustafsson Hall, Josef Jarhult, Stefan Borjesson, Jonas Bonnedahl
2016, Infection Ecology and Epidemiology (6) 1-7
BackgroundAntibiotic-resistant bacteria pose challenges to healthcare delivery systems globally; however, limited information is available regarding the prevalence and spread of such bacteria in the environment. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in large-bodied gulls (Larus spp.) at urban...
Conservation status of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to projected sea-ice declines
Eric V. Regehr, Kristin L. Laidre, H. Resit Akçakaya, Steven C. Amstrup, Todd C. Atwood, Nicholas J. Lunn, Martyn E. Obbard, Harry Stern, Gregory W. Thiemann, Øystein Wiig
2016, Biology Letters (12) 1-5
Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is the primary threat to polar bears throughout their range. We evaluated the potential response of polar bears to sea-ice declines by (i) calculating generation length (GL) for the species, which determines the timeframe for conservation assessments; (ii) developing a standardized...
Semiautomatic mapping of permafrost in the Yukon Flats, Alaska
Mats Lundh Gulbrandsen, Burke J. Minsley, Lyndsay B. Ball, Thomas Mejer Hansen
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 12131-12137
Thawing of permafrost due to global warming can have major impacts on hydrogeological processes, climate feedback, arctic ecology, and local environments. To understand these effects and processes, it is crucial to know the distribution of permafrost. In this study we exploit the fact that airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data are sensitive...
Multidecadal increases in the Yukon River Basin of chemical fluxes as indicators of changing flowpaths, groundwater, and permafrost
Ryan C. Toohey, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Paul F. Schuster, Edda A. Mutter, Joshua C. Koch
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 12120-12130
The Yukon River Basin, underlain by discontinuous permafrost, has experienced a warming climate over the last century that has altered air temperature, precipitation, and permafrost. We investigated a water chemistry database from 1982 to 2014 for the Yukon River and its major tributary, the Tanana River. Significant increases of Ca,...
Interactions among vegetation, climate, and herbivory control greenhouse gas fluxes in a subarctic coastal wetland
K.C. Kelsey, A.J. Leffler, K.H. Beard, Joel A. Schmutz, R.T. Choi, J.M. Welker
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (121) 2960-2975
High-latitude ecosystems are experiencing the most rapid climate changes globally, and in many areas these changes are concurrent with shifts in patterns of herbivory. Individually, climate and herbivory are known to influence biosphere-atmosphere greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange; however, the interactive effects of climate and herbivory in driving GHG...
Haemosporidian parasite infections in grouse and ptarmigan: Prevalence and genetic diversity of blood parasites in resident Alaskan birds
Matthew M. Smith, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Richard Merizon
2016, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife (5) 229-239
Projections related to future climate warming indicate the potential for an increase in the distribution and prevalence of blood parasites in northern regions. However, baseline data are lacking for resident avian host species in Alaska. Grouse and ptarmigan occupy a diverse range of habitat types throughout the northern hemisphere and...
A possible source mechanism of the 1946 Unimak Alaska far-field tsunami, uplift of the mid-slope terrace above a splay fault zone
Roland E. von Huene, John J. Miller, Dirk Klaeschen, Peter Dartnell
2016, Pure and Applied Geophysics (173) 4189-4201
In 1946, megathrust seismicity along the Unimak segment of the Alaska subduction zone generated the largest ever recorded Alaska/Aleutian tsunami. The tsunami severely damaged Pacific islands and coastal areas from Alaska to Antarctica. It is the charter member of “tsunami” earthquakes that produce outsized far-field tsunamis for the recorded magnitude....
Surveillance for Eurasian-origin and intercontinental reassortant highly pathogenic influenza A viruses in Alaska, spring and summer 2015
Andrew M. Ramey, John M. Pearce, Andrew B. Reeves, Rebecca L. Poulson, Jennifer Dobson, Brian Lefferts, Kyle A. Spragens, David E. Stallknecht
2016, Virology Journal (13) 1-6
Background: Eurasian-origin and intercontinental reassortant highly pathogenic (HP) influenza A viruses (IAVs) were first detected in North America in wild, captive, and domestic birds during November–December 2014. Detections of HP viruses in wild birds in the contiguous United States and southern Canadian provinces continued into winter and spring...
GIS-based identification of areas that have resource potential for critical minerals in six selected groups of deposit types in Alaska
Susan M. Karl, James V. Jones III, Timothy S. Hayes, editor(s)
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1191
Alaska has considerable potential for undiscovered mineral resources. This report evaluates potential for undiscovered critical minerals in Alaska. Critical minerals are those for which the United States imports more than half of its total supply and which are largely derived from nations that cannot be considered reliable trading partners. In...
Alaska geology revealed
Frederic H. Wilson, Keith A. Labay
2016, General Information Product 168
This map shows the generalized geology of Alaska, which helps us to understand where potential mineral deposits and energy resources might be found, define ecosystems, and ultimately, teach us about the earth history of the State. Rock units are grouped in very broad categories on the basis of age...
Widespread kelp-derived carbon in pelagic and benthic nearshore fishes
Vanessa R. von Biela, Seth D. Newsome, James L. Bodkin, Gordon H. Kruse, Christian E. Zimmerman
2016, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (181) 364-374
Kelp forests provide habitat for diverse and abundant fish assemblages, but the extent to which kelp provides a source of energy to fish and other predators is unclear. To examine the use of kelp-derived energy by fishes we estimated the contribution of kelp- and phytoplankton-derived carbon using carbon (δ13C) and...
Impacts of shore expansion and catchment characteristics on lacustrine thermokarst records in permafrost lowlands, Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain
Josefine Lenz, Benjamin M. Jones, Sebastian Wetterich, Rik Tjallingii, Michael Fritz, Christopher D. Arp, Natalia Rudaya, Guido Grosse
2016, arktos (2)
Arctic lowland landscapes have been modified by thermokarst lake processes throughout the Holocene. Thermokarst lakes form as a result of ice-rich permafrost degradation, and they may expand over time through thermal and mechanical shoreline erosion. We studied proximal and distal sedimentary records from a thermokarst lake located on the Arctic...
Cretaceous–Cenozoic burial and exhumation history of the Chukchi shelf, offshore Arctic Alaska
William H. Craddock, David W. Houseknecht
2016, AAPG Bulletin (100) 63-100
Apatite fission track (AFT) and vitrinite reflectance data from five exploration wells and three seafloor cores illuminate the thermal history of the underexplored United States Chukchi shelf. On the northeastern shelf, Triassic strata in the Chevron 1 Diamond well record apatite annealing followed by cooling, possibly during the Triassic to...
Bacterial genomics reveal the complex epidemiology of an emerging pathogen in arctic and boreal ungulates
Taya L. Forde, Karin Orsel, Ruth N. Zadoks, Roman Biek, Layne G. Adams, Sylvia L. Checkley, Tracy Davison, Jeroen De Buck, Mathieu Dumond, Brett T. Elkin, Laura Finnegan, Bryan J. Macbeth, Cait Nelson, Amanda Niptanatiak, Shane Sather, Helen M. Schwantje, Frank van der Meer, Susan J. Kutz
2016, Frontiers in Microbiology (7) 1-14
Northern ecosystems are currently experiencing unprecedented ecological change, largely driven by a rapidly changing climate. Pathogen range expansion, and emergence and altered patterns of infectious disease, are increasingly reported in wildlife at high latitudes. Understanding the causes and consequences of shifting pathogen diversity and host-pathogen interactions in these ecosystems is...
