User’s guide to the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database 2.0
Gary S. Drew, John F. Piatt, Martin Renner
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1123
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) was created in 2005 to consolidate data on the oceanic distribution of marine bird species in the North Pacific. Most of these data were collected on surveys by counting species within defined areas and at known locations (that is, on strip transects). The...
Estimating the abundance of the Southern Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulation with aerial surveys
Martyn E. Obbard, Seth P. Stapleton, Kevin R. Middel, Isabelle Thibault, Vincent Brodeur, Charles Jutras
2015, Polar Biology (38) 1713-1725
The Southern Hudson Bay (SH) polar bear subpopulation occurs at the southern extent of the species’ range. Although capture–recapture studies indicate abundance was likely unchanged between 1986 and 2005, declines in body condition and survival occurred during the period, possibly foreshadowing a future decrease in abundance. To obtain a current...
Monitoring population status of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska: options and considerations
George G. Esslinger, Daniel Esler, S. Howlin, L.A. Starcevich
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1119
After many decades of absence from southeast Alaska, sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are recolonizing parts of their former range, including Glacier Bay, Alaska. Sea otters are well known for structuring nearshore ecosystems and causing community-level changes such as increases in kelp abundance and changes in the size and number of...
Age-specific vibrissae growth rates: a tool for determining the timing of ecologically important events in Steller sea lions
L.D. Rea, A.M. Christ, A.B. Hayden, V.K. Stegall, S.D. Farley, Craig A. Stricker, J.E. Mellish, John M. Maniscalco, J.N. Waite, V.N. Burkanov, K.W. Pitcher
2015, Marine Mammal Science (31) 1213-1233
Steller sea lions (SSL; Eumetopias jubatus) grow their vibrissae continually, providing a multiyear record suitable for ecological and physiological studies based on stable isotopes. An accurate age-specific vibrissae growth rate is essential for registering a chronology along the length of the record, and for interpreting the timing of ecologically important events....
Summer declines in activity and body temperature offer polar bears limited energy savings
J.P. Whiteman, H.J. Harlow, George M. Durner, R. Anderson-Sprecher, Shannon E. Albeke, Eric V. Regehr, Steven C. Amstrup, M. Ben-David
2015, Science (349) 295-298
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) summer on the sea ice or, where it melts, on shore. Although the physiology of “ice” bears in summer is unknown, “shore” bears purportedly minimize energy losses by entering a hibernation-like state when deprived of food. Such a strategy could partially compensate for the loss of...
National assessment of shoreline change: historical change along the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
Ann E. Gibbs, Bruce M. Richmond
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1048
Beach erosion is a persistent problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. Along the Arctic coast of Alaska, coastal erosion is widespread, may be accelerating, and is threatening defense and energy-related infrastructure, coastal habitats, and Native communities. As coastal populations continue to expand and infrastructure and habitat are...
National assessment of shoreline change: a GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
Ann E. Gibbs, Karen A. Ohman, Bruce M. Richmond
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1030
The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska is an area of strategic economic importance to the United States, is home to remote Native communities, and encompasses unique habitats of global significance. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread, and may be accelerating, which threatens defense- and energy-related infrastructure,...
Tsunami recurrence in the eastern Alaska-Aleutian arc: A Holocene stratigraphic record from Chirikof Island, Alaska
Alan R. Nelson, Richard W. Briggs, Tina Dura, Simon E. Engelhart, Guy Gelfenbaum, Lee-Ann Bradley, S.L. Forman, Christopher H. Vane, K.A. Kelley
2015, Geosphere (11) 1203
Despite the role of the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust as the source of some of the largest earthquakes and tsunamis, the history of its pre–twentieth century tsunamis is largely unknown west of the rupture zone of the great (magnitude, M 9.2) 1964 earthquake. Stratigraphy in core transects at two boggy lowland sites...
Soil surface organic layers in Arctic Alaska: spatial distribution, rates of formation, and microclimatic effects
Carson Baughman, Daniel H. Mann, David L. Verbyla, Michael L. Kunz
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (120) 1150-1164
Organic layers of living and dead vegetation cover the ground surface in many permafrost landscapes and play important roles in ecosystem processes. These soil surface organic layers (SSOLs) store large amounts of carbon and buffer the underlying permafrost and its contained carbon from changes in aboveground climate. Understanding the dynamics of SSOLs...
Tectonic and sedimentary linkages between the Belt-Purcell basin and southwestern Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic ca. 1.60-1.40 Ga
James V. Jones III, Christohper G Dainel, Michael F Doe
2015, Lithosphere (7) 465-472
Mesoproterozoic sedimentary basins in western North America provide key constraints on pre-Rodinia craton positions and interactions along the western rifted margin of Laurentia. One such basin, the Belt-Purcell basin, extends from southern Idaho into southern British Columbia and contains a >18-km-thick succession of siliciclastic sediment deposited ca. 1.47–1.40 Ga. The...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Inmachuk, Kugruk, Kiwalik, and Koyuk River drainages, Granite Mountain, and the northern Darby Mountains, Bendeleben, Candle, Kotzebue, and Solomon quadrangles, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Kougarok area, Bendeleben and Teller quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Haines area, Juneau and Skagway quadrangles, southeast Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Hydrogeochemical exploration: a reconnaissance study on northeastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Garth E. Graham, Ryan D. Taylor, Steve Buckley
Julie A. Dumoulin, editor(s)
2015, Professional Paper 1814-A
A reconnaissance hydrogeochemical study employing high-resolution/high-sensitivity inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of stream and seep water samples (n= 171) was conducted in an area of limited bedrock exposure on the northeastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Sampling was focused in drainages around four main areas—at the Anugi Pb-Zn-Ag occurrence and in...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the northeastern Alaska Range, Healy, Mount Hayes, Nabesna, and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Tonsina area, Valdez Quadrangle, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Changing Arctic Ecosystems: Updated forecast: Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions required to improve polar bear outlook
Karen L. Oakley, Todd C. Atwood, Douglas N. Mugel, Karyn D. Rode, Mary E. Whalen
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3042
The Arctic is warming faster than other regions of the world due to the loss of snow and ice, which increases the amount of solar energy absorbed by the region. The most visible consequence has been the rapid decline in sea ice over the last 3 decades-a decline projected to...
Megathrust earthquakes and sea-level change: A tribute to George Plafker
Jeffrey T. Freymueller
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 1-2
For numerous scientific disciplines that contribute to the understanding of megathrust earthquakes, 2014 was an anniversary year of two great, >Mw9, earthquakes; fifty years since the March 27 1964 earthquake in Alaska and ten years since the December 26 2004 Aceh-Andaman earthquake and attendant tsunami. 2014 was also the final...
Updating the USGS seismic hazard maps for Alaska
Charles Mueller, Richard W. Briggs, Robert L. Wesson, Mark D. Petersen
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 39-47
The U.S. Geological Survey makes probabilistic seismic hazard maps and engineering design maps for building codes, emergency planning, risk management, and many other applications. The methodology considers all known earthquake sources with their associated magnitude and rate distributions. Specific faults can be modeled if slip-rate or recurrence information is available....
Geomorphic consequences of volcanic eruptions in Alaska: A review
Christopher F. Waythomas
2015, Geomorphology (246) 123-145
Eruptions of Alaska volcanoes have significant and sometimes profound geomorphic consequences on surrounding landscapes and ecosystems. The effects of eruptions on the landscape can range from complete burial of surface vegetation and preexisting topography to subtle, short-term perturbations of geomorphic and ecological systems. In some cases, an eruption will...
Microbial infections are associated with embryo mortality in Arctic-nesting geese.
Cristina M. Hansen, Brandt W. Meixell, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Rebekah F. Hare, Karsten Hueffer
2015, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (81) 5583-5592
To address the role of bacterial infection in hatching failure of wild geese, we monitored embryo development in a breeding population of Greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. During 2013, we observed mortality of normally developing embryos and collected 36 addled eggs for analysis....
Assessment of unconvential (tight) gas resources in Upper Cook Inlet Basin, South-central Alaska
Christopher J. Schenk, Philip H. Nelson, Timothy R. Klett, Phuong A. Le, Christopher P. Anderson
2015, Data Series 69-AA
A geologic model was developed for the assessment of potential Mesozoic tight-gas resources in the deep, central part of upper Cook Inlet Basin, south-central Alaska. The basic premise of the geologic model is that organic-bearing marine shales of the Middle Jurassic Tuxedni Group achieved adequate thermal maturity for oil and...
Publications of the Volcano Hazards Program 2013
Manuel Nathenson
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1109
The Volcano Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is part of the Natural Hazards activity, as funded by Congressional appropriation. Investigations are carried out by the USGS and with cooperators at the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, University of Hawaiʻi...
Targeting Cu–Au and Mo resources using multi-media exploration geochemistry: An example from Tyonek Quadrangle, Alaska Range, Alaska
Garth E. Graham, Ryan D. Taylor, Gregory K. Lee, Dick Tripp
2015, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (157) 52-65
Regional stream and pond sediment, panned concentrate, and water sampling at and around known mineral occurrences in the Tyonek quadrangle, Alaska Range, Alaska were undertaken to determine geochemical signatures in the different media. For sediment samples, two different size fractions (− 80 mesh and − 230 mesh) were analyzed. Elevated concentrations (mostly ~ 2 × median) of...
High frequency of extra-pair paternity in an urban population of Cooper's Hawks
Robert N. Rosenfield, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, William C. Stout, Sandra L. Talbot
2015, Journal of Field Ornithology (86) 144-152
Raptors exhibit some of the highest rates of intra-pair copulations among birds, perhaps in an attempt by males to reduce the risk of being cuckolded. Indeed, the frequency of extra-pair fertilizations reported in studies of raptors to date is relatively low (0-11.2%). Socially monogamous Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) exhibit one...
