Predicting the effects of climate change on ecosystems and wildlife habitat in northwest Alaska
Anthony R. DeGange, Bruce G. Marcot, James Lawler, Torre Jorgenson, Robert Winfree
2014, Alaska Park Science (12) 66-73
We used a modeling framework and a recent ecological land classification and land cover map to predict how ecosystems and wildlife habitat in northwest Alaska might change in response to increasing temperature. Our results suggest modest increases in forest and tall shrub ecotypes in Northwest Alaska by the end of...
Hemispheric-scale wind selection facilitates bar-tailed godwit circum-migration of the Pacific
Robert E. Gill Jr., David C. Douglas, Colleen M. Handel, T. Lee Tibbitts, Gary Hufford, Theunis Piersma
2014, Animal Behaviour (90) 117-130
The annual 29 000 km long migration of the bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica baueri, around the Pacific Ocean traverses what is arguably the most complex and seasonally structured atmospheric setting on Earth. Faced with marked variation in wind regimes and storm conditions across oceanic migration corridors, individuals must make critical decisions...
Three-dimensional distribution of igneous rocks near the Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwestern Alaska: constraints from regional-scale aeromagnetic data
Eric D. Anderson, Wei Zhou, Yaoguo Li, Murray W. Hitzman, Thomas Monecke, James R. Lang, Karen D. Kelley
2014, Geophysics (79) B63-B79
Aeromagnetic data helped us to understand the 3D distribution of plutonic rocks near the Pebble porphyry copper deposit in southwestern Alaska, USA. Magnetic susceptibility measurements showed that rocks in the Pebble district are more magnetic than rocks of comparable compositions in the Pike Creek–Stuyahok Hills volcano-plutonic complex. The reduced-to-pole transformation...
High fidelity does not preclude colonization: range expansion of molting Black Brant on the Arctic coast of Alaska
Paul L. Flint, Brandt W. Meixell, Edward J. Mallek
2014, Journal of Field Ornithology (85) 75-83
High rates of site fidelity have been assumed to infer static distributions of molting geese in some cases. To test this assumption, we examined movements of individually marked birds to understand the underlying mechanisms of range expansion of molting Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP)...
Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) resource selection in the northern Bering Sea
Chadwick V. Jay, Jacqueline M. Grebmeier, Anthony S. Fischbach, Trent L. McDonald, Lee W. Cooper, Fawn Hornsby
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
The Pacific walrus is a large benthivore with an annual range extending across the continental shelves of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. We used a discrete choice model to estimate site selection by adult radio-tagged walruses relative to the availability of the caloric biomass of benthic infauna and sea ice...
Blood lead concentrations in Alaskan tundra swans: linking breeding and wintering areas with satellite telemetry
Craig R. Ely, Christian Franson
2014, Ecotoxicology (23) 349-356
Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) like many waterfowl species are susceptible to lead (Pb) poisoning, and Pb-induced mortality has been reported from many areas of their wintering range. Little is known however about Pb levels throughout the annual cycle of tundra swans, especially during summer when birds are on remote northern...
Identifying marine Important Bird Areas using at-sea survey data
Melanie A. Smith, Nathan J. Walker, Christopher M. Free, Matthew J. Kirchhoff, Gary S. Drew, Nils Warnock, Iain J. Stenhouse
2014, Biological Conservation (172) 180-189
Effective marine bird conservation requires identification of at-sea locations used by populations for foraging, staging, and migration. Using an extensive database of at-sea survey data spanning over 30 years, we developed a standardized and data-driven spatial method for identifying globally significant marine Important Bird Areas in Alaska. To delineate these...
Soils, vegetation, and woody debris data from the 2001 Survey Line fire and a comparable unburned site, Tanana Flats region, Alaska
Kristen L. Manies, Jennifer W. Harden, Teresa N. Holingsworth
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1049
This report describes the collection and processing methodologies for samples obtained at two sites within Interior Alaska: (1) a location within the 2001 Survey Line burn, and (2) an unburned location, selected as a control. In 2002 and 2004 U.S. Geological Survey investigators measured soil properties including, but not limited...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Missouri
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3020
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Missouri, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming; natural resources conservation; flood risk management; homeland security, law enforcement, and disaster...
Risk of predation and weather events affect nest site selection by sympatric Pacific (Gavia pacifica) and Yellow-billed (Gavia adamsii) loons in Arctic habitats
Trevor B. Haynes, Joel A. Schmutz, Mark S. Lindberg, Amanda E. Rosenberger
2014, Waterbirds (37) 16-25
Pacific (Gavia pacifica) and Yellow-billed (G. adamsii) loons nest sympatrically in Arctic regions. These related species likely face similar constraints and requirements for nesting success; therefore, use of similar habitats and direct competition for nesting habitat is likely. Both of these loon species must select a breeding lake that provides...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report
Anne E. Ballmann, C. LeAnn White, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Jennifer L. Buckner
2014, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 3-5
No abstract available....
Triggering and modulation of geyser eruptions in Yellowstone National Park by earthquakes, earth tides, and weather
Shaul Hurwitz, Robert A. Sohn, Karen M. Luttrell, Michael Manga
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 1718-1737
We analyze intervals between eruptions (IBEs) data acquired between 2001 and 2011 at Daisy and Old Faithful geysers in Yellowstone National Park. We focus our statistical analysis on the response of these geysers to stress perturbations from within the solid earth (earthquakes and earth tides) and from weather (air pressure...
The global age distribution of granitic pegmatites
Andrew McCauley, Dwight Bradley
2014, Canadian Mineralogist (52) 183-190
An updated global compilation of 377 new and previously published ages indicates that granitic pegmatites range in age from Mesoarchean to Neogene and have a semi-periodic age distribution. Undivided granitic pegmatites show twelve age maxima: 2913, 2687, 2501, 1853, 1379, 1174, 988, 525, 483, 391, 319, and 72 Ma. These...
Spatial variation and low diversity in the major histocompatibility complex in walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Krystal R. Fales, Chadwick V. Jay, George K. Sage, Sandra L. Talbot
2014, Polar Biology (37) 497-506
Increased global temperature and associated changes to Arctic habitats will likely result in the northward advance of species, including an influx of pathogens novel to the Arctic. How species respond to these immunological challenges will depend in part on the adaptive potential of their immune response system. We compared levels...
Carbon and geochemical properties of cryosols on the North Slope of Alaska
Cuicui Mu, Tingjun Zhang, Paul F. Schuster, Kevin Schaefer, Kimberly P. Wickland, Deborah A. Repert, Lin Liu, Tim Schaefer, Guodong Cheng
2014, Cold Regions Science and Technology (100) 59-67
Cryosols contain roughly 1700 Gt of Soil organic carbon (SOC) roughly double the carbon content of the atmosphere. As global temperature rises and permafrost thaws, this carbon reservoir becomes vulnerable to microbial decomposition, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions that will amplify anthropogenic warming. Improving our understanding...
Why the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake matters 50 years later
Michael E. West, Peter J. Haeussler, Natalia A. Ruppert, Jeffrey T. Freymueller, Alaska Seismic Hazards Safety Commission
2014, Seismological Research Letters (85) 245-251
Spring was returning to Alaska on Friday 27 March 1964. A two‐week cold snap had just ended, and people were getting ready for the Easter weekend. At 5:36 p.m., an earthquake initiated 12 km beneath Prince William Sound, near the eastern end of what is now recognized as the Alaska‐Aleutian subduction zone....
Little late Holocene strain accumulation and release on the Aleutian megathrust below the Shumagin Islands, Alaska
Robert C. Witter, Richard W. Briggs, Simon E. Engelhart, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Richard D. Koehler, William D. Barnhart
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 2359-2367
Can a predominantly creeping segment of a subduction zone generate a great (M > 8) earthquake? Despite Russian accounts of strong shaking and high tsunamis in 1788, geodetic observations above the Aleutian megathrust indicate creeping subduction across the Shumagin Islands segment, a well-known seismic gap. Seeking evidence for prehistoric great earthquakes, we...
Recolonization of the intertidal and shallow subtidal community following the 2008 eruption of Alaska’s Kasatochi Volcano
S.C. Jewett, Gary S. Drew
2014, Biogeosciences Discussions (11) 3799-3836
The intertidal and nearshore benthic communities of Kasatochi Island are described following a catastrophic volcanic eruption in 2008. Prior to the eruption, the island was surrounded by a dense bed of canopy-forming dragon kelp Eualaria fistulosa which supported a productive nearshore community. The eruption extended the coastline of the island...
Uplift and subsidence reveal a nonpersistent megathrust rupture boundary (Sitkinak Island, Alaska)
Richard W. Briggs, Simon E. Engelhart, Alan R. Nelson, Tina Dura, Andrew C. Kemp, Peter J. Haeussler, D. Reide Corbett, Stephen J. Angster, Lee-Ann Bradley
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 2289-2296
We report stratigraphic evidence of land-level change and tsunami inundation along the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust during prehistoric and historical earthquakes west of Kodiak Island. On Sitkinak Island, cores and tidal outcrops fringing a lagoon reveal five sharp lithologic contacts that record coseismic land-level change. Radiocarbon dates, 137Cs profiles, CT scans, and...
Coalbed natural gas exploration, drilling activities, and geologic test results, 2007-2010
Arthur C. Clark
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1004
The U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the North Slope Borough, and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation conducted a four-year study designed to identify, define, and delineate a shallow coalbed natural gas (CBNG) resource with the potential to provide locally produced, affordable power to...
Controls on methane released through ebullition in peatlands affected by permafrost degradation
Sara J. Klapstein, Merritt R. Turetsky, A. David McGuire, Jennifer W. Harden, C.I. Czimczik, Xiaomei Xu, J. P. Chanton, James Michael Waddington
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 418-431
Permafrost thaw in peat plateaus leads to the flooding of surface soils and the formation of collapse scar bogs, which have the potential to be large emitters of methane (CH4) from surface peat as well as deeper, previously frozen, permafrost carbon (C). We used a network of bubble traps, permanently...
Backprojection of volcanic tremor
Matthew M. Haney
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 1923-1928
Backprojection has become a powerful tool for imaging the rupture process of global earthquakes. We demonstrate the ability of backprojection to illuminate and track volcanic sources as well. We apply the method to the seismic network from Okmok Volcano, Alaska, at the time of an escalation in tremor during the...
The 1946 Unimak Tsunami Earthquake Area: revised tectonic structure in reprocessed seismic images and a suspect near field tsunami source
John J. Miller, Roland E. von Huene, Holly F. Ryan
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1024
In 1946 at Unimak Pass, Alaska, a tsunami destroyed the lighthouse at Scotch Cap, Unimak Island, took 159 lives on the Hawaiian Islands, damaged island coastal facilities across the south Pacific, and destroyed a hut in Antarctica. The tsunami magnitude of 9.3 is comparable to the magnitude 9.1 tsunami that...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Montana
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3022
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Montana, elevation data are critical for flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, agriculture and precision farming, geologic resource assessment and hazard...
New permafrost is forming around shrinking Arctic lakes, but will it last?
Martin A. Briggs, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Clifford I. Voss, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, John W. Lane Jr.
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 1585-1592
Widespread lake shrinkage in cold regions has been linked to climate warming and permafrost thaw. Permafrost aggradation, however, has been observed within the margins of recently receded lakes, in seeming contradiction of climate warming. Here permafrost aggradation dynamics are examined at Twelvemile Lake, a retreating lake in interior Alaska. Observations...
