Publications
USGS research activities relevant to Alaska have yielded more than 9400 historical publications. This page features some of the most recent newsworthy research findings.
Filter Total Items: 2890
Testing assumptions for unbiased estimation of survival of radiomarked harlequin ducks
Unbiased estimates of survival based on individuals outfitted with radiotransmitters require meeting the assumptions that radios do not affect survival, and animals for which the radio signal is lost have the same survival probability as those for which fate is known. In most survival studies, researchers have made these assumptions without testing their validity. We tested these assumptions by co
Authors
Daniel Esler, Daniel M. Mulcahy, Robert L. Jarvis
The Tintina Gold Belt - A global perspective
The so-called Tintina Gold Belt extends for more than 1000 km along the length of the northern North American Cordillera. Middle to Late Cretaceous Au deposits within the belt have various similar characteristics, among which are a spatial and temporal association with magmatism; Bi-W-Te signatures in deposits hosted by granitod stocks and As-Sb signatures where hosted by sedimentary rocks and dyk
Authors
Richard J. Goldfarb, Craig J. R. Hart, Marti L. Miller, Lance D. Miller, G. Lang Farmer, David I. Groves
Mass balance, meteorological, ice motion, surface altitude, runoff, and ice thickness data at Gulkana Glacier, Alaska, 1995 balance year
The 1995 measured winter snow, maximum winter snow, net, and annual balances in the Gulkana Glacier basin were evaluated on the basis of meteorological, hydrological, and glaciological data obtained in the basin. Averaged over the glacier, the measured winter snow balance was 0.94 meter on April 19, 1995, 0.6 standard deviation below the long-term average; the maximum winter snow balance, 0.94 met
Authors
Rod S. March
Selected organic compounds and trace elements in streambed sediments and fish tissues, Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska
Organochlorines, semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and trace elements were investigated in streambed sediments and fish tissues at selected sites in the Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska, during 1998. At most sites, SVOCs and organochlorine compounds were either not detected or detected at very low concentrations. Chester Creek at Arctic Boulevard at Anchorage, which was the only site sampled with a
Authors
Steven A. Frenzel
Geologic map of the Christian quadrangle, Alaska
Most of the Christian quadrangle is in the Porcupine Plateau; the northwestern part is in the southern Brooks Range, and the southern quarter is in the Yukon Flats. Outcrops of bedrock are poor or lacking, except in the Brooks Range. Although large valley glaciers have moved through the Porcupine Plateau, along the East Fork Chandalar and Vanticlese Creek, most of the upland areas in the Porcupine
Authors
W. P. Brosge, H. N. Reiser
Survival and brood rearing ecology of emperor geese
Emperor Geese (Chen canagica) breed on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in an area inhabited by three other goose species. Whereas populations of other geese increased since the mid 1980s, Emperor Goose numbers remained low. Because survival and habitat selection by broods of Emeperor Geese had not been studied previously and numbers of predatory Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus) had recently increased,
Authors
Joel A. Schmutz
Monitoring seabird populations in areas of oil and gas development on the Alaskan Continental Shelf: A computerized pelagic seabird atlas for Alaska
Seabirds are the most visible and vulnerable victims of oil pollution in marine waters. As demonstrated by the "Exxon Valdez" spill (Piatt et al. 1990), we cannot predict when or where an accident leading to pollution might occur in Alaska, or where oil will eventually end up traveling from a point source of pollution. It is therefore prudent to document the abundance and distribution of seabirds
Authors
John F. Piatt, R. Glenn Ford
Microsatellites: Evolutionary and methodological background and empirical applications at individual, population, and phylogenetic levels
The recent proliferation and greater accessibility of molecular genetic markers has led to a growing appreciation of the ecological and evolutionary inferences that can be drawn from molecular characterizations of individuals and populations (Burke et al. 1992, Avise 1994). Different techniques have the ability to target DNA sequences which have different patterns of inheritance, different modes a
Authors
Kim T. Scribner, John M. Pearce
Alagnak watershed rainbow trout seasonal movement
Adult rainbow trout were radio-tagged in two locations in the Alagnak River drainage in 1997 and 1998 and radio-tracked until March 1999. The telemetry data indicate the two different sample groups exhibited independent movements with little geographic overlap. However, some tagged fish from each sample group migrated downstream to the same general area during the spawning season. Rainbow trout wi
Authors
Julie M. Meka, E. Eric Knudsen, David C. Douglas
Temporal variability in abundance of Marbled Murrelets at sea in southeast Alaska
We examined effects of season, time of day, tide stage, tidal oscillation, and sea surface temperature on Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) abundance and distribution at sea. We also evaluated whether constraining surveys to specific time periods or tide stages would reduce temporal variability in counts. Murrelets were surveyed daily from small boats and from shore in Auke Bay and Fritz
Authors
Suzann G. Speckman, Alan M. Springer, John F. Piatt, Dana Thomas