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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: 2885

Preliminary geologic map of the Chugach National Forest special study area, Alaska

In 1990, both the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines were contacted by the Chugach National Forest (CNF) for the purpose of providing mineral resource information for the CNF Master Plan during the planning period fiscal years 1991-1994. This information is to address the terms and requirements of the 1986 Settlement Agreement and to provide mineral and geologic information useful to
Authors
Steven W. Nelson, Marti L. Miller, Peter J. Haeussler, Lawrence W. Snee, Patti J. Philips, Carol Huber

Digital data for the geologic framework of the Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska, and the Alaska Peninsula terrane

These digital databases are the result of the compilation and reinterpretation of published and unpublished 1:250,000- and 1:63,360-scale mapping. The map area covers approximately 62,000 sq km (23,000 sq mi) in land area and encompasses much of 13 1:250,000-scale quadrangles on the Alaska Peninsula in southwestern Alaska. The compilation was done as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Alaska Min
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson, Robert L. Detterman, Gregory D. DuBois

Reconnaissance geologic map of the Duncan Canal-Zarembo Island area, southeastern Alaska

The geologic map of the Duncan Canal-Zarembo Island area is the result of a multidisciplinary investigation of an area where an airborne geophysical survey was flown in the spring of 1997. The area was chosen for the geophysical survey because of its high mineral potential, a conclusion of the Petersburg Mineral Resource Assessment Project, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey from 1978 to 1982
Authors
Susan M. Karl, Peter J. Haeussler, Anne E. McCafferty

Spatial distribution of chemical constituents in the Kuskokwim River, Alaska

The effects of lithologic changes on the water quality of the Kuskokwim River, Alaska, were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey in June 1997. Water, suspended sediments, and bed sediments were sampled from the Kusko-kwim River and from three tributaries, the Holitna River, Red Devil Creek, and Crooked Creek. Dissolved boron, chromium, copper, manganese, zinc, aluminum, lithium, barium, iron, a
Authors
Bronwen Wang

Sustainable fisheries management: Pacific salmon

What has happened to the salmon resource in the Pacific Northwest? Who is responsible and what can be done to reverse the decline in salmon populations? The responsibly falls on everyone involved - fishermen, resource managers and concerned citizens alike - to take the steps necessary to ensure that salmon populations make a full recovery.This collection of papers examines the state of the salmon

Testing releasable GPS radiocollars on wolves and white-tailed deer

We tested prototype GPS collars on 8 free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) and 3 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for varying periods between February and August 1997. We programmed the 920-gm collars to make a location attempt 6-96 times per day. The collars were designed to be remotely released from the animal and the data were then downloaded to a desktop computer. The collars produced 47
Authors
Samuel B. Merrill, Layne G. Adams, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

Annotated bibliography

This bibliography contains over 1,700 published and unpublished references on the family Ammodytidae with an emphasis on the genus Ammodytes. The references are alphabetical by author and then by year of publication.Abstracts and summaries are included for the references we have seen and those provided electronically by others. Abstracts written by the original authors are within quotation marks;
Authors
Robert H. Armstrong, Mary F. Willson, Martin D. Robards, John F. Piatt

Reproductive characteristics of migratory golden eagles in Denali National Park, Alaska

We describe reproductive characteristics of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) breeding in Denali National Park, Alaska during an entire snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) cycle, 1988-1997. Data on nesting eagles were collected at 58 to 72 nesting areas annually using two aerial surveys. Surveys were conducted during the incubation period to determine occupancy and nesting activities and late in the
Authors
Carol L. McIntyre, Layne G. Adams

Population demographics and genetic diversity in remnant and translocated populations of sea otters

The effects of small population size on genetic diversity and subsequent population recovery are theoretically predicted, but few empirical data are available to describe those relations. We use data from four remnant and three translocated sea otter ( Enhydra lutris) populations to examine relations among magnitude and duration of minimum population size, population growth rates, and genetic vari
Authors
James L. Bodkin, Brenda E. Ballachey, M. A. Cronin, K.T. Scribner

At-sea distribution of Spectacled Eiders: A 120-year-old mystery resolved

The at-sea distribution of the threatened Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) has remained largely undocumented. We identified migration corridors, staging and molting areas, and wintering areas of adult Spectacled Eiders using implanted satellite-transmitters in birds from each of the three extant breeding grounds (North Slope and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska and arctic Russia). Based on tra
Authors
Margaret R. Petersen, William W. Larned, David C. Douglas

Community reorganization in the Gulf of Alaska following ocean climate regime shift

A shift in ocean climate during the late 1970s triggered a reorganization of community structure in the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem, as evidenced in changing catch composition on long-term (1953 to 1997) small-mesh trawl surveys. Forage species such as pandalid shrimp and capelin declined because of recruitment failure and predation, and populations have not yet recovered. Total trawl catch biomass d
Authors
P.J. Anderson, John F. Piatt

Genetic structure of the world's polar bear populations

We studied genetic structure in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations by typing a sample of 473 individuals spanning the species distribution at 16 highly variable microsatellite loci. No genetic discontinuities were found that would be consistent with evolutionarily significant periods of isolation between groups. Direct comparison of movement data and genetic data from the Canadian Arctic rev
Authors
David Paetkau, Steven C. Amstrup, E.W. Born, W. Calvert, A.E. Derocher, G.W. Garner, F. Messier, I. Stirling, M.K. Taylor, O. Wiig, C. Strobeck
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