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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

Volcanic activity in Alaska: summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory 1993

During 1993, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to episodes of eruptive activity or false alarms at nine volcanic centers in the state of Alaska. Additionally, as part of a formal role in KVERT (the Kamchatkan Volcano Eruption Response Team), AVO staff also responded to eruptions on the Kamchatka Peninsula, details of which are summarized in Miller and Kurianov (1993). In 1993, AVO ma
Authors
Christina A. Neal, Robert G. McGimsey, Michael P. Doukas

Overview of studies to determine injury caused by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill to marine mammals

Marine mammal damage assessment studies after the Exxon Valdez oil spill concentrated on sea otters, harbor seals, Steller sea lions, killer whales, and humpback whales. Sea otter and harbor seals were the most affected marine mammal; it was estimated that several thousand otters and several hundred harbor seals died within months of the spill. Steller sea lion, harbor seal, a
Authors
Thomas R. Loughlin, Brenda E. Ballachey, B.A. Wright

The Alaska resource data file: Adak quadrangle

No abstract available.
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson, T. D. Light

Explanation of fields used in the Alaska Resource Data File of mines, prospects, and mineral occurrences in Alaska

Descriptions of mines, prospects, and mineral occurrences in the Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF) are published for individual U.S. Geological Survey 1:250,000 scale quadrangles in Alaska (see accompanying map) and are available for downloading from USGS World Wide Web site: http://www-rnrs-ak.wr.usgs.gov/ardf.These descriptions are divided into a number of fields which describe features of each m
Authors

Seaducks: A time for action

Seaducks (Tribe Mergini) are a diverse group of birds. In North America, many species nest in boreal or arctic habitats in Canada and Alaska and winter in ice-free coastal, marine, and freshwater habitats. Data from long- term surveys, population studies, and local knowledge suggest that some populations and species of seaducks have declined over the past decades. In most cases, the trend data are
Authors
Margaret R. Petersen, Mary E. Hogan

The Emperor Goose: An annotated bibliography

This bibliography contains more than 500 published and unpublished references relevant to the emperor goose (Chen canagica). The referenced works date from the early exploration of Beringia and Alaska through the formal description of the species in 1802 to 1993.
Authors
Robert F. Rockwell, Margaret R. Petersen, Joel A. Schmutz

Response of common murres to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and long-term changes in the Gulf of Alaska marine ecosystem

Short-term effects of the 1989 TV Exxon Valdez oil spill on seabirds were dramatic and well documented. Seabird populations at sea in the spill zone were immediately depressed, and more than 30,000 dead, oiled seabirds were recovered from beaches within months of the spill. It is estimated that 250,000 seabirds were killed by oil, of which 74% were murres. Based on comparisons of prespill (1970s)
Authors
John F. Piatt, Paul Anderson

Sea otter predation on Dungeness crabs in Glacier Bay, Alaska

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations are increasing and expanding into areas of Southeast Alaska where Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) are commercially harvested. Although sea otters are known to feed on Dungeness crabs, their effects upon crab demography have not been quantified. We censused Dungeness crabs in adjacent areas within Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve with and without sea o
Authors
Thomas C. Shirley, Gretchen H. Bishop, Charles E. O'Clair, S. James Taggart, James L. Bodkin

Dispersion of adult Cancer magister at Glacier Bay, Alaska: Variation with spatial scale, sex, and reproductive status

Patterns of micro- to mesoscale distribution of Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) in nearshore habitats at five locations in and near Glacier Bay National Park were revealed using subtidal transects. Sampling was conducted in April and September 1992 and 1993 and April 1994. Divers censused crabs by sex and reproductive status (ovigerous/nonovigerous females) along belt transects (2 m x 100 m) per
Authors
Charles E. O'Clair, Thomas C. Shirley, S. James Taggart

Activity and feeding of ovigerous Dungeness crabs in Glacier Bay, Alaska

The activity and feeding behavior of ovigerous Dungeness crabs, Cancer magister, were examined as part of a long-term study. Part of this study surveyed Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay, Alaska, during the spring of 1994 where 50 commercial pots were soaked for 24 hours. Catch per unit effort (CPUE), dispersion, and stomach samples of male, nonovigerous female, and ovigerous female crabs were compared
Authors
Deborah A. Schultz, Thomas C. Shirley, Charles E. O'Clair, S. James Taggart

Population, reproduction, and foraging of pigeon guillemots at Naked Island, Alaska, before and after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

After the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, we studied pigeon guillemots Cepphus columba breeding just 30 km from the grounding site. The postspill population was 43% smaller than the prespill population, but we could not attribute the entire decline to the spill because a decline in this guillemot population may have predated the spill. However, relative declines in the
Authors
Karen L. Oakley, Kathy J. Kuletz

Persistence of oiling in mussel beds three and four years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Dense beds of the mussel Mytilus trossulus affected by Exxon Valdez crude oil in Prince William Sound and along the Kenai and Alaska peninsulas were intentionally left untreated during shoreline cleanup activities in 1989-1991. In 1992 and 1993, mussels and sediments from 70 mussel beds in Prince William Sound and 18 beds along the Kenai and Alaska peninsulas were sampled to establish the geograph
Authors
M.M. Babcock, G.V. Irvine, P.M. Harris, J.A. Cusick, S.D. Rice
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