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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: 2891

Serosurvey of selected zoonotic agents in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

Between 1982 and 1999 blood samples were collected from 500 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) captured in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, to determine the seroprevalence of Brucella species, Toxoplasma gondii, and Trichinella species infections. The bears were classified into four age groups, cubs, yearlings, subadults and adults. Brucella and Toxoplasma antibodies were detected by agglutination (a buf
Authors
H. Rah, B.B. Chomel, Erich H. Follmann, R.W. Kasten, C.H. Hew, T.B. Farver, G.W. Garner, Steven C. Amstrup

Do wintering Harlequin Ducks forage nocturnally at high latitudes?

We monitored radio-tagged Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) to determine whether nocturnal feeding was part of their foraging strategy during winter in south-central Alaska. Despite attributes of our study site (low ambient temperatures, harsh weather, short day length) and study species (small body size, high daytime foraging rates) that would be expected to favor nocturnal foraging, we
Authors
Daniel Rizzolo, Daniel Esler, Daniel D. Roby, Robert L. Jarvis

New constraints on mechanisms of remotely triggered seismicity at Long Valley Caldera

Regional-scale triggering of local earthquakes in the crust by seismic waves from distant main shocks has now been robustly documented for over a decade. Some of the most thoroughly recorded examples of repeated triggering of a single site from multiple, large earthquakes are measured in geothermal fields of the western United States like Long Valley Caldera. As one of the few natural cases where
Authors
E. E. Brodsky, S. G. Prejean

Cause and effect of variations in western arctic snow and sea ice cover

[No abstract available]
Authors
R. S. Stone, David C. Douglas, G. I. Belchansky, S. D. Drobot, J. Harris

Evolving force balance at Columbia Glacier, Alaska, during its rapid retreat

Changes in driving and resistive stresses play an essential role in governing the buoyancy forces that are important controls on the speed and irreversibility of tidewater glacier retreats. We describe changes in geometry, velocity, and strain rate and present a top-down force balance analysis performed over the lower reach of Columbia Glacier. Our analysis uses new measurements and estimates of b
Authors
Shad O'Neel, W.T. Pfeffer, R. Krimmel, M. Meier

Co-occurrence of Pacific sleeper sharks Somniosus pacificus and harbor seals Phoca vitulina in Glacier Bay

We present evidence that Pacific sleeper sharks Somniosus pacificus co-occur with harbor seals Phoca vitulina in Glacier Bay, Alaska, and that these sharks scavenge or prey on marine mammals. In 2002, 415 stations were fished throughout Glacier Bay on a systematic sampling grid. Pacific sleeper sharks were caught at 3 of the 415 stations, and at one station a Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepi
Authors
S. James Taggart, A.G. Andrews, Jennifer Mondragon, E.A. Mathews

Geochemistry of surface-waters in mineralized and non-mineralized areas of the Yukon-Tanana Uplands

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR) are continuing investigations on element mobility in mineralized and non-mineralized areas of the Yukon-Tanana Upland in east-central Alaska. The chemistry of stream water is evaluated in the context of regional bedrock geology and geologic structure. Sampling sites were located in the Big Delta B2 quadrangle, whic
Authors
B. Wang, R. B. Wanty, J. Vohden

Distribution of pelagic forage fishes in relation to the oceanography of Glacier Bay

No abstract available.
Authors
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt, Marc D. Romano, David C. Douglas

Population genetic structure of annual and perennial populations of Zostera marina L. along the Pacific coast of Baja California and the Gulf of California

The Baja California peninsula represents a biogeographical boundary contributing to regional differentiation among populations of marine animals. We investigated the genetic characteristics of perennial and annual populations of the marine angiosperm, Zostera marina, along the Pacific coast of Baja California and in the Gulf of California, respectively. Populations of Z. marina from five coastal l
Authors
Raquel Muñiz-Salazar, Sandra L. Talbot, George K. Sage, David H. Ward, Alejandro Cabello-Pasini

Geographic variation in survival and migratory tendency among North American Common Mergansers

Movement ecology and demographic parameters for the Common Merganser (Mergus merganser americanus) in North America are poorly known. We used band-recovery data from five locations across North America spanning the years 1938–1998 to examine migratory patterns and estimate survival rates. We examined competing time-invariant, age-graduated models with program MARK to study sources of variation in
Authors
John M. Pearce, John A. Reed, Paul L. Flint

Movements of walruses radio-tagged in Bristol Bay, Alaska

Satellite radio-location data from 57 adult male Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) were used to estimate haul-out fidelity, broadly describe seasonal foraging distributions, and determine the approximate timing of autumn migration from Bristol Bay, Alaska. Data were collected intermittently during 1987–91 and 1995–2000, primarily during the period from May to October. Transmitter long
Authors
Chadwick V. Jay, Susan Hills