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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

Ultra-high chlorine in submarine Kı̄lauea glasses: Evidence for direct assimilation of brine by magma

Basaltic glass grains from the submarine south flank of Kı̄lauea, Hawai′i, have Cl concentrations of 0.01–1.68 wt%, the latter being the highest Cl content yet recorded for a Hawaiian glass. The high-Cl glass grains are products of brine assimilation by tholeiite magma. The glasses are grains in a sandstone clast from bedded breccias draping the southwestern margin of Kı̄lauea’s submarine midslope
Authors
Michelle L. Coombs, Thomas W. Sisson, Jun-Ichi Kimura

Founding events influence genetic population structure of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Lake Clark, Alaska

Bottlenecks can have lasting effects on genetic population structure that obscure patterns of contemporary gene flow and drift. Sockeye salmon are vulnerable to bottleneck effects because they are a highly structured species with excellent colonizing abilities and often occupy geologically young habitats. We describe genetic divergence among and genetic variation within spawning populations of soc
Authors
K.M. Ramstad, C.A. Woody, G. Kevin Sage, F.W. Allendorf

Estimating Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) abundance: Crab pots and dive transects compared

Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) were sampled with commercial pots and counted by scuba divers on benthic transects at eight sites near Glacier Bay, Alaska. Catch per unit of effort (CPUE) from pots was compared to the density estimates from dives to evaluate the bias and power of the two techniques. Yearly sampling was conducted in two seasons: April and September, from 1992 to 2000. Male CPUE e
Authors
S. James Taggart, Charles E. O'Clair, Thomas C. Shirley, Jennifer Mondragon

Temporal and geographic variation in survival of juvenile black brant

First-year survival has important implications for the structure and growth of populations. We examined variation in seasonal survival of first-year Pacific Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) marked late in summer in Alaska at two brood-rearing areas on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Tutakoke and Kokechik) and one area on the Arctic Coastal Plain to provide insight into the magnitude and timing o
Authors
David H. Ward, Joel A. Schmutz, James S. Sedinger, Karen S. Bollinger, P. D. Martin, B.A. Anderson

Bryophytes from Simeonof Island in the Shumagin Islands, southwestern Alaska

Simeonof Island is located south of the Alaska Peninsula in the hyperoceanic sector of the middle boreal subzone. We examined the bryoflora of Simeonof Island to determine species composition in an area where no previous collections had been reported. This field study was conducted in sites selected to represent the spectrum of environmental variation within Simeonof Island. Data were analyzed usi
Authors
Wilfred B. Schofield, Stephen S. Talbot, Sandra L. Talbot

Depositional settings, correlation, and age carboniferous rocks in the western Brooks Range, Alaska

The Kuna Formation (Lisburne Group) in northwest Alaska hosts the Red Dog and other Zn-Pb-Ag massive sulfide deposits in the Red Dog district. New studies of the sedimentology and paleontology of the Lisburne Group constrain the setting, age, and thermal history of these deposits. In the western and west-central Brooks Range, the Lisburne Group includes both deep- and shallow-water sedimentary fac
Authors
Julie A. Dumoulin, Anita G. Harris, Charles D. Blome, Lorne E. Young

Colonization, population growth, and nesting success of Black Oystercatchers following a seismic uplift

We present data on the colonization of Middleton Island, Alaska, by Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) following the creation of an extensive rocky intertidal zone after the Alaskan earthquake of 1964. The first pair of oystercatchers was detected in 1976, and it was another 5 years before the population increased to three pairs. Oystercatcher numbers increased steadily thereafter, with a
Authors
V.A. Gill, Scott A. Hatch, Richard B. Lanctot

Sustaining salmonid populations: A caring understanding of naturalness of taxa

Species of the family of Salmonidae occur naturally in Northern Hemisphere waters that remain clear and cool to cold in summer. For purposes of reproduction, salmonids generally behaviorally respond to the currents of streams and lakes in recently glaciated areas. For feeding and maturation, many larger species migrate into existing systems of large lakes, seas, and oceans. The subfamilies include
Authors
Jennifer L. Nielsen, Henry A. Regier

The Susitna Glacier thrust fault: Characteristics of surface ruptures on the fault that initiated the 2002 Denali fault earthquake

The 3 November 2002 Mw 7.9 Denali fault earthquake sequence initiated on the newly discovered Susitna Glacier thrust fault and caused 48 km of surface rupture. Rupture of the Susitna Glacier fault generated scarps on ice of the Susitna and West Fork glaciers and on tundra and surficial deposits along the southern front of the central Alaska Range. Based on detailed mapping, 27 topographic profiles
Authors
A. J. Crone, S. F. Personius, P. A. Craw, Peter J. Haeussler, L. A. Staft

Evidence of chromosomal damage in common eiders (Somateria mollissima) from the Baltic Sea

Common eiders nesting in the Baltic Sea are exposed to generally high levels of contaminants including potentially genotoxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorines. Blood samples were collected from eiders at eight sites in the Baltic Sea and two sites in the Beaufort Sea. DNA content variation was estimated using the flow cytometric method, and subsequently utilized as a biomarker o
Authors
C. W. Matson, J. C. Franson, Tuula E. Hollmén, Mikael Kilpi, Martti Hario, Paul L. Flint, J. W. Bickham

Phase II Report, Vital Signs Monitoring Plan, Southwest Alaska Network

No abstract available.
Authors
A.J. Bennett, K.L. Oakley, D.C. Mortenson

Field guide to identifying Kittlitz's Murrelet forage fish

No abstract available.
Authors
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt