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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

Observations of earthquake source parameters at 2 km depth in the Long Valley Caldera, eastern California

To investigate seismic source parameter scaling and seismic efficiency in the Long Valley caldera, California, we measured source parameters for 41 earthquakes (M 0.5 to M 5) recorded at 2 km depth in the Long Valley Exploratory Well. Borehole recordings provide a wide frequency bandwidth, typically 1 to 200–300 Hz, and greatly reduce seismic noise and path effects compared to surface recordings.
Authors
Stephanie G. Prejean, William L. Ellsworth

Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project

No abstract available.
Authors
Geoff S. York, P.R. Becker, Lyman K. Thorsteinson

Effects of recent climate warming on caribou habitat and calf survival

Migratory Barren-Ground Caribou Rangifer tarandus granti are the most important subsistence resource for northern indigenous peoples. They are likely to respond to global climatic changes that affect the distribution of their forage resources and the availability of forage through the year. The Porcupine Caribou herd is a large, internationally migratory herd of about 128,000 individuals that occu
Authors
Brad Griffith, David C. Douglas, Donald E. Russell, Robert G. White, Thomas R. McCabe, Kenneth R. Whitten

Predation on waterfowl in arctic tundra and prairie breeding areas: A review

Predation is a natural component of waterfowl population biology, but environmental alterations have changed the magnitude and importance of predation on waterfowl breeding areas. We reviewed the status of waterfowl populations, adaptations of waterfowl that minimize impacts of predation, and the impacts of predation on waterfowl populations in 2 major North American breeding areas, the Arctic and
Authors
Marsha A. Sovada, R. Michael Anthony, Bruce D.J. Batt

Seabird tissue archival and monitoring project: Protocol for collecting and banking seabird eggs

Archiving biological and environmental samples for retrospective analysis is a major component of systematic environmental monitoring. The long-term storage of carefully selected, representative samples in an environmental specimen bank is an important complement to the real-time monitoring of the environment. These archived samples permit:The use of subsequently developed innovative analytical te
Authors
Geoff Weston-York, Barbara J. Porter, Rebecca S. Pugh, David G. Roseneau, Kristin S. Simac, Paul R. Becker, Lyman K. Thorsteinson, Stephen A. Wise

Snow cover and snow goose Anser caerulescens caerulescens distribution during spring migration

Arctic geese often use spring migration stopover areas when feeding habitats are partially snow covered. Melting of snow during the stopover period causes spatial and temporal variability in distribution and abundance of feeding habitat. We recorded changes in snow cover and lesser snow goose Anser caerulescens caerulescens distribution on a spring migration stopover area in south-central Alaska d
Authors
Jerry W. Hupp, Amy B. Zacheis, R. Michael Anthony, Donna G. Robertson, Wallace P. Erickson, Kelly C. Palacios

The role of hybridization in the distribution, conservation and management of aquatic species: Symposium review

This issue of Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries contains six papers addressing several critical aspects of hybridization in fishes and aquatic organisms. Hybridization is a phenomenon long recognized in fishes (Hubbs, 1920, 1955; Schwarz, 1981), as well as in other plant and vertebrate taxa, despite some rather dogmatic proclamations to the contrary, e.g., comments made by David Starr Jordan a
Authors
John Epifanio, Jennifer L. Nielsen

Lithologies of the basement complex (Devonian and older) in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska

Rocks of the basement complex (Devonian and older) were encountered in at least 30 exploratory wells in the northern part of the NPRA. Fine-grained, variably deformed sedimentary rocks deposited in a slope or basinal setting predominate and include varicolored (mainly red and green) argillite in the Simpson area, dark argillite and chert near Barrow, and widespread gray argillite. Chitinozoans of
Authors
Julie A. Dumoulin

The Great Auk [Book review]

Human obsession with the Great Auk or Garefowl Pinguinus impennis is what this book is about, and it further fuels the fire of our fascination. As Fuller concludes in his introduction: ‘The Great Auk, large and plump, has tempted man since the dawn of history. Whatever the precise reasons for its hold on his imagination, it is a hold that has lasted, and even 150 years after the bird’s apparent de
Authors
John F. Piatt

Comparison of methods used to estimate numbers of walruses on sea ice

The US and former USSR conducted joint surveys of Pacific walruses on sea ice and at land haul-outs in 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990. One of the difficulties in interpreting results of these surveys has been that, except for the 1990 survey, the Americans and Soviets used different methods for estimating population size from their respective portions of the sea ice data. We used data exchanged betwee
Authors
Mark S. Udevitz, James R. Gilbert, Gennadii A. Fedoseev

Estimation of brood and nest survival: Comparative methods in the presence of heterogeneity

The Mayfield method has been widely used for estimating survival of nests and young animals, especially when data are collected at irregular observation intervals. However, this method assumes survival is constant throughout the study period, which often ignores biologically relevant variation and may lead to biased survival estimates. We examined the bias and accuracy of 1 modification to the May
Authors
Bryan F.J. Manly, Joel A. Schmutz

Geographic variation of PCB congeners in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard east to the Chukchi Sea

We present data on geographic variation in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in adult female polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard eastward to the Chukchi Sea. Blood samples from 90 free-living polar bears were collected in 1987–1995. Six PCB congeners, penta to octa chlorinated (PCB-99, -118, -153, -156, -180, -194), were selected for this study. Differences between areas were found
Authors
M. Andersen, E. Lie, A.E. Derocher, S.E. Belikov, A. Bernhoft, Andrei N. Boltunov, G.W. Garner, J.U. Skaare, Øystein Wiig