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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

Paleozoic strata of the Dyckman Mountain area, northeastern Medfra quadrangle, Alaska

Paleozoic rocks in the Dyckman Mountain area (northeastern Medfra quadrangle; Farewell terrane) include both shallowand deep-water lithologies deposited on and adjacent to a carbonate platform. Shallow-water strata, which were recognized by earlier workers but not previously studied in detail, consist of algal-laminated micrite and skeletal-peloidal wackestone, packstone, and lesser grainstone. Th
Authors
Julie A. Dumoulin, Dwight Bradley, Anita G. Harris

Estimating the impacts of oil spills on polar bears

The polar bear is the apical predator and universal symbol of the Arctic. They occur throughout the Arctic marine environment wherever sea ice is prevalent. In the southern Beaufort Sea, polar bears are most common within the area of the outer continental shelf, where the hunt for seals along persistent leads and openings in the ice. Polar bears are a significant cultural and subsistence component
Authors
George M. Durner, Steven C. Amstrup, Trent L. McDonald

Geology and geochemistry of Zn-Pb-Ag vein-breccias at Whoopee Creek, Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998

Zn-Pb-Ag mineralization at the Whoopee Creek occurrence extends over an area of at least 150 × 300 m with a very subtle surface expression. Sphalerite- and galena-bearing vein-breccias cut fine-grained sandstones, siltstones, and lesser shales of the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Endicott Group, and possibly the Isikut Member of the Kayak Shale. Most samples of sulfide-bearing rock contain
Authors
Jeanine M. Schmidt

Regional baseline geochemistry and environmental effects of gold placer mining operations on the Fortymile River, eastern Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998

A systematic water-quality study of the Fortymile River and many of its major tributaries in eastern Alaska was conducted in June of 1997 and 1998. Surface-water samples were collected for chemical analyses to establish regional baseline geochemistry values and to evaluate the possible environmental effects of suction-dredge placer gold mining and bulldozer-operated placer gold mining (commonly re
Authors
Richard B. Wanty, Bronwen Wang, Jim Vohden, Paul H. Briggs, Allen L. Meier

New geochronological evidence for the timing of early Tertiary ridge subduction in southern Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998

We present new U/Pb (monazite, zircon) and 40Ar/39Ar (biotite, amphibole) ages for 10 Tertiary plutons and dikes that intrude the Chugach–Prince William accretionary complex of southern Alaska. The Sanak pluton of Sanak Island yielded ages of 61.1±0.5 Ma (zircon) and 62.7±0.35 (biotite). The Shumagin pluton of Big Koniuji Island yielded a U/Pb zircon age of 61.1±0.3 Ma. Two biotite ages from the K
Authors
Dwight Bradley, Randall Parrish, William Clendenen, Daniel R. Lux, Paul W. Layer, Matthew Heizler, D. Thomas Donley

Reconnaissance bedrock geology of the southeastern part of the Kenai quadrangle, Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998

We present a new reconnaissance geologic map of the southeastern part of the Kenai quadrangle that improves on previously published maps. Melange of the McHugh Complex is now known to form a continuous strike belt that can be traced from the Seldovia to the Valdez quadrangle; a problematic 75-km-long gap in the McHugh Complex in the Kenai and Seldovia quadrangles does not exist. An Eocene near-tre
Authors
Dwight Bradley, Frederic H. Wilson

Paleozoic strata of the Dyckman Mountain area, northeastern Medfra quadrangle, Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998

Paleozoic rocks in the Dyckman Mountain area (northeastern Medfra quadrangle; Farewell terrane) include both shallowand deep-water lithologies deposited on and adjacent to a carbonate platform. Shallow-water strata, which were recognized by earlier workers but not previously studied in detail, consist of algal-laminated micrite and skeletal-peloidal wackestone, packstone, and lesser grainstone. Th
Authors
Julie A. Dumoulin, Dwight Bradley, Anita G. Harris

Isotopic ages from intrusive rocks near the Stuyahok gold placer deposits, south-central Holy Cross quadrangle, Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998

In the Stuyahok area of the south-central Holy Cross quadrangle, Alaska, felsic to intermediate dikes and sills intrude Lower Cretaceous volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Koyukuk terrane. These previously undated intrusions are the probable source of at least 933 kg (30,000 oz) of past placer gold production. Additional placer, and perhaps lode, resources are likely present at Stuyahok. New
Authors
Marti L. Miller, Robert D. Tucker, Paul W. Layer, Thomas K. Bundtzen

Do male breeding displays function to attract mates or defend territories? The explanatory role of mate and site fidelity

Many shorebirds show elaborate breeding displays that include aerial flights and ground displays accompanied by song. The mate attraction hypothesis suggests that breeding displays function to attract mates and maintain pair bonds, whereas the territory defense hypothesis suggests breeding displays function in defining and defending nesting and feeding territories. We tested these hypotheses in th
Authors
Richard B. Lanctot, B. K. Sandercock, Bart Kempenaers

Alaska resource data file, Chignik quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences can be found in the report. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska. There is a website from which you can obtain the data for this report in text and Filema
Authors
Steven H. Pilcher

Ecology and demographics of Pacific sand lance, Ammodytes hexapterus Pallas, in Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska

Distinct sand lance populations occur within the relatively small geographic area of Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. Marked meso-scale differences in abundance, growth, and mortality exist as a consequence of differing oceanographic regimes. Growth rate within populations (between years) was positively correlated with temperature. However, this did not extend to inter-population comparisons where differ
Authors
Martin D. Robards, John F. Piatt

Preliminary bathymetry of Shoup Basin and late Holocene changes of Shoup Glacier, Alaska

Shoup Glacier is a retreating, tidewater-calving glacier in northeast Prince William Sound, Alaska. Historical records, vegetation distribution, and sediment depth in Shoup Bay indicate that the glacier reached a late Holocene maximum at the mouth of Shoup Bay prior to 1750. When first observed around 1900, the terminus was stable on a series of shallow, bedrock obstructions between Shoup Bay and
Authors
Austin Post, R.J. Viens