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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

1996 Volcanic activity in Alaska and Kamchatka: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory

During 1996, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to eruptive activity, anomalous seismicity, or suspected volcanic activity at 10 of the approximately 40 active volcanic centers in the state of Alaska. As part of a formal role in KVERT (the Kamchatkan Volcano Eruption Response Team), AVO staff also disseminated information about eruptions and other volcanic unrest at six volcanic cente
Authors
Christina A. Neal, Robert G. McGimsey

Hematology and clinical chemistry of sea otters vaptured in Prince William Sound, Alaska following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Hematologic and serum chemical analyses were performed on sea otter blood samples collected from 31 adult males, 63 adult females, and 42 pups captured in western Prince William Sound (oiled area), and 12 adult males, 40 adult females, and 15 pups captured in eastern Prince William Sound (unoiled area) in 1989 and 1990. Hematologic differences between eastern and western adult males were minimal.
Authors
A.H. Rebar, Brenda E. Ballachey, D.L. Bruden, Kimberly A. Kloecker

Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

No abstract available
Authors
Nils Warnock, Robert E. Gill

Concordance of seabird population parameters: Analytical methods and interpretation

In an ecological context, concordance may be defined as the tendency for paired values of some parameter, such as the annual productivity of bird species, to show similar directions and magnitudes of deviation from the mean. Where concordance among populations is high, there is an implied similarity of the ecological factors affecting performance. Conversely, if populations behave discordantly, di
Authors
Scott A. Hatch

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