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: 3061
Evidence for offset of Cretaceous plutons by the Tintina fault in eastern Alaska: Implications for regional metallogeny Evidence for offset of Cretaceous plutons by the Tintina fault in eastern Alaska: Implications for regional metallogeny
Cretaceous magmatism in eastern interior Alaska is voluminous, but temporally and spatially diverse – suggestive of varying sources and drivers. More than 150 new U-Pb zircon and more than 500 geochemical analyses of Cretaceous plutonic units allow for the grouping of distinct plutonic suites. Magmatism was continuous from 120-66 Ma but can be grouped into temporally distinct pulses from...
Authors
Douglas Kreiner, Erin Todd, James Jones, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Laura Pianowski, Paul O’Sullivan
Speleothem evidence for Late Miocene extreme Arctic amplification – An analogue for near-future anthropogenic climate change? Speleothem evidence for Late Miocene extreme Arctic amplification – An analogue for near-future anthropogenic climate change?
The Miocene provides an excellent climatic analogue for near-future runaway anthropogenic warming, with atmospheric CO2 concentrations and global average temperatures similar to those projected for the coming century under extreme-emissions scenarios. However, the magnitude of Miocene Arctic warming remains unclear due to the scarcity of reliable proxy data. Here we use stable oxygen...
Authors
Stuart Umbo, Franziska Lechleitner, Thomas Opel, Sevasti Modestou, Tobias Braun, Anton Vaks, Gideon Henderson, Pete Scott, Alexander Osintzev, Alexander Kononov, Irina Adrian, Yuri Dublyansky, Alena Maria Giesche, Sebastian Breitenbach
Warming Alaskan rivers affect first-year growth in critical northern food fishes Warming Alaskan rivers affect first-year growth in critical northern food fishes
Arctic and subarctic rivers are warming rapidly, with unknown consequences for migratory fishes and the human communities dependent on them. To date, few studies have provided a comprehensive assessment of possible climate change impacts on the hydrology and temperature of Arctic rivers at the regional scale, and even fewer have connected those changes to multiple fish species with input...
Authors
Peyton Thomas, Dylan Blaskey, Yifan Cheng, Michael Carey, Heidi Swanson, Andrew Newman, Cassandra Brooks, Nicole Herman-Mercer, Keith Musselman
Selected special conditions affecting peak streamflow and extreme floods in Alaska through water year 2022 Selected special conditions affecting peak streamflow and extreme floods in Alaska through water year 2022
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, inventoried selected special conditions for annual peak flows and identified extreme floods at streamgages in Alaska through water year 2022 to facilitate hydrologic analysis. Special conditions identified from U.S. Geological Survey gaging records and basin characteristics...
Authors
Janet Curran
Constraining snow water equivalent of wet snowpacks in southeast Alaska Constraining snow water equivalent of wet snowpacks in southeast Alaska
Quantifying snow water equivalent (SWE) with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in a warming climate is complicated by the incidence and variability of liquid water in snow. Snow surveys conducted during the melt season serve as a valuable analog to conditions under future warming. Here, we determine the variability of wet snowpack properties (relative permittivity and density) to quantify...
Authors
Mikaila Mannello, Scott Braddock, Seth Campbell, Emma Erwin, Kristin Schild, Christopher McNeil
Identifying presence or absence of grizzly and polar bear cubs from the movements of adult females with machine learning Identifying presence or absence of grizzly and polar bear cubs from the movements of adult females with machine learning
BackgroundInformation on reproductive success is crucial to understanding population dynamics but can be difficult to obtain, particularly for species that birth while denning. For grizzly (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus), den visits are impractical because of safety and logistical considerations. Reproduction is typically documented through direct observation, which can be...
Authors
Erik Andersen, Justin Clapp, Milan Vinks, Todd Atwood, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Cecily M. Costello, David Gustine, Mark Haroldson, Lori Roberts, Karyn Rode, Frank van Manen, Ryan Wilson
Arctic speleothems reveal nearly permafrost-free Northern Hemisphere in the Late Miocene Arctic speleothems reveal nearly permafrost-free Northern Hemisphere in the Late Miocene
Arctic warming is happening at nearly four times the global average rate. Long-term trends of permafrost dynamics cannot be estimated directly from monitoring of present-day thaw processes, requiring paleoclimate-proxy information. Here we use cave carbonates (speleothems) from a northern Siberian cave to determine when the Northern Hemisphere was mostly permafrost-free. At present...
Authors
Anton Vaks, Andrew Mason, Sebastian F.M. Breitenbach, Alena Maria Giesche, Alexander Osinzev, Irina Adrian, Aleksandr Kononov, Stuart Umbo, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Marcelo Rosensaft, Gideon M. Henderson
Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes
As the northern high-latitude permafrost zone experiences accelerated warming, permafrost has become vulnerable to widespread thaw. Simultaneously, wildfire activity across northern boreal forest and Arctic/subarctic tundra regions impacts permafrost stability through the combustion of insulating organic matter, vegetation, and post-fire changes in albedo. Efforts to synthesis the...
Authors
Anna Talucci, Michael M. Loranty, Jean E. Holloway, Brendan Rogers, Heather Alexander, Natalie Baillargeon, Jennifer Baltzer, Logan T. Berner, Amy Breen, Leya Brodt, Brian Buma, Jacqueline Dean, Clement J.F. Delcourt, Lucas R. Diaz, Catherine M. Dieleman, Thomas Douglas, Gerald Frost, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Rebecca Hewitt, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, M. Torre Jorenson, Mark Lara, Rachel Loehman, Michelle Mack, Kristen Manies, Christina Minions, Susan M. Natali, Jonathan O’Donnell, David Olefeldt, Alison K. Paulson, Adrian V. Rocha, Lisa B. Saperstein, T.A. Shestakova, Seeta Sistla, Oleg Sizov, Andrey Soromotin, Merritt R. Turetksy, Sander Veraverbeke, Michelle Walvoord
Observing northern high-latitude river systems to understand changes in a warming Arctic Observing northern high-latitude river systems to understand changes in a warming Arctic
Purpose of ReviewStreams and rivers are undergoing rapid change as the Arctic warms and thaws. We review recent observations in Arctic stream systems to identify ubiquitous changes and the most useful tools for observing change and exploring the underlying processes.Recent FindingsRecent literature indicates increasingly significant trends in river hydrology and chemistry due to...
Authors
Joshua Koch, J. O’Donnell
Linking fire radiative power to land cover, fire history, and environmental setting in Alaska, 2003–2022 Linking fire radiative power to land cover, fire history, and environmental setting in Alaska, 2003–2022
BackgroundFire radiative power (FRP) shows promise as a diagnostic and predictive indicator of fire behavior and post-fire effects in Alaska, USA.AimsTo investigate relationships between FRP, vegetation functional groups, and environmental settings in Alaska (2003–2022) under various fire history conditions.MethodsWe tested for distinctness of MODIS FRP distributions associated with...
Authors
Jessica J. Walker, Rachel Loehman, Britt Smith, Christopher Soulard
USGS critical minerals review USGS critical minerals review
No abstract available.
Authors
Graham Lederer, James Jones, Darcy McPhee, Patricia J Loferski, Robert Seal, Paul Bedrosian, Patricia Macqueen, V. Grauch, Federico Solano, Joshua Rosera, David Pineault
Alaskan hydrology in transition: Changing precipitation and evapotranspiration patterns are projected to reshape seasonal streamflow and water temperature by midcentury (2035-2064) Alaskan hydrology in transition: Changing precipitation and evapotranspiration patterns are projected to reshape seasonal streamflow and water temperature by midcentury (2035-2064)
High spatial and temporal resolution models are essential for understanding future climate impacts and developing effective climate resilience plans. However, existing regional and global river models often lack the resolution needed to accurately capture local conditions. This study uses a series of high-resolution models, including the Regional Arctic System Model, mizuRoute, and the...
Authors
D Blaskey, Yifan Cheng, A. Newman, Joshua Koch, M Goseff, K Musselman