Seven Decades of Coastal Change at Barter Island, AK
The Beaufort Sea coast along the northern edge of Alaska is a place of extremes. Home to the northernmost year-round settlements in the United States, this region sees round-the-clock daylight during...
View ArticleVideo on the North Pacific Marine Heatwave
This USGS video highlights women in science and their research and outreach on the impacts of the North Pacific Marine Heatwave in Alaska. The USGS is studying the impacts of marine heatwaves on ocean...
View ArticlePolar Bear Zoo Research Masterplan and Video
USGS continues to study how a warming Arctic will affect polar bears. Learn how polar bears in zoos are helping fill knowledge gaps that benefit wild populations. USGS scientists recently collaborated...
View ArticleFrom the Seafloor to Outer Space, USGS is on the Case
It’s a pale blue dot. It’s also a landscape of jagged peaks and valleys beneath fluffy white clouds. It's a vast field of wispy green grasses and a colony of colorful coral reefs.
View ArticleUnderstanding the complexities of carbon loss in Alaskan peatlands after...
This article is part of the Spring 2022 issue of the Earth Science Matters Newsletter.
View ArticleBird Bands and the Public Help Researchers Better Understand Alaskan Bird...
Each year across North America, more than a million birds are fitted with small bands to help monitor their populations. Information provided by hunters is key for gauging the status of an iconic...
View ArticleWanted: Information about capelin spawning on beaches in Alaska
Capelin, a small forage fish, are spawning on beaches around Alaska and your observations can contribute to our understanding of beach spawning behavior and the health of marine ecosystems.
View ArticleA disappearing act in Alaska
Permafrost, as its name implies, should be permanently frozen soil; however, that’s no longer the case. USGS researchers are looking into how these carbon-rich storage systems in northern regions, like...
View ArticleBipartisan Infrastructure Law helping Alaska map critical mineral resources
RESTON, Va.—The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced today that Alaska will receive more than $6.75 million to conduct geologic mapping, airborne geophysical surveying, and geochemical sampling in...
View ArticlePublications Contribute to Strategic Framework for the Alaska Earth Mapping...
Minerals are a part of our daily lives. Critical minerals, sometimes referred to as strategic and critical, are mineral commodities that are vital to the economy, security of the United States,...
View ArticlePolar Bear Hair Sheds Light on Seal Populations Under the Arctic Sea Ice
Researchers studied chemical signatures in polar bear hair to determine that the apex predators are changing their diet in response to prey (mostly seal) populations beneath the sea ice.
View ArticleJuvenile bar-tailed godwit "B6" Sets World Record
A four-month-old bar-tailed godwit known as B6 set a new world record by completing a non-stop 11-day migration of 8,425 miles from Alaska to Tasmania, Australia. This trip represents the longest...
View ArticleWorld Tsunami Awareness Day November 5, 2022
A new infographic summarizes great Alaska earthquakes and their related history for generating dangerous Pacific tsunamis.
View ArticleIndigenous Knowledge: Providing Insight into Climate Change
Over a decade ago, USGS Research Social Scientist Nicole Herman-Mercer embarked on a journey to study how Indigenous Alaskan populations were experiencing climate change and explore what Indigenous...
View ArticleChanging Wave Dynamics in Arctic Alaska
The Arctic coast of Alaska is defined and shaped by ice—and, increasingly, waves. New studies from USGS researchers and collaborators examine how wind-wave patterns in Arctic Alaska are shifting due to...
View ArticlePopulation declines in Alaska beluga whale population may be linked to low...
Researchers studied over a decade of photographic records of individual whales and determined that belugas in Alaska's Cook Inlet have relatively low rates of birth and survival, which are both likely...
View ArticleUSGS aids storm response to Extratropical Typhoon Merbok in Alaska
In September 2022, the west coast of Alaska was struck by Extratropical Typhoon Merbok, generating significant storm surge that caused severe flooding, erosion damage, and loss of subsistence...
View ArticleHow Elodea Affects Juvenile Salmon Growth
The U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service are collaborating to understand the impacts of Elodea, an invasive aquatic plant species to Arctic and Subarctic...
View ArticleWhy are Arctic Rivers Turning Orange?
Permafrost thaw may be contributing to discoloration of Arctic rivers by exposing iron-bearing minerals that were previously frozen and are now subject to weathering and hydrologic transport. One...
View ArticleInterviews with USGS Alaska Science Center Scientists
These videos provide an overview of four of the USGS Ecosystems research programs at the Alaska Science Center: polar bear and shorebird research, the state-of-the-art molecular ecology lab, and the...
View ArticleNew 2,000-year record of ocean and climate variability in the Beaufort Sea...
Continuous high-resolution marine sediment records that preserve environmental conditions during the late Holocene (the last 3000 years) are unusual in dynamic environments of the Arctic continental...
View ArticleUSGS Alaska Science Center Project Updates for Collaborative Science with...
One of the primary missions of the USGS is to provide science for decision making, particularly for Department of Interior management bureaus such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the...
View ArticleStrait Science Lecture Series
These video talks, hosted by UAF Northwest Campus and Alaska Sea Grant, provide an overview of three USGS Ecosystems research programs at the Alaska Science Center: harmful algal toxins and seabirds,...
View ArticleUSGS Invests Millions in Critical-Minerals Mapping in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska. — The U.S. Geological Survey will invest more than $5.8 million to map critical-mineral resources in Alaska in partnership with the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical...
View ArticleInteragency Partners to Collect Seafloor Data in Southern Alaska
Starting in May 2023 in the Gulf of Alaska, this regional seafloor mapping campaign is part of a broader effort to collect data across coastal and ocean waters throughout the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
View ArticleVolcano Watch — Volcano monitoring from space: InSAR time series success in...
In a recent “Volcano Watch” article, we learned about a remote sensing technique known as InSAR. This method of using satellite radar signals to detect changes to the surface of the earth has been very...
View ArticlePhoto Contest Winner! By Air and by Sea, Pacific Herring Research is Underway...
Our photo contest winner is Ashley MacKenzie, for bringing multiple images to us from research in Alaska.
View ArticleDirectors Message: Knowledge Transfer is Vital to the Success of New Ventures...
There are many unique challenges posed in fish passage and reintroduction projects, and knowledge transfer is critical to their success.
View ArticleUSGS study highlights potential of significant critical mineral resources in...
RESTON, Va.— Better recovery of critical minerals from unmined deposits, active mines, existing processing facilities, and legacy mine sites could potentially meet decades of demand, according to a...
View ArticleUSGS Scientists Podcast Interviews
In 2023, USGS Alaska Science Center scientists participated in a weekly radio program and podcast called Liquid Assets, airing on KTNA 88.9 FM, a community radio for the Susitna Valley in Alaska. Radio...
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