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Weekly Highlights for 06-11-2009

I. Departmental/Bureau News

A. Upcoming Events

USGS to Brief FedEx Flight Dispatch Center on Volcanic Ash Hazards
David Schneider, a research geophysicist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) at the USGS Alaska Science Center, will present a briefing to FedEx Flight Dispatch Center at their Memphis Super Hub on June 17. His presentation will focus on the hazards that volcanic ash clouds pose to aviation, and will provide an update on the status of the current eruption of Redoubt Volcano in Alaska. FedEx maintains a large sort facility in Anchorage (only 100 miles from Redoubt) and their operations at this facility have been impacted by explosive ash producing eruptions in late March and early April.
Contact: David Schneider Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7037

B. Current

Publication on Arctic Lakes and Implications on Winter Water Availability in NPRA
USGS Alaska Science Center scientists Benjamin Jones, Christopher Arp, and Joel Schmutz are co-authors of a publication on arctic lake physical processes and implications on winter water availability in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA). The publication appears in the June issue of the journal Environmental Management (Volume 43, number 6). Lakes deeper than maximum ice thickness provide an important source of liquid water for aquatic biota, villages, and industry during winter. The researchers analyzed satellite imagery, aerial photography, bathymetric surveys, water-level monitoring, and lake ice thickness measurements and growth models to describe how lakes in two adjacent areas of NPRA vary seasonally and annually, and to provide simple models to help better predict variation in lake-water supply. The article can also be found online at: http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s00267-008-9241-0
Contact: Benjamin Jones Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7033

USGS Provides Motorboat Training for Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program Students
As part of USGS' commitment to the University of Alaska's Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), staff with the USGS Alaska Science Center are teaching a DOI Motorboat Operator Certification Course to six ANSEP students June 11 – 13 in Anchorage. The course includes classroom lecture with an emphasis on hands-on exercises in the use of personal floatation devices, water rescue, boat trailering, fire suppression, and boat handling. The ANSEP program is designed to work with students from the time they are freshman in high school through graduate school to increase university recruitment and student retention rates. The program includes hands-on high school outreach initiatives, summer programs, internships and undergraduate research projects and includes among its goals effecting systematic change in the hiring patterns of Indigenous Americans in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Contact: James Finn Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7064

Coastal Erosion Research Featured
USGS Alaska Science Center research on coastal erosion in the Arctic was featured in the May issue of Earth Magazine, a publication of the American Geological Institute. The article highlights recent research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters by Alaska Science Center scientists. This study, titled "Increase in the rate and uniformity of coastline erosion in Arctic Alaska," documents a recent increase in the rate of coastal erosion along a segment of the Beaufort Sea coast in northern Alaska as well as interesting shifts in the pattern of land loss.
Contact: Benjamin Jones Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7033

Redoubt Eruption and Response Continues
Redoubt Volcano in Alaska's Cook Inlet continues to erupt steadily building a large lava dome in the summit crater of this glacier-clad volcano. USGS Alaska Science Center staff at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) and visiting staff from USGS Cascades Observatory, USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory, and University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute continue to respond to the ongoing eruption. During the past week, AVO staff has continued gas emission sampling by conducting two gas and observation flights. Several field crews continue to conduct geologic studies of eruptive debris from lahars deposited in the Drift River Valley. Fieldwork around the volcano will continue in the weeks ahead and will include additional geologic investigations, maintenance of monitoring equipment, and evaluation of the stability of the dome. The Aviation Color Code remains at ORANGE with the Alert Level at WATCH. The presence of an actively growing dome on the steep northern slope of the volcano means further sudden explosive activity is possible. Data from real-time seismic networks, web cameras, ground-based radar, GPS stations, an infrasound instrument, and near-real imagery from satellites are monitored by AVO staff 24/7. AVO continues to post daily updates of Redoubts condition on the AVO website. (http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php). AVO is a partnership among the USGS, the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, and The University of Alaska Geophysical Institute.
Contact: Thomas Murray Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7042

II. Press Inquiries/Media

On June 8, Ed Struzik, an independent Canadian journalist, contacted USGS Alaska Science Center biologist Steve Amstrup about an article for the online outlet Yale Environment 360 discussing the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species.
Contact: Steven Amstrup Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7111

USGS scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory continued answering media inquiries, June 4 - June 10, about the current period of unrest at Redoubt Volcano, including CBS affiliate KTVA-TV (Channel 11), the History Channel, the Peninsula Clarion, and Backcountry Ski Magazine.
Contact: Thomas Murray Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7042

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