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Weekly Highlights for 07-15-2009

I. Departmental/Bureau News

A. Upcoming Events

No Upcoming Events highlights for this week

B. Current

Seismic Data for Imaging Katmai Volcanoes Collected
During the week of July 20, 2009 the USGS Alaska Science Center (ASC) and University of Wisconsin, Madison, will download and begin processing the first year of data from a network of eleven broadband seismometers in Katmai National Park and Preserve. This experiment will produce 3D images of magma bodies and other features of the shallow crust and improve our understanding of the source processes of earthquakes in the region. During the first year of this two year experiment, data was captured from a large seismic swarm at Trident volcano. Characteristics of this swarm suggest that it resulted from fluids moving at depth and may reflect magma recharge into the region this network was designed to image.
Contact: Stephanie Prejean Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7462

USGS Scientists Attend Polar Bear Specialists Group Meeting in Copenhagen
USGS Alaska Science Center scientists Steve Amstrup and George Durner attended the 15th meeting of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG), in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 29-July 3, 2009. The PBSG is composed of researchers and managers representing each of the five circumpolar nations that signed the 1973 International Agreement for the Conservation of Polar Bears. The group, which meets every 3 to 5 years, reaffirmed the conclusion of its 2005 meeting that global warming is the most significant worldwide threat to polar bears and must be considered in management and policy actions of each jurisdiction. Members also concluded that persistent pollutants are a significant threat to polar bear health, and that pathways of pollutant migration into the Arctic are changing with global warming. Of 19 recognized polar bear subpopulations, the group agreed that only 1 is currently increasing, 3 are stable, 8 are declining, and 7 have insufficient data from which to deduce a trend. The PBSG expressed optimism that humans can mitigate the effects of climate warming and therefore improve the survival of polar bear subpopulations.
Contact: George Durner Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7082

II. Press Inquiries/Media

On July 15, USGS Alaska Science Center glaciologist Shad O'Neel was contacted by Hugh Nailon with Australian 60 Minutes about a segment on glaciers in Alaska, possibly resulting in a film shoot near a glacier in southcentral Alaska during the week of July 20.
Contact: Shad O'Neel Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7088

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