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Weekly Highlights for 08-27-2009

I. Departmental/Bureau News

A. Upcoming Events

No Upcoming Events highlights for this week

B. Current

Scientists to Tag Walruses with Assistance from Alaska Native Hunters
USGS Alaska Science Center scientists, with help from Alaska Native hunters, will attempt to radio-tag walruses that come to shore along northwestern Alaska in response to an ice-free Chukchi Sea shelf. The field effort is scheduled for September 14 - 21. The tracking data will be used to determine the effect of reduced ice conditions on walrus foraging effort.
Contact: Chadwick Jay Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7414

USGS Coordinates with Alaska Department of Transportation on Erosion Hazards
USGS Alaska Science Center hydrologist Janet Curran will meet with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) hydrologist for the Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska area on September 9 to provide data to inform ADOT&PF's erosion inventory of the Glenn Highway, the primary transportation corridor through the area. Preliminary results from the USGS' Matanuska River erosion study will be useful to the inventory including an outline of the river's historical braid plain and maps of erodible areas. River-level field observations and photographs of eroding areas will also provide ADOT&PF critical information about risks to the Glenn Highway.
Contact: Janet Curran Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7128

II. Press Inquiries/Media

USGS Alaska Science Center biologist Steve Amstrup spoke to Reuters on August 25 regarding increased sightings of polar bears in the vicinity of the North Slope oil fields in recent years.
Contact: Steven Amstrup Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7111

USGS Alaska Science Center scientists were referenced in an article on August 23 in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner regarding research being conducted on Kasatochi Island, which erupted in August 2008. The article can be viewed at http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/aug/23/life-inching-its-way-back-kasatochi/.
Contact: Sandra Talbot Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7188

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