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Weekly Highlights for 09-01-2009

I. Departmental/Bureau News

A. Upcoming Events

No Upcoming Events highlights for this week

B. Current

USGS Surveys Threatened Sea Otter Populations in Western Alaska
USGS scientists from the Alaska Science Center and Western Ecological Research Center and collaborators completed their second 15 day cruise to the Katmai coast and the western Alaska Peninsula to capture and sample sea otters. The purpose of the cruise was to delineate the eastern extent of the decline in sea otter populations in Southwest Alaska that led to their Endangered Species Act listing as “Threatened” in 2005, and to evaluate the similarity of cause across the extent of the decline. In addition to traditional measures of condition and health, gene expression methods developed for sea otters provide a novel approach to evaluate exposure to a broad spectrum of pathogens, parasites, contaminants, and other forms of metabolic stress.
Contact: James Bodkin Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7164

Seismic Data from Alaskan Volcanoes Now Available World-Wide
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has established real-time data transfer protocols with the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Management Center (DMC) so that data from 192 seismic stations located on Alaskan volcanoes are transferred and archived in real-time. Data archived at the DMC are then made available to the broader seismology research community world-wide.
Contact: John Power Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7426

Study Provides Insights on Butter Clams, Important for Paleoclimate Reconstructions
USGS Alaska Science Center biologist Gail Irvine is co-author of a new study that provides insights into the biology, geochemistry, and seasonal growth of the butter clam, which are crucial for paleoclimate reconstructions and interpreting seasonality patterns of past human collection. The butter clam is one of the most commonly recovered bivalves from archaeological shell middens on the west coast of North America. High-resolution hard skeleton chronological studies of clams from British Columbia and Alaska were coupled with oxygen stable isotope analyses to examine relationships between environmental conditions, shell growth, and the ability to interpret season and time of collection of clams. This study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science Volume 36, issue 10, pp. 2353-2364.
Contact: Gail Irvine Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7069

II. Press Inquiries/Media

USGS Alaska Science Center biologist Brenda Ballachy is quoted in the August issue of Alaska Magazine regarding the recovery of Prince William Sound, twenty years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The article can be found online at: http://www.alaskamagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1991&Itemid=46.
Contact: Brenda Ballachey Anchorage, AK, (403) 288-9184

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