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Weekly Highlights for 09-15-2009

I. Departmental/Bureau News

A. Upcoming Events

No Upcoming Events highlights for this week

B. Current

USGS Polar Bear Research on US Coast Guard Icebreaker PolarSea
On 26 September, USGS Alaska Science Center research zoologist George Durner will join the University of Wyoming and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for a 5 week cruise on the US Coast Guard ice breaker PolarSea in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The purpose of this mission is to collect physiologic and movement data from polar bears that occupy the deep-water pack ice during summer. General circulation model predictions of sea ice suggest a loss in polar bear habitat and local extirpation of some populations within the next several decades. This research will contribute to a better understanding of the consequences of extensive summer ice retreat on polar bears and help scientists refine projections of polar bear population trends for the 21st century.
Contact: George Durner Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7082

USGS Partners in Development of Western U.S. Volcanic Ash Plan
On September 18 USGS Alaska Science Center and Alaska Volcano Observatory geologist Tina Neal will attend an interagency scoping meeting at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Washington to initiate development of a Western United States volcanic ash plan. Attendees will include representatives from the USGS Volcano Science Center, National Weather Service, Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency to discuss plan content, writing assignments, and strategies for timely completion. The purpose of this plan, modeled on existing plans for Alaska and the Marianas Islands, is to establish clear pre-eruption protocols for coordination among the many federal facilities that will be involved in responding to a major ash producing eruption in the lower 48 states.
Contact: C. (Tina) Neal Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7458

Emergency Planners in Alaska Briefed on Volcano Hazards and Response
On September 28 USGS Alaska Science Center and Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) geologist Kristi Wallace will be giving a presentation at a Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management conference on volcano hazards with a focus on interagency response and emergency preparedness during eruptions. This conference will provide a rare opportunity for AVO to speak to a broad spectrum of emergency planners in Alaska, which will aid in coordinating future response planning.
Contact: Kristi Wallace Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7109

II. Press Inquiries/Media

On September 8 the Alaska Public Radio Network aired a story on the large numbers of walruses that are coming to shore along Alaska's Northern Coast. USGS Alaska Science Center biologist Chad Jay is interviewed, audio can be heard at: http://aprn.org/2009/09/08
Contact: Chadwick Jay Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7414

During the week of September 9 USGS Alaska Science Center research biologist David Ward was contacted by Discovery News, AP, Anchorage Daily News, and ASKA Anchorage public radio regarding the recent publication he co-authored on the winter distribution of Pacific brant shifting from Mexico to Alaska.
Contact: David Ward Anchorage, AK, (907) 786-7097

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