Alaska Science Center

Current Highlights

USGS Scientist Elected into Fellowship of the Geological Society of America

USGS Scientist to Study the Affects of Past Climate Change on Fire Frequency and Permafrost Thaw Over the last 1,000 Years

USGS Provides Expertise to International Shorebird Study

USGS Research Presented at 12th International Circumpolar Remote Sensing Symposium

In the Spotlight

Fact Sheet Discusses Ocean Acidification Research in the Arctic Ocean

St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center scientist Lisa Robbins is the author of a fact sheet titled "Studying Ocean Acidification in the Arctic Ocean." The fact sheet discusses new and extensive synoptic data collections in the Arctic Ocean on the U.S. Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healy and its United Nations Convention Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) cruises that will provide insights into the patterns and extent of ocean acidification. This framework of foundational geochemical information will help inform our understanding of potential risks to Arctic resources due to ocean acidification. The fact sheet can be viewed at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3058/.

Contact: Lisa Robbins, lrobbins@usgs.gov, 727-803-8747 x3005 and Leslie Holland-Bartels, lholland-bartels@usgs.gov, 907-786-7000

Assessment of Potential Oil and Gas Resources in Source Rocks of the Alaska North Slope, 2012

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated potential, technically recoverable oil and gas resources for source rocks of the Alaska North Slope. Estimates (95-percent to 5-percent probability) range from zero to 2 billion barrels of oil and from zero to nearly 80 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Houseknecht, D.W., Rouse, W.A., Garrity, C.P., Whidden, K. J. , Dumoulin, J.A., Schenk, C.J., Charpentier, R.R., Cook, T.A., Gaswirth, S.B., Kirschbaum, M.A., and Pollastro, R.M., 2012, Assessment of potential oil and gas resources in source rocks of the Alaska North Slope, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012–3013, 2 p., available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3013.

Cold Regions Lake and Landscape Research Website Now Available

A Cold Regions Lake and Landscape Research group at the Alaska Science Center introduces a website that contains information pertaining to ongoing projects, recent highlights, field photos from around Alaska, and a series of Geotagged Lake and Landscape Oblique Aerial Photos, that can be used for ground-truthing remotely sensed landcover mapping efforts, developing baseline information for future change detection studies, and better understanding landscape-scale patterns and processes. The primary objective of this research program is to gain an understanding of landscape change in the recent (last 50 years) and distant (last 20,000 years) past. This is accomplished through a combination of techniques that include remote sensing, GIS, field surveys, laboratory analyses, and model development. Ultimately, these studies provide information that land and resource managers can use to better inform their decision making process. To view the website visit http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/geography/studies/index.php.

Changing Arctic Ecosystems Fact Sheet Now Available

USGS recently published a new fact sheet entitled "Changing Arctic Ecosystems—Research to Understand and Project Changes in Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems of the Arctic." Ecosystems and their wildlife communities are not static; they change and evolve over time due to numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Through the new initiative Changing Arctic Ecosystems (CAE) the USGS strives to understand the potential suite of wildlife population responses to these physical changes to inform key resource management decisions such as those related to the Endangered Species Act, and provide unique insights into how Arctic ecosystems are responding under new stressors. The CAE initiative includes three major research themes including Marine Ecosystems, The Arctic Coastal Plans, and Boreal-Arctic Transiting Zone that span Arctic ice-dominated ecosystems and that are structured to identify and understand the linkages between physical processes, ecosystems, and wildlife populations. To view the factsheet visit http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3136/.

Geiselman, Joy, DeGange, Tony, Oakley, Karen, Derksen, Dirk, and Whalen, Mary, 2012, Changing Arctic Ecosystems—Research to Understand and Project Changes in Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems of the Arctic: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2011-3136, 4 p.

Prior In the Spotlight Articles