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Our Alaska Science Center priority is to continue the important work of the Department of the Interior and the USGS, while also maintaining the health and safety of our employees and community. Based on guidance from the White House, the CDC, and state and local authorities, we are shifting our operations to a virtual mode and have minimal staffing within our offices. If you need additional assistance, please contact Chris Zimmerman.
In the Spotlight
Alaska has significant known or suspected critical mineral potential and is a priority focus region of the USGS Mineral Resources Program and the national Earth MRI.
View ResearchCurrent Water Conditions
Explore real-time Alaska streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions and access data with our new interactive map application.
View current conditionsNews
Story Map on the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey
A creative story map showcasing the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey (ALMS) has recently been developed by the Alaska Migratory Bird Management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This highly collaborative monitoring program was created by the USGS Alaska Science Center in cooperation with Boreal Partners in Flight to monitor breeding bird populations across the vast roadless area of...
Earth MRI Funds Critical Minerals Projects in Alaska
A total of $634,000 will fund new research and preserve important data across the Last Frontier.
Alaska Science Center Newsletter - Fall 2020
We hope you enjoy and subscribe. Below are links to recent publications, data releases, and highlights of on-going research programs. In this issue we feature news on the Pacific marine heatwave, Alaska Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, and our Ecosystems Analytics group. See new additions to the Wildlife Tracking page, Data and tools and Publications.
Publications
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
This chapter comprises the following sections: names, taxonomy, subspecies and distribution, descriptive notes, habitat, movements and home range, activity patterns, feeding ecology, reproduction and growth, behavior, parasites and diseases, status in the wild, and status in captivity.
Rode, Karyn D.; Obbard, Martyn E.; Belikov, Stanislav; Derocher, Andrew E.; Durner, George M.; Thiemann, Gregory; Tryland, Morten; Letcher, Robert J.; Meyersen, Randi; Sonne, Christian; Jenssen, Bjorn; Dietz, Rune; Vongraven, Dag How Is climate change affecting polar bears and giant pandas?
Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause of climate change and an estimated increase of 3.7 to 4.8 °C is predicted by the year 2100 if emissions continue at current levels. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) provide an interesting comparison study of the impact of climate change on bear...
Songer, Melissa; Atwood, Todd C.; Douglas, David C.; Huang, Qiongyu; Li, Renqiang; Pilfold, Nicholas; Xu, Ming; Durner, George M. Shorebird reproductive response to exceptionally early and late springs varies across sites in Arctic Alaska
While increases in overall temperatures are widely reported in the Arctic, large inter-annual variation in spring weather, with extreme early and late conditions, is also occurring. Using data collected from three sites in Arctic Alaska, we explored how shorebird breeding density, nest initiation, nest synchrony, nest survival, and phenological...
McGuire, Rebecca L; Lanctot, Richard B.; Saalfeld, Sarah T.; Ruthrauff, Daniel R.; Liebezeit, Joe