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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Geochemical Evidence For Seasonal Controls On The Transportation Of Holocene Loess, Matanuska Valley, Southern Alaska, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Gary Skipp, John P. Mcgeehin Jan 2016

Geochemical Evidence For Seasonal Controls On The Transportation Of Holocene Loess, Matanuska Valley, Southern Alaska, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Gary Skipp, John P. Mcgeehin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is a widespread Quaternary deposit in Alaska and loess accretion occurs today in some regions, such as the Matanuska Valley. The source of loess in the Matanuska Valley has been debated for more than seven decades, with the Knik River and the Matanuska River, both to the east, being the leading candidates and the Susitna River, to the west, as a less favorable source. We report here new stratigraphic, mineralogic, and geochemical data that test the competing hypotheses of these river sources. Loess thickness data are consistent with previous studies that show that a source or sources lay to …


Loess Origin, Transport, And Deposition Over The Past 10,000 Years, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, John P. Mcgeehin, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Gary Skipp, James B. Paces, Elisabeth A. Wheeler Jan 2013

Loess Origin, Transport, And Deposition Over The Past 10,000 Years, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, John P. Mcgeehin, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Gary Skipp, James B. Paces, Elisabeth A. Wheeler

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Contemporary glaciogenic dust has not received much attention, because most research has been on glaciogenic dust of the last glacial period or non-glaciogenic dust of the present interglacial period. Nevertheless, dust from modern glaciogenic sources may be important for Fe inputs to primary producers in the ocean. Adjacent to the subarctic Pacific Ocean, we studied a loess section near Chitina, Alaska along the Copper River in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, where dust has been accumulating over the past ~10,000 years. Mass accumulation rates for the fine-grained (<20 >µm) fraction of this loess section are among the highest reported for the …


Ice-Age Megafauna In Arctic Alaska: Extinction, Invasion, Survival, Daniel H. Mann, Pamela Groves, Michael L. Kunz, Richard E. Reanier, Benjamin V. Gaglioti Jan 2013

Ice-Age Megafauna In Arctic Alaska: Extinction, Invasion, Survival, Daniel H. Mann, Pamela Groves, Michael L. Kunz, Richard E. Reanier, Benjamin V. Gaglioti

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Radical restructuring of the terrestrial, large mammal fauna living in arctic Alaska occurred between 14,000 and 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Steppe bison, horse, and woolly mammoth became extinct, moose and humans invaded, while muskox and caribou persisted. The ice age mega fauna was more diverse in species and possibly contained 6x more individual animals than live in the region today. Mega faunal biomass during the last ice age may have been 30x greater than present. Horse was the dominant species in terms of number of individuals. Lions, short-faced bears, wolves, and possibly grizzly …


Soil Carbon Distribution In Alaska In Relation To Soil-Forming Factors, Kristofer D. Johnson, Jennifer Harden, A. David Mcguire, Norman B. Bliss, James G. Bockheim, Mark Clark, Teresa Nettleton-Hollingsworth, M. Torre Jorgenson, Evan S. Kane, Michelle Mack, Jonathan O'Donnell, Chien-Lu Ping, Edward A.G. Schuur, Merritt R. Turetsky, David W. Valentine Jan 2011

Soil Carbon Distribution In Alaska In Relation To Soil-Forming Factors, Kristofer D. Johnson, Jennifer Harden, A. David Mcguire, Norman B. Bliss, James G. Bockheim, Mark Clark, Teresa Nettleton-Hollingsworth, M. Torre Jorgenson, Evan S. Kane, Michelle Mack, Jonathan O'Donnell, Chien-Lu Ping, Edward A.G. Schuur, Merritt R. Turetsky, David W. Valentine

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The direction and magnitude of soil organic carbon (SOC) changes in response to climate change remain unclear and depend on the spatial distribution of SOC across landscapes. Uncertainties regarding the fate of SOC are greater in high-latitude systems where data are sparse and the soils are affected by sub-zero temperatures. To address these issues in Alaska, a first-order assessment of data gaps and spatial distributions of SOC was conducted from a recently compiled soil carbon database. Temperature and landform type were the dominant controls on SOC distribution for selected ecoregions. Mean SOC pools (to a depth of 1-m) varied by …


A Late Quaternary Record Of Eolian Silt Deposition In A Maar Lake, St. Michael Island, Western Alaska, Daniel R. Muhs, Thomas A. Ager, Josh Been, J. Platt Bradbury, Walter E. Dean Jan 2003

A Late Quaternary Record Of Eolian Silt Deposition In A Maar Lake, St. Michael Island, Western Alaska, Daniel R. Muhs, Thomas A. Ager, Josh Been, J. Platt Bradbury, Walter E. Dean

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Recent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that region. Particle size and geochemical data indicate that the mineral fraction of the lake sediments is not derived from the local basalt and is probably eolian. Silt deposition took place from at least the latter part of the …


Distribution, Speciation, And Transport Of Mercury In Stream-Sediment, Stream-Water, And Fish Collected Near Abandoned Mercury Mines In Southwestern Alaska, Usa, John E. Gray, Peter M. Theodorakos, Elizabeth A. Bailey, Ralph R. Turner Jan 2000

Distribution, Speciation, And Transport Of Mercury In Stream-Sediment, Stream-Water, And Fish Collected Near Abandoned Mercury Mines In Southwestern Alaska, Usa, John E. Gray, Peter M. Theodorakos, Elizabeth A. Bailey, Ralph R. Turner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Concentrations of total Hg, Hg(II), and methylmercury were measured in stream-sediment, stream-water, and fish collected downstream from abandoned mercury mines in southwestern Alaska to evaluate environmental effects to surrounding ecosystems. These mines are found in a broad belt covering several tens of thousands of square kilometers, primarily in the Kuskokwim River basin. Mercury ore is dominantly cinnabar (HgS), but elemental mercury (Hg °) is present in ore at one mine and near retorts and in streams at several mine sites. Approximately 1400 t of mercury have been produced from the region, which is approximately 99% of all mercury produced from …