U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior
News Release
For release: September 17, 2008
Contact:
Jennifer LaVista, 703-648-4432, jlavista@xxxxxxxx
Science Picks — Leads, Feeds and Story Seeds
September 2008 Edition
In this edition of Science Picks, we’ve traveled near and far to bring you news from an expedition in the Arctic to thermal cave detection on Mars and beyond! USGS scientists are finding minerals in the Andes and liquid ethane on Saturn’s moons. Other scientists are staying close to home to prepare for Hurricane Ike and to study how shrublands react to intense wildfires. We’re also bringing you swallows, contaminants, sea otter spying, and grizzly bear populations. Discover all this and more without packing a travel bag in this September edition of Science Picks.
If you would like to receive Science Picks via e-mail, would like to change the recipient or no longer want to receive it, please e-mail jrobertson@xxxxxxxx.
September Highlights:
The USGS Responds to Hurricane Ike
Status of Grizzly Bears in Northwest Montana
Finding Caves on Earth, the Moon, and Mars
Liquid Ethane Found on Saturn’s Moon
The Andes Hold Treasures of Gold, Silver and More
Production Boost of Construction Materials
Some Like It Really Hot
A “Staycation” in the Insect World May Mean Genetic Isolation
Genetics Studies Useful in Analyzing Bear Maulings
There’s More to Swallow
Spying on Sea Otters
Parasite Extinctions = Gutwrenching Losses?
Increasing Demand of Essential Minerals
You Could a USGS Podcast Host!
Mapping an Arctic Frontier
No Child Left Inside
LEADS: (top news, updates and happenings in natural science)
The USGS Responds to Hurricane Ike
The USGS took airborne photos and video of the coastal areas impacted by Hurricane Ike and can be viewed at http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/ike/photo-comparisons/bolivar.html. Crews of hydrologists were out in Texas to measure stream flow, to record high water marks, and to keep gages operating to provide critical data to emergency responders and for flood forecasting as a result of Hurricane Ike. Hurricane Ike has caused significant flooding in the lower and upper midwest. The extent of the flooding is documented by USGS streamgages and can be seen at: http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/. Access other USGS efforts during Hurricane Ike by visiting http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/hurricanes/ike/. For more information contact Heidi Koontz at (303) 202-4763 or hkoontz@xxxxxxxx.
Status of Grizzly Bears in Northwest Montana
A new study estimates that 765 grizzly bears make their home in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, a 7.8 million acre area in northwest Montana stretching from north of Missoula, Mont., to the Canadian border. Initiated in 2003, the five-year study provides a better understanding of the population size, distribution, and genetic health of grizzly bears in northwest Montana. It is the largest non-invasive study of bears to date and is the first ever ecosystem-wide scientific assessment of grizzlies in the 12,187-square-mile Northern Continental Divide area. The grizzly bear population in northwest Montana, thought to be one of the last strongholds of the grizzly in the lower 48 states, has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1975. For more information watch episode 64 of CoreCast at usgs.gov/corecast or contact Kate Kendall at (406) 888-7994 or kkendall@xxxxxxxxx
Finding Caves on Earth, the Moon,
and Mars
Scientists are furthering the ability
to detect caves on Earth, the moon and Mars by studying the conditions
under which caves are detectable in thermal infrared. Finding caves on
Earth is important for locating habitats of bats and other animal populations.
Martian cave detection is vital to the search for life—if life existed
or exists on Mars, the best place to look will be underground. Scientists
recently monitored two caves in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and
identified the conditions under which they were detectable in thermal infrared.
Research was conducted by USGS scientists in collaboration with partners
from Northern Arizona University and Chile's Universidad Católica del Norte
and recently published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
For the complete article, go to http://www.caveexplorer.org/pdf/WynneEtAl2008.pdf.
For more information, contact J. Judson Wynne at (928) 523-7757 or jut.wynne@xxxxxxx.
Liquid Ethane Found on Saturn’s
Moon
Scientists have discovered the
first object in the solar system, other than Earth, with a liquid lake
on the surface. USGS scientist Larry Soderblom is part of a team of scientists,
led by Robert Brown of the University of Arizona, that reported the discovery
of the liquid hydrocarbon ethane in Ontario Lacus, a lake-like feature
near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Titan. Spectral data from the Visual
and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on board the Cassini Saturn orbiter
revealed the ethane, which is probably in liquid solution with methane,
other hydrocarbons and nitrogen. Detection of liquid ethane in Ontario
Lacus confirms a long-held idea that lakes and seas filled with methane
and ethane exist on Titan. The detection of the ethane spectral signatures
of the lake, even when it was dimly illuminated and viewed at a slanted
path through Titan's atmosphere, raises expectations for exciting future
lake discoveries by VIMS. For more information contact Larry Soderblom
at (928) 556-7018 or lsoderblom@xxxxxxxx.
The Andes Hold Treasures of Gold, Silver and More
Deposits of undiscovered minerals may be present in the Andes Mountains of South America, according to a new scientific assessment. The assessment estimates that the Andes may hold 750 million metric tons of copper in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits. Mining from these types of deposits provides more than 50 percent of world copper supply. The undiscovered porphyry copper deposits also have the potential to contain 20 million tons of molybdenum, 13,000 tons of gold and 250,000 tons of silver. The Andes were studied as part of the first global mineral resource assessment, which is being led by the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS jointly prepared and published the Andes assessment with experts from the geological surveys of Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru. For more information contact Jane Hammarstrom at (703) 648-6165 or jhammars@xxxxxxxx.
Production Boost of Construction
Materials
U.S. production of construction
materials increased in the second quarter of 2008, reflecting an expected
increase in construction activity with the arrival of warmer weather. According
to a new USGS report, this increase indicates sizable boosts in domestic
production for construction sand, gravel, cement and crushed stone, as
well as more modest increases for aluminum, iron ore, and zinc from the
first quarter of 2008. However, reported production of construction materials
decreased from the second quarter of 2007. USGS mineral production estimates
are used by the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors in preparing
its index of industrial production, a principal economic indicator. The
USGS is the sole federal provider of unbiased information and research
results on mineral potential, production, consumption and environmental
effects. To see the report “U.S. Production of Selected Mineral Commodities,”
visit http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/mis.html.
For more information, contact Kathleen Johnson at (703) 648-6110 or kjohnson@xxxxxxxx
or Jessica Robertson at (703) 648-6624 or jrobertson@xxxxxxxx.
Some Like It Really Hot
California’s native chaparral
shrublands are resilient to high-intensity wildfires, according to a new
USGS study of 250 sites following five fires that burned Southern California
shrublands in the fall of 2003. Non-native invasive species were reduced
by high-intensity fire but recovered better from low-intensity fire. The
primary threat to the native shrubland ecosystems is frequent fire that
contributes to reduced fire severity and increased non-native plant invasion.
For more information, see http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/keeleypbaug2008.html
or contact Jon Keeley at (559) 565-3170 or jon_keeley@xxxxxxxxx
A “Staycation” in the Insect
World May Mean Genetic Isolation
If you think it’s harder to travel
these days, imagine being a flightless insect hopping across habitat fragments,
isolated from other populations of your kind by highways and other urban
development. Species that are unable to disperse through urban landscapes
may be lost from remaining natural habitat fragments over time. Scientists
from the USGS, San Diego State University, and the California Academy of
Sciences studied the genetic structure of the Southern California Jerusalem
cricket in the Simi Hills of north Los Angeles. They found that genetic
connectivity among the smaller isolated populations has been disrupted
to some extent by highways and urban development, prior to noticeable declines
in abundance. Additionally, the smaller populations contained less genetic
diversity. For more information, contact Robert Fisher at (619) 225-6422
or rfisher@xxxxxxxx
or visit http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/vandergastpbaug2008.html.
Genetics Studies Useful in Analyzing
Bear Maulings
Scientists are trying to solve
the mystery of three bear maulings that took place around Anchorage, Alaska,
this summer by analyzing DNA samples taken from the victims. In an effort
to identify the bears, USGS scientists, in collaboration with the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game, are analyzing the data from the victims and
comparing them to genetic information contained in existing databases.
Managers closed trails in the vicinity of the maulings and shot a brown
bear suspected of one or more of the attacks. Preliminary analyses of the
DNA evidence indicate this bear did not maul the most seriously injured
victim. Laboratory analyses of samples collected from the other mauling
in this vicinity is underway. For more information contact Sandra Talbot
at (907) 786-7188 or stalbot@xxxxxxxx.
There’s More to Swallow
We associate swallows with a summer day’s pleasures, for both their graceful aerial agility and their appetite for pesky mosquitoes. Scientists have found that cliff swallows may also serve as reliable monitors of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems near their nesting sites because they don’t feed far from home and contaminants end up in their eggs and young. Research shows that mercury concentrations in eggs and nestlings of cliff swallows in the Cache Creek watershed north of San Francisco Bay reflected mercury contamination in the watershed. Spatial patterns of mercury concentrations in swallow eggs were similar to those in frogs collected from the same sites. Both frogs and swallows may be useful as biological indicators of contaminants in aquatic food webs. To learn more details about the study, contact Roger Hothem at (707) 678-0682, ext. 626 or roger_hothem@xxxxxxxx.
FEEDS: (USGS tools and resources)
Spying on Sea Otters
Spending long days watching sea
otters through telescopes sounds more like a relaxing pastime than a scientific
study. Yet carefully designed behavioral studies of sea otters have allowed
scientists to better understand what limits the recovery of threatened
sea otter populations and provide information on how these animals impact
the near-shore ecosystems they inhabit. USGS scientist Tim Tinker will
give a public lecture, “What We Have Learned From Spying on Sea Otters:
How scientists use behavioral studies to provide insights into population
status, disease dynamics, food-web interactions and ecosystem shifts,”
on Sept. 24 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing,
Calif. For more information, visit http://www.defenders.org/seaotter/awareness
or contact Tim Tinker at (831) 459-2357 or ttinker@xxxxxxxx.
Parasite Extinctions = Gutwrenching
Losses?
If the vertebrate group — birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish — lost just 3 percent to 5 percent of the 75,000 to 300,000 parasitic worm species they’re infected by, the health and abundance of vertebrates might change and in unforeseen ways. To learn more about what parasitologists have been estimating about parasite populations and their significance in ecosystems, check out the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences article “Homage to Linnaeus: How many parasites? How many hosts?” at http://www.pnas.org/. For more information, contact Kevin Lafferty at (805) 893-8778 or klafferty@xxxxxxxx.
Increasing Demand of Essential
Minerals
Everyone depends on mineral materials
to create products that support our way of life, our health, and the global
economy. Development of natural resources also helps generate the wealth
required for infrastructure (roads, airports, hospitals) and to underpin
a successful economy. The USGS provides scientific data and information
used by decision makers and the public for informed decisions that assure
access to a ready supply of mineral materials. To listen to a podcast interview
with USGS Mineral Resources Program Coordinator Kathleen Johnson about
the importance of minerals, the depletion of known resources as demand
continues to grow, and the USGS’s role in assuring the future availability
of mineral commodities, listen to Episode 62 at http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/.
For more information, contact Kathleen Johnson at (703) 648-6110 or kjohnson@xxxxxxxx
or Jessica Robertson at (703) 648-6624 or jrobertson@xxxxxxxx.
You Could be a USGS Podcast
Host!
August marked the first anniversary
of CoreCast, a USGS podcasts, and to celebrate, we’re letting our listeners
do the talking—literally—in our first-ever Be a CoreCast Host for a Day
contest. One lucky winner will get to host their very own episode of CoreCast,
the USGS’s award-winning podcast. The contest ends Sept. 26, 2008, and
entries in the form of name and e-mail address can be sent to corecast@xxxxxxxxx
Learn more at http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=60.
For more information, contact Dave Hebert at (703) 648-4474 or dhebert@xxxxxxxx.
STORY SEEDS: (points to ponder or investigate)
Mapping an Arctic Frontier
A scientific expedition is mapping
the unexplored Arctic seafloor where the U.S. and Canada may have sovereign
rights over natural resources such as oil and gas and control over activities
such as mining. Both countries will use the resulting data to establish
the outer limits of the continental shelf, according to the criteria set
out in the Convention on the Law of the Sea. The extended continental shelf,
the seafloor and subsoil beyond 200 nautical miles from shore that meet
those criteria make up an area of great scientific interest and potential
economic development. The expedition is a collaboration between the United
States and Canada. The USGS will lead data collection to map the Arctic
seafloor from September 6–October 1 on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy.
USGS public affairs specialist Jessica Robertson is providing regular updates,
as well as photographs and videos during and after the expedition on the
Arctic Chronicles page: http://www.usgs.gov/journals/arctic/.
For more information contact Michael Gauldin at (703) 648-4054 or mgauldin@xxxxxxxx
No Child Left Inside
Turn off the computer! Step away from the television! Head for the outdoors! The evidence is growing: Americans spend less and less time outdoors. The new USGS Earth Science Week Web site offers a few solutions and a growing list of parks with notes on interesting, exciting or unique things to do in each park. Earth Science Week isn’t until Oct. 12–18, but you can plan ahead with an insider’s look at upcoming events. There’s also a downloadable 3-D National Parks map and instructions on how to create your own 3-D glasses! Visit http://usgs.gov/earthscience/2008/. For more information contact Robert Ridky at (703) 648-4713 or rridky@xxxxxxxx.
