U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior
News Release
For release: January 16, 2009
Contact:
Jessica Robertson, 703-648-6624, jrobertson@xxxxxxxx
Science Picks — Leads, Feeds and Story Seeds
January 2009 Edition
Our presidential inauguration is only a few days away — how many of you know what it takes to make the brass instruments in celebration parades? In this edition of USGS Science Picks, look back on 2008 and discover earthquake impacts to our society, view stunning photographs of glaciers and learn about their response to climate change and uncover new discoveries that help protect endangered and at-risk species. You can also learn about new insight on possible life on Mars, analysis of earthquake probability near a planned liquefied natural gas pipeline, mercury levels in Indiana’s water, and more! 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.
January Highlights:
- How the World Helps Make an Inauguration Parade Brass Band
- Earthquake Fatalities High in 2008
- What Do Changing Glaciers Tell Us About Climate?
- New Discoveries to Help Protect Endangered and At-Risk Species
- Life on Mars? Rock Fractures Reveal Paths of Ancient Groundwater
- Planning a Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline in Earthquake Country
- Mixed News on Mercury in Indiana’s Water
- Studying Avian Influenza: Tracking Wild Birds in India and Hong Kong
- Calling All Black-Legged Kittiwakes!
- HealthMap: Alerts on Global Wildlife and Human Diseases
- Frog Bones: Counting Growth Rings to Determine Age and Health
LEADS: (top news, updates and happenings in natural science)
How the World Helps Make an Inauguration Parade Brass Band
What does it take to make the brass band marching in this month’s inaugural parade? In addition to the people playing the instruments, it takes a global effort to gather mineral resources needed to construct the instruments. Also, it turns out that not all so-called brass instruments (labrosones) are actually made of brass, and not all instruments that really are made of brass are part of the brass section of the band. To make “brass” instruments, gold, silver, copper and, in a few specialty instruments, wood are typically combined with brass. Brass itself is a metal made by combining copper and zinc. For more information on these and other mineral resources, visit minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/. For further questions, please contact Mike Magyar at or (703) 648-4910 or mmagyar@xxxxxxxx.
Earthquake Fatalities High in 2008
The number of earthquake-related fatalities across the world in 2008 — about 88,070 according to the USGS and confirmed by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — was much higher in 2008 than in recent years. This past year’s strongest and most destructive earthquake occurred in eastern Sichuan, China, on May 12, claiming at least 69,185 lives. In the contiguous United States, 2008’s highest magnitude earthquake was a 6.0 on February 21 near Wells, Nev., causing no fatalities but injuring at least three people and severely damaging more than 20 buildings. The USGS and its partners in the multi-agency National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program are working to improve earthquake monitoring and reporting capabilities via the USGS Advanced National Seismic System. More information about ANSS can be found at earthquake.usgs.gov/research/monitoring/anss/, and a complete list of 2008 earthquake statistics can be found at neic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2008/. For further information, contact Heidi Koontz at (303) 202-4763 or hkoontz@xxxxxxxx.
What Do Changing Glaciers Tell Us About Climate?
You can view stunning images of glaciers from around the world and examine their interrelationship with climate — with a focus on the glaciers of Alaska — through a new USGS Web site. The photos, taken years apart but from the same location, provide spectacular examples of how Alaskan landscapes and glaciers are responding to changing climate. The site also provides an introduction to climate, weather, glaciers, and sea level through basic terms and general information to help the non-scientist appreciate the role of glaciers in the global climate picture. The USGS has an extensive, well-regarded history in research and monitoring of climate change and its impacts. Visit the site at www.usgs.gov/global_change/glaciers/. For more information, contact Bruce Molnia at (703) 648-4120 or bmolnia@xxxxxxxx.
New Discoveries to Help Protect Endangered and At-Risk Species
Scientists are using new and creative ways to help protect endangered and at-risk species and the ecosystems they — and humans — depend on for survival. This includes the use of new tools such as DNA testing to track grizzly bear movement and habitats; monitoring methods that help researchers discover new freshwater habitats that endangered sea turtles use for survival in Everglades National Park; techniques to restore critically endangered freshwater mussels to their native habitats by raising them in laboratories and then releasing them into the wild; and innovative research to reduce the threats to and restore the habitats of unique, endangered and threatened plant species found only on California's Channel Islands. To view new a USGS publication, released in partnership with the USFWS, visit www.fws.gov/Endangered/bulletin/2008/bulletin_fall2008.pdf. Additional information on imperiled species research can be found at biology.usgs.gov/wter/imperiled.html. For more information, listen to a USGS podcast interview on the report and endangered species research at gallery.usgs.gov/audio/misc/20090108_Muir.mp3 or contact Rachel Muir at (703) 648-5114 or rmuir@xxxxxxxx.
FEEDS: (USGS tools and resources)
Life on Mars? Rock Fractures Reveal Paths of Ancient Groundwater
A key factor in determining whether Mars ever harbored life is the presence of liquid water on the Red Planet. The USGS and its colleagues with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team are working to determine the presence of certain rock fractures that would signify the existence, whether past or present, of groundwater. Using high-resolution imagery from a camera onboard the Orbiter to analyze layered rocks in the Mars equatorial region, scientists identified bands of deformation containing hundreds of small fractures that apparently directed water through ancient Martian sandstone, billions of years ago. A discussion of these newly observed features, considered important for applying to studies of other planets, is presented in an upcoming issue of the Geological Society of America Bulletin. For more information, visit www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1130%2FB26421.1 or contact Chris Okubo at (928) 556-7015 or cokubo@xxxxxxxx.
Planning a Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline in Earthquake Country
There is a 16 to 48 percent probability of a damaging earthquake (magnitude 6.5 or greater) within 30 miles of pipelines from a proposed liquefied natural gas facility off the California coast in Santa Monica Bay. In addition to strong shaking caused by earthquakes, the pipeline could be subject to other geologic hazards including surface fault offsets, liquefaction, submarine landslides, underwater turbidity currents and debris flow avalanches, and tsunamis. This is according to a new USGS report assessing geologic hazards in the area, written in response to a request from Congresswoman Jane Harman. The USGS provides accurate and up-to-date information for public policy officials involved in the approval process and by engineers if the project goes forward but does not recommend for or against the project. For more information, read the report at pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20081344 or contact Stephanie Ross at (650) 329-5326 or sross@xxxxxxxx.
Mixed News on Mercury in Indiana’s Water
Rain and snow falling in Indiana contains less mercury than it did in years past. Yet some of the state’s major waterways have mercury levels that could be harmful to humans and wildlife. State health officials advise people to limit their consumption of some fish caught in Indiana because of mercury contamination. Two recent studies published by the USGS show that mercury levels in the Hoosier State vary from place to place, season to season, and year to year. The USGS, in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, has a long-term program to monitor mercury statewide, whereby mercury in precipitation is measured every week at five stations in Indiana and every season at 25 stream sites in the state’s major watersheds. Summaries of these monitoring programs, along with other USGS studies of mercury in Indiana, are available at in.water.usgs.gov/. For more information, contact Martin Risch at (317) 290-3333, ext. 163 or mrrisch@xxxxxxxx.
Studying Avian Influenza: Tracking Wild Birds in India and Hong Kong
USGS experts in satellite telemetry are helping track movements of wild waterfowl in support of surveillance programs in countries with avian influenza outbreaks. Waterfowl were captured during December 2008 in Hong Kong at the Mai Po Nature Reserve and in Orissa, India, at Koonthankulum Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu and Chilika Lagoon. These projects are part of a global program to better understand the movements of waterbirds within East Asian flyways, interactions among wild and domestic birds, and findings from avian influenza surveillance. The USGS is working with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, government agencies and NGOs in this effort. Movements of satellite-tagged waterfowl can be viewed at www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/india/index.html and www.werc.usgs.gov/sattrack/hongkong/index.html. For more information about these projects, contact John Takekawa at (707) 562-2000 or john_takekawa@xxxxxxxx.
STORY SEEDS: (points to ponder or investigate)
Calling All Black-Legged Kittiwakes!
Kittiwake mates can recognize each other’s long calls, and chicks of this bird species have the ability to recognize their parents’ vocal cues. This is according to the first study to document parent recognition by young kittiwake chicks, which found that chicks have the capacity for vocal recognition as early as 20 days after hatching. The USGS was a co-author of the recent report on this study, which was published in the journal Animal Behavior. In the cliff-nesting black-legged kittiwake, as in many other bird species, the question of vocal recognition has been unresolved. The black-legged kittiwake is a long-lived, strictly monogamous seabird; most successful pair members remain faithful for many years. For more information, contact Scott Hatch at (907) 786-7163 or shatch@xxxxxxxx.
HealthMap: Alerts on Global Wildlife and Human Diseases
HealthMap is a new tool providing alerts on human, domestic animal and wildlife diseases throughout the world — and it’s all on one map! Information comes from various media and other sources, including USGS wildlife disease news. This integrated approach of combining health information for wildlife, humans and domestic animals supports the growing belief that examining their interrelationships may lead to new discoveries. HealthMap was created by Harvard-MIT and the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program. To view HealthMap, visit www.healthmap.org, and to visit the USGS-NBII Global Wildlife Disease News Map, visit wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/wdinNewsDigestMap.jsp. For more information, contact Cris Marsh at (608) 270-2459 or cmarsh@xxxxxxxx.
Frog Bones: Counting Growth Rings to Determine Age and Health
Information about the age of animals is an important for assessing the health of a population. The most accurate method of determining the age of a wild frog or toad is to mark and track it from birth to death, but that is neither practical nor cost effective. Similar to counting tree growth rings, skeletochronology is a widely used method of estimating animal age from the annual growth rings in bones. USGS scientists recently published a new report detailing a laboratory protocol for using skeletochronology to age frogs and toads, useful for researchers interested in setting up a laboratory, as well as for those who want to adapt the technique for their individual needs and equipment. For more information, visit pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1209/ or contact Brome McCreary at (541) 750-1012 or brome_mccreary@xxxxxxxx.
