USGS Science Picks - Coastal Erosion, Lake Champlain, Climate, Shorebirds, Ground Water Awareness and More!

[Jessica K Robertson <jrobertson@xxxxxxxx>]

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

News Release 

For release: March 6, 2009

Contact: 
Jessica Robertson, 703-648-6624,
jrobertson@xxxxxxxx

Science Picks — Leads,
Feeds and Story Seeds 
March 2009 Edition

In this edition of USGS Science Picks, discover how erosion is doubling
along part of Alaska’s Arctic coast, a variety of chemicals have been
found in the waters flowing into Lake Champlain, and you are needed to
help take the pulse of our planet. You can also learn about new insight
on the possibility for abrupt climate change this century, how shorebird
survival is being threatened in the Delaware Bay, and what it takes to
give a manatee a physical. In addition, get your hands on new research
finding that the Congo River is perhaps the deepest river in the world.
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.

March Highlights: 

·        Erosion
Doubles Along Part of Alaska’s Arctic Coast
·        Chemicals
Found Flowing into Lake Champlain
·        Help
Keep an Eye on Climate Change
·        Abrupt
Climate Change: Will It Happen this Century? 
·        Harvest
of Horseshoe Crabs Threatens Shorebird Survival
·        Well
Worth Checking Out: Ground Water Awareness Week 
·        How
Do You Give a Manatee a Physical?
·        Congo
River is Almost as Deep as an Ocean!
·        Aircraft
and Birds Learning to Share the Sky 
·        Limestone
in Your Breakfast Cereal?
·        Ozarks
Hold Species Found Nowhere Else on Earth 
·        Understanding
Mercury Contamination in Desert Climates

LEADS: (top news, updates
and happenings in natural science)

Erosion Doubles Along Part of
Alaska’s Arctic Coast

Coastal erosion has more than doubled
in Alaska — up to 45 feet per year — between 2002 and 2007 along a 40-mile
stretch of the Beaufort Sea. This recent erosion, which resulted in the
loss of several cultural and historical sites, may represent a short-term
episode, or it may represent the future pattern of coastline erosion in
the Arctic. These shifts are potentially a result of changing Arctic conditions,
including declining sea ice extent, increasing summertime sea-surface temperature,
rising sea level, and increases in storm power and corresponding wave action.
A study was published in the current issue of Geophysical Research Letters
and can be viewed at http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/gl0903/2008GL036205/.
Additional information, including images, can be found at http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2141.
You can also contact Benjamin Jones at bjones@xxxxxxxx
or (907) 440-7404.

Chemicals Found Flowing into
Lake Champlain

A variety of man-made chemicals
has been found in the streams and wastewaters that discharge into Lake
Champlain, according to a new USGS report. The chemicals found include
pesticides, fire retardants, fragrances, detergent chemicals and caffeine.
The chemicals were found at extremely low concentrations, but the significance
of such a mixture in the environment is unknown. The concentrations were
highest in waters released by sewage treatment plants, combined sewer overflows
and small urban streams. The lowest concentrations were in larger rivers,
an undeveloped stream, and the lake, which is on the borders of New York,
Vermont and Quebec, Canada. How these chemicals affect fish and human health
at the levels found is not well understood and an area of ongoing research.
To view the report, visit http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121663615/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0.
For more information, contact Patrick Phillips at pjphilli@xxxxxxxx
or (518) 285-5667.

Help Keep an Eye on Climate
Change

Volunteers across the nation are
being recruited to get outdoors and help track the effects of climate on
seasonal changes in plant and animal behavior. The USA National Phenology
Network is launching a new national program built on volunteer observations
of plants flowering, fruiting, and sprouting and other seasonal events.
Scientists and resource managers will use these observations to track effects
of climate change and other environmental factors on Earth’s life-support
systems. Changes in these patterns can significantly affect human economies
and health, and such changes have already jeopardized species in some areas.
This program will begin monitoring animals next year. For more information,
visit http://www.usanpn.org/
or contact Jake Weltzin at weltzin@xxxxxxxx
or (520) 401-4932.

Abrupt Climate Change: Will
It Happen this Century? 

The United States faces the potential
for abrupt climate change in the 21st century that could pose clear risks
to society in terms of our ability to adapt. A new report led by the USGS
makes the following conclusions about the potential for abrupt climate
changes from global warming during this century: 
·        Climate
model simulations and observations suggest that rapid and sustained September
Arctic sea ice loss is likely in the 21st century. 
·        The
Southwestern United States may be beginning an abrupt period of increased
drought. 
·        It
is very likely that the northward flow of warm water in the upper layers
of the Atlantic Ocean, which has an important impact on the global climate
system, will decrease by approximately 25–30 percent. However, it is very
unlikely that this circulation will collapse or that the weakening will
occur abruptly during the 21st century and beyond. 
·        An
abrupt change in sea level is possible, but predictions are highly uncertain
due to shortcomings in existing climate models. 
·        There
is unlikely to be an abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas,
to the atmosphere from deposits in the earth. However, it is very likely
that the pace of methane emissions will increase.
For a podcast interview on this
report, listen to episode 84 of CoreCast at http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=84.
For more information, visit http://www.climatescience.gov/default.php
or contact Jessica Robertson at jrobertson@xxxxxxxx
or 703-648-6624.

Harvest of Horseshoe Crabs Threatens
Shorebird Survival

A long tradition of harvesting
horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay has caused a serious decline in a shorebird
known as the red knot, according to a study published in the February issue
of the journal Bioscience. In spring, red knots migrate from southern
South America to northern Canada, where they breed. They stop for a few
weeks at Delaware Bay to gorge on horseshoe crab eggs and replenish their
fat supplies. The new study shows that harvest of horseshoe crabs caused
a 75 percent decline in the number of crab eggs, leading to a 75 percent
decline in knot populations since 2000. The study identifies programs to
recover both horseshoe crabs and red knots and argues that proper management
will ensure enough horseshoe crabs to support an increased harvest while
ensuring adequate food for red knots. For more information, contact Jon
Bart at jon_bart@xxxxxxxx
 or (208) 426-5216.

FEEDS: (USGS tools and resources)

Well Worth Checking Out:
Ground Water Awareness Week 

The National Ground Water Association
has designated the week of March 8–14 as National
Ground Water Awareness Week.
Ground water is among the Nation’s most important natural resources, and
is a major source of water supply around the world. It provides half our
drinking water and is essential to the vitality of agriculture and industry
as well as to the health of rivers, wetlands, and estuaries throughout
the country. This year’s theme, “Be a good steward of ground water and
wells,” is a call to action for everyone to protect this resource. To
learn more, visit the National Ground Water Awareness Week Web site at
http://www.ngwa.org/public/awarenessweek/
or visit the USGS Ground-Water Resources Program Web site at http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/gwrp/.
You can also contact Jennifer LaVista at jlavista@xxxxxxxx
or (703) 648-4432. 

How Do You Give a Manatee a
Physical?

Very carefully! Marine mammals
such as manatees are often used as sentinels for emerging threats to the
ocean environment and human health. Working with other federal, state and
nongovernmental organizations, USGS scientists have been capturing, examining
and releasing manatees for over 10 years, creating an extensive sample
and data archive. This is the fourth year of the wild manatee study at
the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, and data from Crystal
River research provide needed baseline health information about West Indian
manatees.  To learn more see http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Manatees/crystal_river_handout.pdf
or contact Bob Bonde at rbonde@xxxxxxxx
or (352) 264-3555.

Congo River is Almost as Deep
as an Ocean!

Imagine yourself in central Africa,
in a dug-out canoe crossing the lower Congo River's rapids and whirlpools,
and realizing that parts of the river were hundreds of feet deep. USGS
scientist John Shelton found himself there this past summer, measuring
places where the waters reached a depth of over 700 feet. His measurements
indicate that the Congo River is perhaps the deepest river in the world.
This discovery was made during data collection to describe the river’s
conditions and understand its extraordinarily diverse richness of fish
species. In this effort, Shelton worked with a team of scientists from
the American Museum of Natural History. Want to learn more? Visit http://research.amnh.org/ichthyology/congo/index_02.html
or contact John Shelton at jmshelto@xxxxxxxx
or (803) 750-6112.

Aircraft and Birds Learning
to Share the Sky 

To help minimize hazards birds
and aircraft pose to each other, scientists are monitoring bird movements
and populations on military lands throughout the United States and overseas.
In this effort, researchers are compiling survey data that have been collected
at airports for many years but not previously analyzed, refining these
survey procedures, and identifying conditions in which collisions between
birds and aircraft are most likely. Work began at a meeting in Japan in
January 2009 and is a collaborative effort between the USGS, Great Basin
Bird Observatory and the Department of Defense. This work is part of the
USGS Coordinated Bird Monitoring Program. For more information, visit http://greatbasin.wr.usgs.gov/IWCBM/
or contact Jon Bart at jon_bart@xxxxxxxx
or (208) 426-5216.

STORY SEEDS: (points to
ponder or investigate)

Limestone in Your Breakfast
Cereal?

Limestone is among our nation’s
most essential resources, and while it is common in many parts of the United
States, it is critically absent from some. Limestone is used in many different
products, including breakfast cereal, paint, calcium supplement pills,
marble tabletops, antacid tablets and high-quality paper. Portland cement,
which is used in concrete for roads, bridges and buildings, is one of the
most important products made from limestone. To help manage our nation’s
limestone and other essential minerals, the USGS provides accurate and
unbiased information on mineral resources to industry, policymakers and
the public. More information on limestone can be found at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3089/
or http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lime/.
You can also contact Jim Bliss at jbliss@xxxxxxxx
or (520) 670-5502.

Ozarks Hold Species Found Nowhere
Else on Earth 

The Ozarks is a region in the central
United States that harbors forests, glades, caves, streams and over 160
species of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. This biological
richness is closely linked to traditional music, art, crafts and medicines,
as well as economic activity associated with forestry and agriculture.
Outdoor recreation opportunities also draw millions of visitors to the
Ozarks each year. The continued success of these activities, traditions
and the communities that rely on them is dependent on healthy Ozark natural
resources. To learn more about USGS Ozark research and related information,
visit http://ozarks.cr.usgs.gov/.
For more information, you can also contact Esther Stroh at estroh@xxxxxxxx
or (573) 441-2944.

Understanding Mercury Contamination in Desert Climates

New studies of mining-related mercury contamination in
and around Big Bend National Park indicate that, although mercury concentrations
are elevated in mine waste, mercury is generally low in downstream sediment
and water in surrounding ecosystems. These studies help with understanding
similar environments in the United States and worldwide. This park, located
in Texas along the Rio Grande border with Mexico, is situated in the Chihuahuan
Desert and is the site of historical mercury mines. Little
mercury appears to be exported from these mercury mines to the Rio Grande,
the major ecosystem in the region, from stream sediment and water primarily
because of the arid climate, lack of precipitation and resulting lack of
mine runoff in this region. Research was a collaboration
among the USGS, the National Park Service and university scientists. More
about the new studies of Big Bend National Park are available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1327/.
For more information, contact John Gray at jgray@xxxxxxxx
or (303) 236-2446.