USGS Science Picks - Redoubt Volcano, Midwest Flooding, Storing CO2, Well Water Concerns, Saturn's Moon Titan, and More!

[Jessica K Robertson <jrobertson@xxxxxxxx>]

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

News Release 

For release: April 3, 2009

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

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

In this edition of USGS Science Picks, find out about explosive
eruptions at Alaska’s Mount Redoubt Volcano, historic flooding in the
upper Midwest and a new way to gauge our potential for mitigating climate
change through storing carbon dioxide in rocks below the earth’s surface.
You can also learn about how water quality is a potential concern for U.S.
private wells, an out-of-this-world success for your tax dollars and how
carbon dioxide is helping marshes cope with global warming. You can also
take a glimpse of space and discover Titan’s lakes of methane and possible
ice volcanoes! 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.

April Highlights: 

·        Continuing
Eruption of Mt. Redoubt Volcano, AK
·        Historic
Flooding in the Upper Midwest 
·        New
Science Gauges Potential to Store CO2
·        Contaminants
in 20 Percent of U.S. Private Wells
·        Another
Out of This World Success
·        Marshes
Using CO2 to Cope with Global Warming 
·        Titan
Has Lakes of Methane and Possible Ice Volcanoes
·        Fish
Flounder as Climate Warms 
·        Want
to Go Hunting for Invasive Species?
·        April
Diamonds Take Many Different Forms
·        Divorce
Doesn’t Impact Reproductive Success for American Kestrels

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

Continuing Eruption of Mt. Redoubt
Volcano, AK

Redoubt’s ongoing eruption, including
18 explosions and the non-stop emission of gases and ash, could last for
several months. Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory monitor the
volcano 24 hours a day (using seismometers, satellites, radar, cameras,
and pressure sensors) to identify activity that cause hazardous conditions
for air travel and produce mudflows and distant ash falls affecting air
quality. Anchorage, the most populous city in Alaska, has already been
dusted with ash on one occasion, closing the airport for 20 hours. AVO
scientists share their latest Redoubt observations in regular updates on
the Redoubt Activity Web site at http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php
and have started a Twitter feed with the same information at http://twitter.com/alaska_avo.
To witness the continuous eruption yourself, visit the Redoubt Volcano
webcams, including the newly added DFR webcam at http://www.avo.alaska.edu/webcam/Redoubt_-_DFR.php,
the Hut cam at http://www.avo.alaska.edu/webcam/Redoubt_-_Hut.php
 and the CI cam at http://www.avo.alaska.edu/webcam/Redoubt_-_CI.php.
For more information, contact Paul Laustsen at (650) 454-7264 or plaustsen@xxxxxxxx.

Historic Flooding in the Upper
Midwest 

Although the Red River in Fargo,
N.D., experienced the peak of the flood wave on March 27 and 28, 2009,
there is still a large amount of flooding along the river as the flood
wave makes its way north. Fargo remains on vigilant alert as forecast models
indicate that a second flood wave will move down the Red River in the coming
weeks as the recent snow melts. On a daily basis, the USGS has between
15 and 20 crews deployed in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota making
special direct measurements of streamflow, repairing streamgages, and deploying
temporary streamgages in the Red River Valley, Missouri River, and James
River. Streamflow information is critical to the National Weather Service’s
making of flood forecasts, and state and local emergency managers rely
on USGS data to estimate flood dangers and coordinate response to help
protect lives and property. Geospatial data from LANDSAT 5 and 7 of the
flooding areas are also being provided to other agencies and countries.
You can access videos, imagery and much more at http://www.usgs.gov/homepage/science_features/flooding_march09.asp.
For more information, contact Jennifer LaVista at jlavista@xxxxxxxx
or (703) 648-4432.

New Science Gauges Potential
to Store CO2

The USGS recently developed a new
method to assess the nation's potential for storing carbon dioxide into
rocks below the earth’s surface. This storage process, known as geologic
carbon sequestration, could help lessen the impacts of climate change.
The new methodology identifies a way to assess the volume of pore space
in subsurface rocks that can store carbon dioxide for tens of thousand
of years. The true global storage capacity of carbon dioxide in geologic
formations is unknown at this point, and this method will help us find
the best places in the country for this type of carbon sequestration. The
USGS report can be found at http://energy.usgs.gov/,
and to listen to a podcast interview with USGS scientist Robert Burruss
on this new methodology, visit http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=89.
For more information, contact Leslie Ruppert at lruppert@xxxxxxxx
(703) 648-6431.

Contaminants in 20 Percent of
U.S. Private Wells

More than 20 percent of private
domestic wells sampled across the nation contain at least one contaminant
at levels of potential health concern. About 43 million people — or 15
percent of the Nation's population — use drinking water from private wells,
which are not regulated by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. USGS scientists
sampled about 2,100 private wells in 48 states and found that the contaminants
most frequently measured at concentrations of potential health concern
were inorganic contaminants, including radon and arsenic. These contaminants
are mostly derived from the natural geologic materials that make up the
aquifers from which well water is drawn. Complete findings are available
at http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/domestic_wells/.
For more information, listen to a podcast interview with USGS scientist
Leslie DeSimone on this report at http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=90
or contact Leslie at ldesimon@xxxxxxxx
or (508) 490-5023.

FEEDS: (USGS tools and resources)

Another Out of This World Success

On Tax Day, April 15, taxpayers
will see another wise return on their investment! The satellite Landsat
7, which is managed by the USGS, will complete 10 years of recording features
of the land mass of the planet. The satellite was designed to last only
3 to 5 years but continues to provide important information about the land
surface of the planet. Landsat 7's companion satellite, Landsat 5, recently
achieved 25 years of operation, which surpassed its designed life expectancy
by 22 years. Virtually every major alteration of the land surface of the
planet, from the effects of wildfires, tsunamis, hurricanes, to urban growth
has been recorded by one of the Landsat satellites and the data are used
by scientists, disaster management teams, and government agencies. All
Landsat data are available at no cost through a USGS online system at http://glovis.usgs.gov/.
For more information, contact Kristi Kline at kkline@xxxxxxxx.

Marshes Using CO2
to Cope with Global Warming 

Elevated concentrations of carbon
dioxide may help some coastal marshes keep up with global warming and rising
sea level by stimulating plant production and marsh building. Coastal wetlands
are important because they provide barriers to storm surges and flooding,
provide valuable habitat for wildlife, and serve as nursery grounds that
support commercial fisheries. This USGS research allows for more accurate
models to predict how much coastal submergence may occur, helping decision
makers plan for the future and protect these valuable resources. Results
are available in the Journal of Ecology and in the Early Edition
of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Both can
be accessed online at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121527505/PDFSTART
and http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0807695106.

For more information, contact Gabrielle
B. Bodin at boding@xxxxxxxx
or (337) 266-8655.

Titan Has Lakes of Methane and
Possible Ice Volcanoes

The first 3-D topographic maps
of Titan are now available and reveal many Earth-like processes and features.
The USGS maps of this icy planet, which is Saturn’s largest moon, show
details of 1200-meter tall mountains, lakes of liquid ethane and methane,
dune seas, and flows that may have erupted from ice volcanoes. These observations
will help researchers determine Titan’s weather, climate, and geologic
history. The maps were constructed using overlapping radar measurements
obtained from several of the first 19 flybys of Titan by the Cassini spacecraft,
which was launched in 1997. High quality images of several of the topographic
maps, along with video flyovers of the terrain and an artist’s concept
of Titan’s surface are available at the NASA Planetary Photojournal at
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/target/Titan.
They are images PIA11829, PIA11830, PIA11831, and PIA11838. For more information
about Saturn, its many moons and the Cassini spacecraft, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/.
For more information, you can contact Randy Kirk at rkirk@xxxxxxxx
or (928) 556-7020.

STORY SEEDS: (points to
ponder or investigate)

Fish Flounder as Climate Warms

As the climate warms, fish diseases
can become more severe and important survival traits such as stamina can
be affected. Scientists recently studied disease progression in rainbow
trout infected and not infected with Ichthyophonus by placing them
in 50, 59 and 68 degree Fahrenheit water. Infected fish experienced more
severe disease and a faster death rate at higher temperatures. Ichthyophonus
is a fungal-like microorganism that has caused disease in several species
of marine fish. The disease has been found in the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans and in adult salmon returning to the Yukon River in Alaska where
summer temperatures have begun to reach 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists
also found that the stamina is significantly impaired for infected fish
as temperature increases. For more information, visit http://wfrc.usgs.gov
or contact Jim Winton at jim_winton@xxxxxxxx
or (206) 526-6587.

Want to Go Hunting for Invasive
Species?

Looking for a good excuse to go
outdoors this summer? Why not help the USGS track harmful, invasive species?
By becoming a citizen scientist, you can help prevent invasive plants,
animals, and diseases that are in ecosystems where they don't belong and
harming native species. During your summer hikes, you could be on the hunt
for kudzu, giant hogweed, yellow star thistle, snakehead fish, feral cats
and much more! Citizen science networks need volunteers like you to record
and submit data to help control these and other invasive plant and insect
pests. Here are some of the Web sites for invasive species volunteer networks
that are sponsored by the USGS: 
·        The
Invasive Plant Atlas of New England, http://www.ipane.org
·        Invasive
Plant Atlas of the Mid-South, http://www.gri.msstate.edu/research/ipams/ipams.php
·        The
Cactus Moth Monitoring and Detection Network, http://www.gri.msstate.edu/research/cmdmn/
·        CitSci.org,
http://www.citsci.org
·        Purple
Loosestrife Volunteers, http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/special/purplel/index.htm
·        Invaders
of Texas Citizen Science Program, http://www.texasinvasives.org/
·        Maui
County Report a Pest, http://pbin.nbii.gov/reportapest/maui/
For more information, contact Annie
Simpson at asimpson@xxxxxxxx
or (703) 648-4281.

April Diamonds Take Many Different
Forms 

In addition to being the shape
of baseball fields that are preparing for opening day, diamonds are the
birthstone for April and are the hardest natural mineral in the world with
many industrial uses. In 2008, the U.S. market for unset gem-quality diamonds
was estimated to have exceeded $19 billion, accounting for more than an
estimated 35 percent of world demand. During the same period, the United
States was the world’s leading market for industrial diamonds with stone
cutting and the repair and building of highways consuming most of the industrial
stone. For more information about diamonds, please visit http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals
or contact Donald Olson at dolson@xxxxxxxx
or (703) 648-7721.

Divorce Doesn’t Impact Reproductive
Success for American Kestrels

Many bird species return to the
same nesting area and pair with the same mate, which improves their reproductive
success — but kestrels in southwestern Idaho have a different strategy!
USGS scientists conducted a long-term assessment of mate and site fidelity
of American kestrels and found that they often switch mates and nest sites.
Scientists also found that this switching did not increase or decrease
their subsequent production of young. In fact, a majority of birds that
nested in consecutive years on the study area had a different mate the
second year, even though the previous mate was alive and nesting in the
area. The cost of waiting for a mate from the previous year could be high
for short-lived species such as kestrels. Research results are published
in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. For more information, contact
Sue Powell at (541) 750-1048 or spowell@xxxxxxxx.