Arctic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage
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University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution University of Alaska Anchorage: ARCUS Member Institution Alaskan Anthropology Environmental and Ecosystem Studies The eight faculty members in the Depart- ated in 1996 and focuses on late prehistoric bear, caribou, and fox remains. Ongoing continued from page 1 indicates that deeper snow in winter results a better understanding of past vegetation ment of Anthropology focus on both past subsistence, including development and analyses focus on refining the chronology Thule Air Base, Welker and his research in higher rates of winter and summer CO2 changes in this geologically young area. and present aspects of Alaska Native cul- acquisition of whale hunting techniques of the cave and its faunas, the morphology team have established the first multi-level efflux and in higher levels of soil nitro- With funding from OPP, Bjartmar ture and work to preserve sites that reflect and social organization and ethnic affini- and biometrics of the mammoth and polar warming experiment in a polar semi-des- gen mineralization during winter. These Sveinbjörnsson (Department of Biologi- ert to test the magnitude and linearity of RCTIC the state’s heritage. ties of three distinctive sites at Wales—the bear materials, the taphonomy (processes altered magnitudes and patterns of CO cal Sciences) recently completed a study 2 A Hillside, the Beach, and Kurigitavik affecting remains of organisms after death) warming effects on plant, soil, and micro- and nitrogen cycling appear to control the in collaboration with Roger Ruess at UAF Coastal Prehistory and Mound. Preliminary results based on 20 of bone alteration due to scavenging, and bial processes, and feedbacks to climate. annual carbon sequestration of tundra and and their graduate students examining Paleoecology new radiocarbon dates show that the oldest DNA and stable isotope analysis of the This project and a companion experiment may enhance growth and encroachment of treeline in the Chugach Mountains, White Arctic Research Consortium of the United States Member Institution Spring 2006, Volume 12 Number 1 Diane Hanson (Department of Anthropol- occupation in the area was at the Hillside mammoth and polar bear bones. using snow fences indicate that warming woody plants, contributing to changes in Mountains, and Brooks Range. A primary ogy) is currently analyzing animal remains site, dating to at least 1,300 years ago; ini- of arctic tundra elicits direct and indirect the quality of caribou forage. goal of Arctic and Alpine Treelines in recovered during archaeological excava- tial occupation of Kurigitavik Mound took Interior Prehistory response of plants and soils, though these Kim Peterson (Department of Biologi- Alaska was to obtain a broad geographi- Arctic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage tions in 2000 and 2002 at Uivvaq, north place approximately 1,000 years ago; and With funding from the NSF Arctic Social responses depend on soil water conditions. cal Sciences) works with a multidisciplinary cal view of factors and processes affecting of Point Hope, Alaska. The Uivvaq project initial occupation of the Beach site, where Sciences Program and the National Geo- For instance, ecosystem photosynthesis team of scientists as a field consultant on treeline. Experiments and observations he University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) was founded in 1954. Today, with is conducted under a Memorandum of the modern village is located, occurred graphic Society, Yesner and Crossen also only increased in response to warming the NSF-funded project Investigation of were replicated in three separate watersheds Tnearly 20,000 students, it is the largest campus in the state. UAA offers more than For more information, contact: Agreement with the U.S. Air Force and the approximately 500 years ago. Harritt also work with the DNR Office of History when summer water was increased by 50%. Paleoenvironment, Geomorphic Processes, in each mountain range with study plots 130 programs, ranging from certificate programs to associate, baccalaureate, and mas- Douglas Causey Alaska State Historic Preservation Office recently directed two projects mitigating and Archaeology in the Broken Mam- The team also found that the amount of and Carbon Stocks of Drained Thaw Lake in the forest as well as in the treeline zone. ter’s degrees, and a Ph.D. degree in collaboration with the University of Alaska Fair- Vice Provost for Research & Graduate Studies University of Alaska Anchorage and with funding from the NSF Arctic human grave disturbances from coastal moth Archaeological Project. The Broken carbon buried deep in the soil through Basins in Alaska. In this project, he quanti- Although the data have not been fully banks. In addition to the Anchorage Campus, the university comprises four other col- 3211 Providence Drive Social Sciences Program and the U.S. Air erosion, one near Dillingham on Nush- Mammoth site, located 20 miles north of cryoturbation is considerably greater in the fies vegetation succession and ecosystem analyzed, early results indicate that the size leges: Kenai Peninsula College with four locations, Kodiak College, Matanuska-Susitna Anchorage, AK 99508-4614 Force. The principal investiga- Delta Junction, is one of the old- high Arctic than previously thought (up changes following the drainage of shallow of carbon pools in white spruce needles College, and Prince William Sound Community College with three locations. UAA’s 907-786-4833 • [email protected] tors, John Hoffecker (University est archaeological sites yet known to ten fold). Consequently, climate warm- lakes in near-surface permafrost on the strongly correlates with elongation growth. rich research opportunities for faculty and students encompass the boreal forest, arctic www.uaa.alaska.edu of Colorado, Boulder) and Owen in Alaska, dating to more than ing and changes in precipitation will have North Slope of Alaska. A primary goal of This is consistent with the hypothesis that tundra, and northern Pacific Ocean, as well as the heart of a major northern metro- Mason (Geoarch Alaska), used 11,500 B.P. The site contains deep feedback consequences to atmospheric this work is to provide regional estimates elongation growth of white spruce trees is politan area, the second largest island in the U.S., and roadless expanses untouched by radiocarbon dating to determine loess deposits with excellent preser- CO2 concentrations, which may accelerate of soil organic material and thus the poten- carbon limited. It further suggests that the civilization. UAA is well placed to explore the past, present, and future. that Uivvaq was occupied by pre- vation of organic materials in basal alterations in terrestrial and aquatic habi- tial for greenhouse gas emission feedbacks premature needle loss, and hence reduction historic coastal people between paleosols (specific soil layers that, tats across the Arctic. from arctic tundra in a changing climate. of carbohydrate pool size and photosyn- A 5,700 year-old woolly mammoth tooth from Qagnax^ Cave on St. Paul Island. The A.D. 900 and A.D. 1620 with a tooth is approximately 25 cm long. Photo by Douglas Veltre. in this case, were formed by natural Welker also collaborates with colleagues Vegetation succession was used to estimate thetic tissue, is responsible for the growth Environmental and Ecosystem Studies A D A D at the University of Alaska Fairbanks hiatus between . 1170 and . processes and human debris). The the relative age of drained thaw lake basins, reduction from the forest to the treeline he faculty in the Department of and riparian ecology, conservation biol- Vegetation Responses to Climate 1425. Faunal data support ethnohistoric agak Bay and the other at Port Heiden on organic materials include bones of mam- (UAF) in the NSF-funded project North which were also characterized with respect zone of the windy Chugach Mountains in Biological Sciences and in the Envi- ogy, metal biogeochemistry, and coupled In the Arctic, interactions between mois- descriptions of year-round occupation at the western side of the Alaska Peninsula. mals, birds, and salmonid fish, as well as American Tundra Experiment, which to soils and permafrost. A good correlation the south and the White Mountains in the T ronmental and Natural Resources Institute natural-human systems. Observational and ture, temperature, and nutrients govern Uivvaq and its importance as a hunting Under contracts with the U.S. Air Force, organic tools. Geoarchaeological analyses contributes to the International Tundra was found between vegetation succession, interior. At the northernmost treeline in (ENRI) conduct a wide range of arctic experimental studies at locations in Alaska ecosystem function, including carbon place. The most abundant animals were Elmendorf Air Force Base, and IHI Envi- are focused on the site stratigraphy, chro- Experiment (ITEX; see Witness Winter surficial geomorphic features, soil develop- the Brooks Range, where there is signifi- environmental and ecosystem process stud- and across the Arctic, in combination with cycling and feedbacks to climate. With sup- seals, commonly hunted in winter and ronmental of Salt Lake City, Harritt and nology, and sedimentology. Zooarchaeo- 2000/2001). This project, which is based ment, and soil carbon content. Remote cantly less winter wind, there is no decline ies. These units have a suite of federally and local and international collaborators, facili- port from the NSF Biocomplexity in the spring, and caribou, which dominated others at the