U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service / Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge / Aleutian Islands Unit

Thar she blows!Bogoslof Island is the summit of a 6,000-foot submarine volcano--the island itself is just the tip of the volcano protruding above the sea, with an elevation of less than 500 feet. Protected as a wildlife sanctuary since 1909 (it is now part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service), Bogoslof is the breeding ground of Steller sea lions, fur seals, and tens of thousands of seabirds. Unfortunately for the birds and marine mammals returning for the breeding season, their island home is currently very active--in the last six months it has erupted 40 times and counting. Will it quiet down long enough for seals to pup and birds to nest? Will birds with high nest-site fidelity know where to go, now that the island has dramatically changed in size and shape? Can the animals sense an impending eruption far enough in advance to escape to safety before it’s too late? If so, they are in better shape than the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO). There is no ground-based monitoring equipment on Bogoslof volcano, which means there can be a lag of tens of minutes from the beginning of an eruption until AVO can characterize the magnitude of the event and the altitude of the volcanic cloud. Only some of the recent eruptions have been preceded by an increase in earthquake activity detectable by seismic and infrasound instruments on nearby islands--75% have occurred without any warning. With this in mind, the Refuge’s research vessel Tiglax tentatively snuck within a few kilometers of Bogoslof in between two May eruptions to allow AVO to deploy hydrophones, which will track seismic waves moving through the water column. That’s as close as anyone is likely to get until the volcano quiets down.

Adak students had a rare treat on their second-to-last day of school, when two of the volcanologists disembarking from Tiglax after the hydrophone deployment visited and held the kids spellbound for an hour and a half. John Lyons, a geophysicist for AVO, and Alexa Van Eaton, research geologist for Cascades Volcano Observatory, presented a comprehensive introduction to their work and to volcanoes in general, including a really cool description of the ongoing changes at Bogoslof and an introduction to Adak’s newest bit of monitoring equipment--an antenna that will make us part of a global lightning detection system, called the World Wide Lightning Location Network. WWLLN was developed to track lightning associated with weather, but scientists recently discovered it can also detect volcanic lightning, which occurs when static electricity builds up in a rapidly rising column of ash during the early part of an eruption. Lightning detection can provide an early warning to aircraft that an eruption at a remote and otherwise unmonitored volcano is underway, and may one day enable volcanologists to assess how much ash is being emitted.

John Lyons will return to Adak in June to augment the arrows in AVO’s quiver of detection methods, as he and his colleagues install a new infrasound anntenna array in the field behind the old Refuge headquarters. Infrasound sensors measure sound waves in the air during eruptions; the Adak array will help AVO monitor for eruptions from Great Sitkin and other nearby volcanoes, mostly to the west of us.

Calendar contestOn the last day of school the winners of the annual Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar Contest received their ribbons and prizes. Adak students did great at the regional level, and will have two poems featured in the 2018 calendar--congratulations, Esperanza and Harold! Just as exciting as all the prizes was Karina’s thrilled recognition of “her” semipalmated plover (far right, top) while out on a walk one day, and Gabby’s glee when she realized “her” Aleutian terns (far right, bottom) have returned for the summer. The goal of the calendar contest is to educate kids about “their” birds, and instill a concern for their well-being. It’s working!

FROM THE WILDSIDE June 2017

Not the nicest place to nest right now...Max Kaufman, AVO/UAF-GI

Did you know?At 240 mph, the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal in the world. Please thank the crew of F/V Deliverance next time you see them, for saving one of these amazing and beautiful birds!

Summer fun!The Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to helping people engage in outdoor play and recreation, in hopes they will form a connection with nature that will ensure the future of conservation. A lucky coincidence is that getting outdoors is great for your physical and mental health. Come join us this summer as we explore Adak--the kids have been having a great time (at left: catching minnows! climbing rocks!), but grown-ups are welcome too. Call Lisa at 592-2406 if you’d like to come along on our next outing.