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1. A Hierarchical Approach for Geocoding Birthplaces in Temporally Continuous Crowd-Sourced Family Tree Data

   Torkashvand, M; Koylu, C (June 2024, CAGIS+UCGIS Symposium 2024)

   Geocoding is a fundamental yet complex step in temporal studies due to constantly evolving administrative borders and place names, and the uncertainty of geographic and temporal information. For example, identifying locations within crowdsourced datasets, such as family trees, is complex because recorded place names may be uncertain, inaccurate, and contain varying spellings (for instance, full names or abbreviations) and in inconsistent formats, such as mentioning only the country, or state, or a combination of city, county, state, and country. Moreover, place names and administrative boundaries drastically change over time, adding another layer of complexity to the geocoding process of fine-scale places. This paper presents a workflow for geocoding birthplaces of US-born individuals from crowd-sourced genealogical files spanning from 1789 to 1940. We introduce a method that geocodes the birth locations at the finest possible level by matching places with corresponding historical administrative boundaries within a range of individuals’ birth years. Our preliminary study analyzing 72,335 trees with over 250 million individual records shows the potential of our approach for use in complex crowd-generated spatio-temporal datasets. 

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2. Understanding search autocompletes from the perspectives of English and Spanish speakers during the early months of the COVID‐19 pandemic

   https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23013  

   Valera, Pamela; Carmona, David; Singh, Vivek; Malarkey, Sarah; Baquerizo, Humberto; Smith, Nadia (February 2023, Journal of Community Psychology)

   Abstract The purpose of the study was to explore differences in Google search autocompletes between English and Spanish‐speaking users during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Twenty‐nine individuals who were in areas with shelter‐in‐place state orders participated in a virtual focus group meeting to understand the algorithm bias of COVID‐19 Google autocompletes. The three focus group meetings lasted for 90–120 minutes. A codebook was created and transcripts were coded using NVivo qualitative software with a 95% intercoder reliability between two coders. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Among the 29 participants, six self‐identified as White, seven as Black/African American, five as American Indian or Alaska Native, four as Asian Indian, and three as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. In terms of ethnicity, 21 participants identified as Hispanic/Latino. The themes that emerged from the study were: (1) autocompletes evoked fear and stress; (2) skepticism and hesitation towards autocomplete search; (3) familiarity with COVID‐19 information impacts outlook on autocomplete search; (4) autocompletes can promote preselection of searches; and (5) lesser choice of autocomplete results for Spanish‐speaking searchers. Spanish speakers expressed concerns and hesitation due to social factors and lack of information about COVID‐19. 

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3. Northern Dene Constellations as Worldview Projections with Case Studies from the Ahtna, Gwich’in, and Sahtúot’ı̨nę

   https://doi.org/10.3368/aa.56.2.1  

   Cannon, C.; Justin, W.; Herbert, P.; Hubbard, C.; Neyelle, C. (January 2019, Arctic anthropology)

   null (Ed.)

   The sky is routinely overlooked in Northern Dene ethnology as a meaningful domain of linguistic and cultural knowledge. However, a decade of comparative ethnological research in Alaska and Canada has shown that Dene stellar knowledge is largely tied to sacred and covert knowledge systems. In this paper, we describe an Ahtna, Gwich'in, and Sahtúot'ı̨nę constellation identified as the incarnated spirit of an ancient Traveler-Transformer figure who circled the world in Distant Time. Although this Traveler is widely known in mythology, his enigmatic transformation to the sky embodies a specialized domain of knowledge rooted in the traditional beliefs and practices of medicine people. This "Traveler" constellation is not only a world custodian and archetype of an idealized medicine person, but it is also a teacher, ally, gamekeeper, and the embodiment of the world. We identify variations of this constellation throughout the Northern Dene region. 

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4. Surface macro- and micro-nutrients within the Copper River plume region respond to along-shore winds

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2025.104508  

   Ortega, ELS; Reister, I; Danielson, SL; Aguilar-Islas, AM (May 2025, Marine Chemistry)

   T he Copper River is a major source of freshwater to the Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) shelf with a seasonal cycle t hat reaches peak discharge in summer. This glacially-fed river also provides a large input of dissolved chemicals t o the NGA, and because of its large particle load, it impacts the distribution of particle-reactive elements. Summertime sampling of shelf water properties was carried out within the Copper River plume region during two y ears: first during a period of upwelling-favorable winds and higher river discharge (4–7 July 2019) and later during lower river discharge and more typical downwelling conditions (11–13 July 2020). Although these wind conditions were observed in separate years, both can occur over the course of a single summer. We found that the e xport of most nutrients to surface shelf waters was enhanced under upwelling-favorable winds accompanied by higher river discharge compared to downwelling conditions and lower discharge. For example, greater cross- shelf plume transport in 2019 resulted in higher mid-shelf surface inventories for nitrate +nitrite (N +N), silicic acid (H4 SiO 4 ), phosphate (PO4 3 − ), dissolved Fe (dFe), and dissolved Cu (dCu) compared to 2020. Entrainment of relatively macronutrient-rich subsurface waters under upwelling conditions may also have contributed t o the enhancement of these mid-shelf nutrient inventories. The observed high N:P ratios in plume waters were likely driven by the scavenging of P within particle-laden plume waters. Similarly, we observed lower than expected [dFe] (1.58 to 6.12 nM) in particle-laden plume waters, likely a result of enhanced scavenging combined with low concentrations of dissolved Fe-binding ligands. Although dNi and dZn have a river source, we observed lower concentrations in surface shelf waters under upwelling conditions, suggesting enhanced dilution b y relatively micronutrient-poor subsurface waters. Results highlight the influence of sub-seasonal variations in atmospheric forcing on nutrient distributions and suggest that this forcing also impacts the location and timing of primary production hotspots during summer, adding to the ecological mosaic of the NGA across a range of temporal and spatial scales. 

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5. Perspectives on Northern Gulf of Alaska salinity field structure, freshwater pathways, and controlling mechanisms

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2024.103373  

   Reister, Isaac; Danielson, Seth; Aguilar-Islas, Ana (December 2024, Progress in Oceanography)

   The biologically productive Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) continental shelf receives large inputs of freshwater from surrounding glaciated and non-glaciated watersheds, and a better characterization of the regional salinity spatiotemporal variability is important for understanding its fate and ecological roles. We here assess synoptic to seasonal distributions of freshwater pathways of the Copper River discharge plume and the greater NGA continental shelf and slope using observations from ship-based and towed undulating conductivity-temperaturedepth (CTD) instruments, satellite imagery, and satellite-tracked drifters. On the NGA continental shelf and slope we find low salinities not only nearshore but also 100–150 km from the coast (i.e. average 0–50 m salinities less than 31.9, 31.3, and 30.8 in spring, summer, and fall respectively) indicating recurring mid-shelf and shelfbreak freshwater pathways. Close to the Copper River, the shelf bathymetry decouples the spreading river plume from the direct effects of seafloor-induced steering and mixing, allowing iron- and silicic acid-rich river outflow to propagate offshore within a surface-trapped plume. Self-organized mapping analysis applied to true color satellite imagery reveals common patterns of the turbid river plume. We show that the Copper River plume is sensitive to local wind forcing and exerts control over water column stratification up to ~100 km from the river mouth. Upwelling-favorable wind stress modifies plume entrainment and density anomalies and plume width. Baroclinic transport of surface waters west of the river mouth closely follow the influence of alongshore wind stress, while baroclinic transport east of the river mouth is additionally modified by a recurring or persistent gyre. Our results provide context for considering the oceanic fate of terrestrial discharges in the Gulf of Alaska. 

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