Changing characteristics of runoff and freshwater export from watersheds draining northern Alaska

The quantity and quality of river discharge in Arctic regions is influenced by many processes including climate, watershed attributes and, increasingly, hydrological cycle intensification and permafrost thaw. We used a hydrological model to quantify baseline conditions and investigate the changing c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The cryosphere 2019-12, Vol.13 (12)
Main Authors: Rawlins, Michael A., Cai, Lei, Stuefer, Svetlana L., Nicolsky, Dmitry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
climate change
dissolved organic carbon
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GEOSCIENCES
permafrost
river discharge
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The quantity and quality of river discharge in Arctic regions is influenced by many processes including climate, watershed attributes and, increasingly, hydrological cycle intensification and permafrost thaw. We used a hydrological model to quantify baseline conditions and investigate the changing character of hydrological elements for Arctic watersheds between Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow)) and just west of Mackenzie River over the period 1981–2010. A synthesis of measurements and model simulations shows that the region exports 31.9 km3 yr-1 of freshwater via river discharge, with 55.5 % (17.7 km3 yr-1) coming collectively from the Colville, Kuparuk, and Sagavanirktok rivers. The simulations point to significant (p
ISSN:1994-0424
1994-0424