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October 27, 2003
Seattle, Washington, USA

Field Studies on Basin Scale Water Balance on North Slope, Alaska

Danielle C. Kitover¹, Doug Kane², Rob Gieck³, Larry Hinzman^4
1Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 751042, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2715, Fax 907-474-7979, ftdck@uaf.edu
²WERC, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 755860, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-5860, USA, Phone 907-474-7808, Fax 907-474-7979, ffdlk@uaf.edu
³WERC, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 755860, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-5860, USA, Phone 907-474-6558, Fax 907-474-7979, fnreg@uaf.edu
⁴WERC, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 755860, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-5860, USA, Phone 907-474-7331, Fax 907-474-7979, ffldh@uaf.edu

Hydrology acts as critical link between land, ocean, and atmosphere. Therefore, to better understand the changing environment with a specific focus on global warming, hydrological processes may serve as the greatest purveyors of such knowledge. Using the boundaries of a given watershed, the hydrologic cycle can be represented in measurable components (generally they are runoff, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and subsurface and surface storage) by the water balance equation. This is the core of understanding a regional environment because its changes are reflected in the inputs/outputs at a watershed boundary. Moreover, research has reported that the Arctic is the most susceptible to a changing climate. Combined, the above interests have given fuel to study watersheds specific to the arctic and subarctic regions.

On the North Slope of Alaska, water balance studies have been conducted on selected sub-watersheds of the Kuparuk River basin as early as 1985. For the headwater basins, limited surface and subsurface storage of water can be assumed with little error and therefore the inputs (snowmelt and rainfall) and outputs (runoff and evapotranspiration) are accounted for with relatively less error compared to watersheds with either/both surface and subsurface storage. Further interpretation reveals snow and ice to have a significant influence on the water balance. For the studied watersheds in the Kuparuk region, more than half of the runoff is generated from snowmelt. During extreme years, over 90% was due to snowmelt. Because these events yield half the yearly discharge volume, snowmelt is expectedly the peak runoff event. Recent rain events in the Kuparuk River basin have shown summer storms to produce the peak flow of record.

In addition to studying snow and ice effects on the water balance, evapotranspiration (ET) usually accounts for most of the water loss during the summer months. However, ET activity may vary over the Kuparuk basin, depending on moisture availability and local conditions. Although studying such regions in the Kuparuk basin continues to provide insight into the hydrologic activity of an arctic watershed, this only allows a regional understanding. To study environmental change in the polar regions, it is necessary to conduct intercomparisons of research watersheds across the Panarctic. Subsequently, a compilation of water balance data has been initiated from additional research watersheds from around the circumpolar region. This effort will aid in integrating arctic basins on a larger scale and their hydrologic responses to a changing climate.

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