7th Annual ARCUS Award for Arctic Research Excellence

Honorable Mention Physical Science

Submitted by		Laura Bowling
Authors		Laura Bowling, D. L. Kane, R. E. Gieck, L. D. Hinzman, and D. P. Lettenmaier
Category		Physical Science
Title		The Role of Surface Storage in a Low-Gradient Arctic Watershed
Affiliation		Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Abstract

This paper describes a study of the role of lakes and wetlands in the low-gradient Putuligayuk River watershed in northern Alaska. Evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation over the summer, and there is a gradual reduction in wetland extent. Total inundated area derived from RADARSAT ScanSAR synthetic aperture radar images throughout 1999 and 2000 varied from 15 to 67 percent of the 471 km² watershed. End-of-winter snow water equivalent and discharge during the melt period for 1999, 2000 and 2001 were used to estimate that between 30 and 37 mm (24 to 42 percent) of snow meltwater serves to recharge the evaporation deficit of the previous summer.