• Home
  • About
  • Program
  • Logistics
  • Abstracts

Seasonality of Nutrient and Organic Matter Export from the North Slope of Alaska to the Beaufort Sea

Seasonality of Nutrient and Organic Matter Export from the North Slope of Alaska to the Beaufort Sea
Type: 
Poster
James W McClelland1, Amy Townsend-Small2, Max Holmes3, Marc Stieglitz4, Feifei Pan5, Bruce J Peterson6
1Marine Science, University of Texas at Austin, USA, jimm [at] mail [dot] utexas [dot] edu
2University of California Irvine, USA
3Woods Hole Research Center, USA
4Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
5University of North Texas, USA
6Marine Biological Laboratory, USA

Riverine fluxes of land-derived material from watersheds to the coastal ocean are tightly coupled with climate variables that control the water balance as well as biological and geochemical activity. In the Arctic, this coupling is exemplified by wide seasonal variations in river export. This presentation will focus on nutrient and organic matter export from the Sagavanirktok, Kuparuk, and Colville rivers to the Beaufort Sea. Together these three rivers drain most of the land area on the North Slope of Alaska. While the USGS measures water discharge near the mouth of the Kuparuk River, there are no gauging stations at downstream locations on the Colville or Sagavanirktok rivers. Water discharge was therefore modeled to support estimates of export from these two rivers. Water chemistry was measured at downstream locations on all three rivers during intensive field efforts in 2006 and 2007. Variations in water chemistry were most pronounced surrounding the spring freshet. Increased organic matter concentrations during high flow amplified organic matter export during this period. Ammonium and soluble reactive phosphorus exhibited similar patterns to those observed for organic matter. In contrast, dilution of nitrate during high flow diminished relative export of nitrate during the spring freshet. Organic matter quality (as demonstrated by C:N ratios and stable isotope values) also changed dramatically between spring and summer. River export estimates provide a basis for considering runoff contributions to productivity in coastal waters of northern Alaska. Changes in climate are likely to alter the timing and magnitude of river export from the North Slope in the future.

Presentation PDF

application/pdf iconDownload PDF (200.63 KB)

Browse Session Abstracts

  • View abstracts for the talks in each of the plenary session
  • View abstracts for the talks in each of the parallel session
  • View abstracts for the poster presentations
  • Products
  • Attendees
  • Sponsors
  • Side Meetings
  • Video Archive
  • Press
  • ARCUS Logo
  • News
  • Organizing Committee
National Science Foundation | Division of Arctic Sciences
National Science Foundation
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Arctic System Science Program
Arctic System Science Program
US Arctic Research Commission
US Arctic Research Commission
North Slope Science Initiative
North Slope Science Initiative
International Arctic Science Committee
International Arctic Science Committee
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Department of Energy
Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
World Wildlife Fund
WWF
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
International Study of Arctic Change
International Study of Arctic Change
ArcticNet
ArcticNet
DAMOCLES
Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the ARCUS Cooperative Agreement ARC-0618885. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.