A Whole Ecosystem Approach to Studying Climate Change in Interior Alaska

Abstract

Yukon River Basin Principal Investigators Workshop; Portland, Oregon, 18–20 January 2011; High latitudes are known to be particularly susceptible to climate warming, leading to an emphasis of field and modeling research on arctic regions. Subarctic and boreal regions such as the Yukon River Basin (YRB) of interior Alaska and western Canada are less well studied, although they encompass large areas that are vulnerable to changes in forest composition, permafrost distribution, and hydrology. There is an urgent need to understand the resiliency and vulnerability of these complex ecosystems as well as their feedbacks to the global climate system. Consequently, U.S. Geological Survey scientists, with other federal agency, university, and private industry partners, is focusing subarctic interdisciplinary studies on the Beaver Creek Wild and Scenic River watershed (http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/content/ak/en/prog/nlcs/beavercrk_nwsr.html) and Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge (http://yukonflats.fws.gov/ ) in the YRB, south and west of Fort Yukon, Alaska. These areas are national treasures of wetlands, lakes, and uplands that support large populations of wildlife and waterfowl and are home to vibrant native Alaskan communities that depend on the area for a subsistence lifestyle.

Influence of permafrost distribution on groundwater flow in the context of climate‐driven permafrost thaw: Example from Yukon Flats Basin, Alaska, United States

“…This study examines the influence of spatial patterns of permafrost and potential pattern changes due to a warming climate on groundwater flow. The impacts of permafrost distribution are considered for the Yukon Flats Basin (YFB) in east central Alaska that is the target of ongoing U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research efforts to identify and understand historical changes in biogeochemical cycling, lake area, and biodiversity resulting from climate change [ Riggins et al , 2011]. The standard groundwater flow model, MODFLOW‐2000 [ Harbaugh , 2002], is applied to the YFB, in which permafrost is represented as hydrogeologic layers with very low hydraulic conductivity.…”