Hydrology of hillslope‐wetland streams,Polar Bear Pass,Nunavut, Canada

Polar Bear Pass is a large High Arctic low‐gradient wetland (100 km²) bordered by low‐lying hills which are notched by a series of v‐shaped valleys. The spring and summer hydrology of two High Arctic hillslope‐wetland catchments, a first‐order stream, 0·2 km² Landing Strip Creek (LSC) and a larger second‐order basin, 4·2 km² Windy Creek (WC), is described here. A water balance framework was employed in 2008 to examine the movement of water from upland reaches into the low‐lying wetland. Snowcover was low in both basins (<50 mm in water equivalent units), but they both exhibited nival‐type regimes. After the main snowmelt season ended, runoff ceased in the smaller catchment (LSC), but not at the larger basin (WC) which continued to flow throughout the summer. Both basins responded to summer rains in different ways. At LSC, late‐summer continuous streamflow occurred only when rainfall satisfied the large soil moisture deficit in the upper bowl‐shaped zone of the basin. At WC, the presence of thinly thawed, ice‐rich polygonal terrain within the stream channel and in the upper reaches of the catchment likely limited infiltration in these near‐stream zones and enhanced runoff in response to both moderate and high rainfall. Subsequently, seasonal runoff ratios differed between the two sites (0·19 vs 0·68) as did the seasonal storage + residual (+16 vs ?50 mm). This suggests that the post‐snowmelt season runoff response to summer precipitation is very much modified by the unique basin characteristics (soil‐type, vegetation, ground ice) and their location within each stream order type. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrogeomorphic processes of thermokarst lakes with grounded‐ice and floating‐ice regimes on the Arctic coastal plain,Alaska

Thermokarst lakes cover > 20% of the landscape throughout much of the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) with shallow lakes freezing solid (grounded ice) and deeper lakes maintaining perennial liquid water (floating ice). Thus, lake depth relative to maximum ice thickness (1·5–2·0 m) represents an important threshold that impacts permafrost, aquatic habitat, and potentially geomorphic and hydrologic behaviour. We studied coupled hydrogeomorphic processes of 13 lakes representing a depth gradient across this threshold of maximum ice thickness by analysing remotely sensed, water quality, and climatic data over a 35‐year period. Shoreline erosion rates due to permafrost degradation ranged from < 0·2 m/year in very shallow lakes (0·4 m) up to 1·8 m/year in the deepest lakes (2·6 m). This pattern of thermokarst expansion masked detection of lake hydrologic change using remotely sensed imagery except for the shallowest lakes with stable shorelines. Changes in the surface area of these shallow lakes tracked interannual variation in precipitation minus evaporation (P ? E_L) with periods of full and nearly dry basins. Shorter‐term (2004–2008) specific conductance data indicated a drying pattern across lakes of all depths consistent with the long‐term record for only shallow lakes. Our analysis suggests that grounded‐ice lakes are ice‐free on average 37 days longer than floating‐ice lakes resulting in a longer period of evaporative loss and more frequent negative P ? E_L. These results suggest divergent hydrogeomorphic responses to a changing Arctic climate depending on the threshold created by water depth relative to maximum ice thickness in ACP lakes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detection and classification of surface roughness in an Arctic marginal sea ice zone

Sea ice dynamic and thermodynamic processes are important and highly variable elements of the marginal ice zone (MIZ). This study examines the detection and classification of statistically separable sea ice classes in the MIZ through a range of temporal and spatial scales. A helicopter‐based laser system was used to obtain large‐scale and a ship‐based laser profiler to identify small‐scale roughness types, respectively. The analysis of variance of surface height data from helicopter‐ and ship‐based laser systems, active microwave (AMW) C‐band backscattering data and passive microwave (PMW) (37 and 89 GHz) brightness temperature data reveal different classes that statistically differ from one another. We found significant statistical difference in variances in AMW data with six classes that differ in VV polarization, three classes in VH polarization, and five classes in HH polarization in the MIZ (e.g. snow‐covered first‐year ice, ice rubble, pancake ice, frost flowers, melt pond, flooded ice, and ice edge) of southeastern Beaufort Sea. The PMW emission was not as effective at discrimination, yielding only one statistically separable class. The results can potentially be extended to satellite‐based investigations of the MIZ at regional scales. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fifty years of runoff response to conversion of old-growth forest to planted forest in the H. J. Andrews Forest,Oregon, USA

Long-term watershed experiments provide the opportunity to understand forest hydrology responses to past logging, road construction, forest regrowth, and their interactions with climate and geomorphic processes such as road-related landslides. We examined a 50-year record from paired-watershed experiments in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon, USA in which 125 to 450-year-old conifer forests were harvested in the 1960s and 1970s and converted to planted conifer forests. We evaluated how quickflow and delayed flow for 1222 events in treated and reference watersheds changed by season after clearcutting and road construction, including 50 years of growth of planted forest, major floods, and multi-decade reductions in snowpack. Quickflow runoff early in the water year (fall) increased by up to +99% in the first decade, declining to below pre-harvest levels (−1% to −15%) by the third to fifth decade after clearcutting. Fall delayed flow responded more dramatically than quickflow and fell below pre-treatment levels in all watersheds by the fifth decade, consistent with increased transpiration in the planted forests. Quickflow increased less (+12% to 70%) during the winter and spring but remained higher than pre-treatment levels throughout the fourth or fifth decade, potentially impacted by post-harvest burning, roads, and landslides. Quickflow remained high throughout the 50-year period of study, and much higher than delayed flow in the last two decades in a watershed in which road-related changes in flow routing and debris flows after the flood of record increased network connectivity. A long-term decline in regional snowpack was not clearly associated with responses of treated vs. reference watersheds. Hydrologic processes altered by harvest of old-growth conifer forest more than 50 years ago (transpiration, interception, snowmelt, and flow routing) continued to modify streamflow, with no clear evidence of hydrologic recovery. These findings underscore the importance of continued long-term watershed experiments.     

Lateral and subsurface flows impact arctic coastal plain lake water budgets

Arctic thaw lakes are an important source of water for aquatic ecosystems, wildlife, and humans. Many recent studies have observed changes in Arctic surface waters related to climate warming and permafrost thaw; however, explaining the trends and predicting future responses to warming is difficult without a stronger fundamental understanding of Arctic lake water budgets. By measuring and simulating surface and subsurface hydrologic fluxes, this work quantified the water budgets of three lakes with varying levels of seasonal drainage, and tested the hypothesis that lateral and subsurface flows are a major component of the post‐snowmelt water budgets. A water budget focused only on post‐snowmelt surface water fluxes (stream discharge, precipitation, and evaporation) could not close the budget for two of three lakes, even when uncertainty in input parameters was rigorously considered using a Monte Carlo approach. The water budgets indicated large, positive residuals, consistent with up to 70% of mid‐summer inflows entering lakes from lateral fluxes. Lateral inflows and outflows were simulated based on three processes; supra‐permafrost subsurface inflows from basin‐edge polygonal ground, and exchange between seasonally drained lakes and their drained margins through runoff and evapotranspiration. Measurements and simulations indicate that rapid subsurface flow through highly conductive flowpaths in the polygonal ground can explain the majority of the inflow. Drained lakes were hydrologically connected to marshy areas on the lake margins, receiving water from runoff following precipitation and losing up to 38% of lake efflux to drained margin evapotranspiration. Lateral fluxes can be a major part of Arctic thaw lake water budgets and a major control on summertime lake water levels. Incorporating these dynamics into models will improve our ability to predict lake volume changes, solute fluxes, and habitat availability in the changing Arctic. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Charred forests accelerate snow albedo decay: parameterizing the post‐fire radiative forcing on snow for three years following fire

As large, high‐severity forest fires increase and snowpacks become more vulnerable to climate change across the western USA, it is important to understand post‐fire disturbance impacts on snow hydrology. Here, we examine, quantify, parameterize, model, and assess the post‐fire radiative forcing effects on snow to improve hydrologic modelling of snow‐dominated watersheds having experienced severe forest fires. Following a 2011 high‐severity forest fire in the Oregon Cascades, we measured snow albedo, monitored snow, and micrometeorological conditions, sampled snow surface debris, and modelled snowpack energy and mass balance in adjacent burned forest (BF) and unburned forest sites. For three winters following the fire, charred debris in the BF reduced snow albedo, accelerated snow albedo decay, and increased snowmelt rates thereby advancing the date of snow disappearance compared with the unburned forest. We demonstrate a new parameterization of post‐fire snow albedo as a function of days‐since‐snowfall and net snowpack energy balance using an empirically based exponential decay function. Incorporating our new post‐fire snow albedo decay parameterization in a spatially distributed energy and mass balance snow model, we show significantly improved predictions of snow cover duration and spatial variability of snow water equivalent across the BF, particularly during the late snowmelt period. Field measurements, snow model results, and remote sensing data demonstrate that charred forests increase the radiative forcing to snow and advance the timing of snow disappearance for several years following fire. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

深度学习方法在北极海冰预报中的应用

在全球气候变暖背景下,北极海冰呈现出逐年消融的趋势.海冰的消融给北极的开发利用带来了重要机遇,例如北极航道通航潜力的显现.但北极航道开通还面临着诸多困难,尤其是海冰变化机理的复杂性和海冰预报的不确定性以及由此带来的航行安全风险.近年来,深度学习因其强大的非线性拟合能力,逐渐在海冰预报领域中崭露头角.本文对近年来深度学习...     

西北冰洋楚科奇海台08P23孔氧同位素3期以来的古海洋与古气候记录

通过中国第三次北极科学考察在北冰洋楚科奇海台采集的08P23孔样品的多项指标分析以及与其他孔的沉积记录综合对比,将08P23孔沉积物初步分为氧同位素3期(MIS 3)-MIS 1的沉积序列。MIS 3以来,楚科奇海台08P23孔可以识别出5个显著的冰筏碎屑(Ice-Rafted Detritus,IRD)事件,分别出现在MIS 2和MIS 3。其中,MIS 3的IRD事件中碎屑碳酸盐岩主要来自于加拿大北极群岛分布广泛的古生代碳酸盐岩露头,MIS 2的IRD事件中碎屑石英可能来源于欧亚大陆边缘。该孔大部分层位浮游有孔虫左旋厚壁新方球虫Neogloboquadrina pachyderma(sinistral)(Nps)的δ18O和δ13C都轻于表层沉积物中的平均值。MIS 3中两个褐色层中偏轻的Nps-δ18O和Nps-δ13C值是由冰融水造成;MIS 1和MIS 3灰色层中偏轻的Nps的δ18O和δ13C值指示海冰形成速率的提高,导致轻同位素卤水的生产和下沉。MIS 2的Nps的δ18O和δ13C值变化趋势相反,是因为温度急剧降低导致Nps-δ18O变重,海水冻结成冰,海气交换明显降低使得Nps-δ13C偏轻。MIS 1和MIS 3的Nps的δ18O和δ13C受到融冰水或轻同位素卤水影响导致同时偏轻。     

北冰洋西部表层沉积物重矿物特征

对中国首次(1999年)和第二次(2003年)北极科学考察在楚科奇海及邻近的北冰洋深水区采取的47站表层沉积物进行了碎屑重矿物鉴定分析。结果表明北冰洋西部表层沉积物中重矿物以抗风化能力较弱的绿帘石、紫苏辉石和普通角闪石为优势矿物,钛铁矿、石榴子石、磷灰石和赤铁矿为特征矿物。矿物组合分区表明研究区物质来源和水动力变化较为复杂:白令海峡以南沉积物中重矿物含量高,水动力强;白令海峡以北的洋流变化与所经区域沉积物重矿物种类和含量变化相一致,即楚科奇海中部沉积物富集紫苏辉石、钛铁矿和石榴子石,物质来源可能与楚科奇山原相关,而在阿拉斯加沿岸沉积物中富集绿帘石和紫苏辉石,与阿拉斯加沿岸流携带物质相关;楚科奇海北部深水区碎屑矿物沉积速率低且矿物多有蚀变。     

Effects of substrate differences on water availability for Arctic lichens during the snow-free summers in the High Arctic glacier foreland

We used observational and experimental analyses to investigate the photosynthetic activity and water relationships of five lichen species attached to different substrates in a glacier foreland in the High Arctic, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (79°N) during the snow-free season in 2009 and 2010. After the rains ceased, lichens and their attached substrates quickly dried, whereas photosynthetic activity in the lichens decreased gradually. The in situ photosynthetic activity was estimated based on the relative electron transportation rate (rETR) in four fruticose lichens: Cetrariella delisei, Flavocetraria nivalis, Cladonia arbuscula ssp. mitis, and Cladonia pleurota. The rETR approached zero around noon, although the crustose lichen Ochrolechia frigida grown on biological soil crust (BSC) could acquire water from the BSC and retain its WC to perform positive photosynthesis. The light-rETR relationship curves of the five well-watered lichens were characterized into two types: shade-adapted with photoinhibition for the fruticose lichens, and light-adapted with no photoinhibition for O. frigida. The maximum rETR was expected to occur when they could acquire water from the surrounding air or from substrates during the desiccation period. Our results suggest that different species of Arctic lichens have different water availabilities due to their substrates and/or morphological characteristics, which affect their photosynthetic active periods during the summer.