Articles | Volume 14, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-95-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-95-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Review article
| 
14 Jan 2022
Review article |
| 14 Jan 2022
| 14 Jan 2022
Multi-year, spatially extensive, watershed-scale synoptic stream chemistry and water quality conditions for six permafrost-underlain Arctic watersheds
Arial J. Shogren
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
now at: Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35454, USA
Jay P. Zarnetske
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Benjamin W. Abbott
Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA
Samuel Bratsman
Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA
Brian Brown
Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA
Michael P. Carey
Alaska Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska 99508, USA
Randy Fulweber
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA
Heather E. Greaves
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA
Emma Haines
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
Frances Iannucci
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, USA
Joshua C. Koch
Alaska Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska 99508, USA
Alexander Medvedeff
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, USA
Jonathan A. O'Donnell
Arctic Network, National Park Service, Anchorage, Alaska 99501, USA
Leika Patch
Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA
Brett A. Poulin
Water Mission Area, U.S. Geological Survey, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA
Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
Tanner J. Williamson
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
William B. Bowden
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, USA
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Anna C. Talucci, Michael M. Loranty, Jean E. Holloway, Brendan M. Rogers, Heather D. Alexander, Natalie Baillargeon, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Logan T. Berner, Amy Breen, Leya Brodt, Brian Buma, Jacqueline Dean, Clement J. F. Delcourt, Lucas R. Diaz, Catherine M. Dieleman, Thomas A. Douglas, Gerald V. Frost, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Rebecca E. Hewitt, Teresa Hollingsworth, M. Torre Jorgenson, Mark J. Lara, Rachel A. Loehman, Michelle C. Mack, Kristen L. Manies, Christina Minions, Susan M. Natali, Jonathan A. O'Donnell, David Olefeldt, Alison K. Paulson, Adrian V. Rocha, Lisa B. Saperstein, Tatiana A. Shestakova, Seeta Sistla, Oleg Sizov, Andrey Soromotin, Merritt R. Turetsky, Sander Veraverbeke, and Michelle A. Walvoord
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2887–2909, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2887-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2887-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Wildfires have the potential to accelerate permafrost thaw and the associated feedbacks to climate change. We assembled a dataset of permafrost thaw depth measurements from burned and unburned sites contributed by researchers from across the northern high-latitude region. We estimated maximum thaw depth for each measurement, which addresses a key challenge: the ability to assess impacts of wildfire on maximum thaw depth when measurement timing varies.
Angelica Feurdean, Randy Fulweber, Andrei-Cosmin Diaconu, Graeme T. Swindels, and Mariusz Gałka
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2318, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2318, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We found minimal fire activity in northern Arctic Alaska from ~1000 BCE to 500 CE and a marked increase at 1850 CE when it exceeded any levels observed in the preceding millennia. Our findings suggest that deepening of water tables and peatland drying associated with permafrost thaw have facilitated woody encroachment, especially by more flammable Ericaceous shrubs. This study highlights the importance of moisture–vegetation–fire feedback in shaping the tundra fire regime.
David Olefeldt, Mikael Hovemyr, McKenzie A. Kuhn, David Bastviken, Theodore J. Bohn, John Connolly, Patrick Crill, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Sarah A. Finkelstein, Hélène Genet, Guido Grosse, Lorna I. Harris, Liam Heffernan, Manuel Helbig, Gustaf Hugelius, Ryan Hutchins, Sari Juutinen, Mark J. Lara, Avni Malhotra, Kristen Manies, A. David McGuire, Susan M. Natali, Jonathan A. O'Donnell, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Aleksi Räsänen, Christina Schädel, Oliver Sonnentag, Maria Strack, Suzanne E. Tank, Claire Treat, Ruth K. Varner, Tarmo Virtanen, Rebecca K. Warren, and Jennifer D. Watts
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5127–5149, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5127-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5127-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Wetlands, lakes, and rivers are important sources of the greenhouse gas methane to the atmosphere. To understand current and future methane emissions from northern regions, we need maps that show the extent and distribution of specific types of wetlands, lakes, and rivers. The Boreal–Arctic Wetland and Lake Dataset (BAWLD) provides maps of five wetland types, seven lake types, and three river types for northern regions and will improve our ability to predict future methane emissions.
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Short summary
Rapidly sampling multiple points in an entire river network provides a high-resolution snapshot in time that can reveal where nutrients and carbon are being taken up and released. Here, we describe two such datasets of river network chemistry in six Arctic watersheds in northern Alaska. We describe how these repeated snapshots can be used as an indicator of ecosystem response to climate change and to improve predictions of future release of carbon, nutrient, and other solutes.
Rapidly sampling multiple points in an entire river network provides a high-resolution snapshot...
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