Hydrologic Monitoring and Evaluation Conducted by the UAF Water and Environmental Research Center: Current Efforts and Future Directions - William Schnabel, University of Alaska Fairbanks (co-authors: none)

ABSTRACT

The UAF Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC) has been collecting and analyzing hydrologic data on Alaska’s North Slope for decades. As design, construction, and maintenance of North Slope infrastructure require an understanding of the regional hydrology, this work is crucial for continued development of the North Slope. WERC researchers have been continuously monitoring weather, snow, and streamflow in the Kuparuk Basin since the 1980’s. In 2006, the WERC extended their monitoring and analysis efforts to include lakes and river basins to the east and west of the Kuparuk. In 2009, WERC researchers began measuring discharge in five additional rivers, from the Shaviovik River in the east, to the Anaktuvuk River in the west. This presentation provides an overview of current WERC monitoring and analysis efforts, and discusses the need for coordinated interagency efforts in the future.

Topic: Watershed monitoring