Collaborative Research: Hydro-Climatology of the Major Eurasian Arctic Drainages

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This three-year study will investigate the average characteristics and potential changes in the hydrology of three major Russian rivers, the Ob, Lena, and Yenesei Rivers. These three rivers are important for the Arctic region because they carry much of the freshwater runoff from the continents into the Arctic Ocean. Also, it is likely that climate change may interact with the hydrology of these rivers in ways that will have cascading affects on terrigenous and marine ecosystems. In this study, past weather archives will be used to evaluate a time-series of important atmospheric characteristics such as the difference between precipitation and evaporation. Records of precipitation and river runoff and satellite-based data on snow distributions will be incorporated to test whether winter precipitation in regions south of the Arctic Circle control the spring river runoff of these rivers, while summer precipitation is largely water recycled from terrestrial evaporation. Long-termed changes in the water cycle will be examined from these data. The results should lead to better understanding of the controls on the water cycle in central and northern Siberia, which will be important in future efforts to predict impacts of climate change on the Arctic region.