The Yukon River Basin Indigenous Observation Network: Uniting Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western Science to Address and Understand Water Resources in the Arctic

智力优势：该奖项将支持继续发展土著观测网络（ION），重点关注阿拉斯加中部育空地区和塔纳纳河流域的水化学、水质和排放以及传统生态知识。这项基于社区的工作是NSF北极观测网络（AON）的一部分，该网络支持长期的科学驱动的观测，使研究能够了解北极快速的环境系统变化。AON是更广泛的北极环境变化研究的一个组成部分。由育空地区河流部落间流域理事会运作的综合网络将涉及个人和社区，他们将沿着这两条河流全年进行测量和获取水样。美国地质调查局将免费分析这些水样。待测量和分析的变量包括：水温、pH值、电导率、溶解氧、主要离子、碱度、溶解气体（氧气、二氧化碳、甲烷）、微量金属、稳定氧同位素比（O-18/O-16）、营养物质和溶解有机碳（DOC）。该项目将为育空地区和塔纳纳河提供第一个全年水化学和水质数据集，这将有助于评估水文地球化学通量的季节性变化及其对流域水文和生态系统变化的反应。育空地区河流域是了解气候变化的一个前哨流域，在白令海和白令海峡生态系统中发挥着至关重要的作用。它培训当地部落技术人员使用标准化协议来收集、分析和解释基线水化学和水质数据，并为当地社区提供必要的工具和培训，使他们能够开展自己的研究，并以有意义的方式为更广泛的科学目标做出贡献。这些数据通过一个项目网站和北极数据和信息合作服务中心（CADIS），即AON数据储存库，向科学界和所有其他有关各方免费公开提供。ION还与NSF资助的北极地方观测和知识交流（EXCHANGE for Local Observations and Knowledge in the Arctic）合作，为记录和管理即将获得的TEK提供建议。

Intellectual Merit: This award will support the continued development of an Indigenous Observation Network (ION) that focusses on water chemistry, water quality and discharge, and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in the Yukon and Tanana river watersheds in central Alaska. This community-based effort is part of the NSF Arctic Observing Network (AON), which supports long-term, science-driven observing that enables research into understanding rapid environmental system change in the Arctic. AON is a component of the broader Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH). Operated by the Yukon River Inter-tribal Watershed Council, the ION will involve individuals and communities who will make measurements and obtain water samples year-round along the two rivers. The water samples will be analyzed at no-cost by the U.S. Geological Survey. The variables to be measured and analyzed include: water temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, major ions, alkalinity, dissolved gasses (oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane), trace metals, stable oxygen isotope ratios (O-18/O-16), nutrients and Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC). This project will produce the first year-round water chemistry and water quality data set for the Yukon and Tanana rivers, which will permit assessment of the seasonal variability of biogeochemical fluxes and their response to changing hydrology and ecosystems in the watersheds. The Yukon River watershed is a sentinel watershed for understanding climate change and plays a vital role in the Bering Sea and Bering Strait ecosystems.Broader Impacts: This project builds capacity in the rural and widely-dispersed native communities of the Yukon and Tanana river watersheds. It trains local tribal technicians to use standardized protocols to collect, analyze and interpret baseline water chemistry and water quality data, and equips local communities with the tools and training necessary for them to carry out their own research and contribute to broader scientific scientific objectives in a meaningful way. The data are freely and openly available to the scientific community and all other interested parties via a project Web site and at CADIS (Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service), the AON data repository. The ION also collaborates with the NSF-funded Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge in the Arctic (ELOKA) for the purpose of advising on recording and curation of the TEK that will be obtained.