Collaborative Research: What Role Do Glaciers Play in Terrestrial Sub-Arctic Hydrology?

鉴于预计随着气候变暖，冰川流失和永久冻土退化将增加，该项目将对冰川-永久冻土-水文系统进行全面评估。目前对冰川和永久冻土对陆地水文的综合影响的认识有限，限制了冰冻圈变化对北极水资源影响的量化。永久冻土层中的冰川为半干旱低地的含水层提供补给，这些低地尽管降水率相对较低，但含有广泛的湿地。本研究的具体目标是：1)通过水文和地球化学场测量，评估断续冻土覆盖的流域内冰川流失的水文路径；2)通过结合冰川质量平衡、水文、利用现有的热量和质量传递模型对地球化学场进行测量，该模型将冰川质量平衡与下游水文相结合。3)使用定制的缩小尺度的气候预测（5公里）对阿拉斯加塔纳纳河流域进行未来的水文状况预测。该项目的主要成果将包括对受冰川和永久冻土层影响的流域水文过程的控制进行量化。

This project will develop a comprehensive assessment of the glacier-permafrost-hydrology system in light of anticipated increases in glacier wastage and permafrost degradation with climate warming. Current limited understanding of the integrated effects of glaciers and permafrost on terrestrial hydrology inhibits quantification of the impact of cryospheric changes on arctic water resources. Glaciers in permafrost landscapes feed and recharge aquifers in otherwise semi-arid lowlands, which despite relatively low precipitation rates, contain extensive wetlands. The specific objectives of this study are to 1) assess the hydrologic pathways of glacier wastage within a watershed underlain by discontinuous permafrost through hydrologic and geochemical field measurements, 2) quantify the effect of glaciers and permafrost on recent historical (1960-present) hydrologic fluxes and storage by combining glacier mass balance, hydrologic, and geochemical field measurements with an existing heat- and mass transfer model that couples glacier mass balance to downstream hydrology, and 3) project the future hydrologic regime using custom-derived downscaled climate projections (5 km) for the Tanana River basin, Alaska. The major products of the project will include a quantification of the controls that govern the hydrologic processes in glacier- and permafrost affected watersheds.