Melting ice, habitat change and nutrient flux: Hydrological, biogeochemical and biological linkages between the Copper River watershed and the coastal Gulf of Alaska

Robert William Campbell, Prince William Sound Science Center, rcampbell@pwssc.org (Presenter)
John Crusius, USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, jcrusius@usgs.gov
Santiago Gasso, NASA/GSFC, Morgan State, santiago.gass@nasa.gov
Schroth Andrew, USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, aschroth@usgs.gov
Thomas Andrew, University of Maine, thomas@maine.edu
Welker Jeffery, University of Alaska Anchorage, afjmw1@uaa.alaska.edu

The coastal Gulf of Alaska (GoA) region is experiencing accelerating climate change as manifested by rapid recession of glaciers: climate models predict up to a 40% increase in river runoff from Alaska rivers by 2050. Over the coming decades an increase in glacier-dominated river discharge is likely, followed by decreases as glaciers recede. Changes in freshwater discharge are likely to alter the flux of particulate micronutrient iron from glacier dominated rivers to the ocean, as well as nitrate fluxes to surface water from estuarine upwelling, with cascading effects throughout the marine ecosystem. The freshwater supply of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) may also increase over time due to the colonization of deglaciated watersheds by nitrogen-fixing plants.

This project complements an ongoing USGS investigation into ice extent and wasting, hydrological changes and freshwater biogeochemistry, and the oceanography and biogeochemistry of the Copper River plume. The objective of this project is to evaluate the physical changes currently occurring in the watershed of the Copper River region attributable to melting ice and climate change, and to examine their impacts on the Copper River plume and the GoA. Work in the upper watershed is focused on terrestrial biogeochemistry, gas exchange, and terrestrial-aquatic linkages; in the coastal GoA, oceanographic surveys and remote sensing are being used to describe the oceanography of the Copper River plume; aerosol transport of particulate iron from the watershed to the deep ocean are being investigated with remote sensing, modeling, and dust collections near the shelf break.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Global Change Impact & Vulnerability   (Tue 11:30 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Related Activity

Poster Location ID: 122