Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic
Abstract Climate change has the potential to impact headwater streams in the Arctic by thawing permafrost and subsequently altering hydrologic regimes and vegetation distribution, physiognomy and productivity. Permafrost thaw and increased subsurface flow have been inferred from the chemistry of lar...
Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
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2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d/pdf |
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crioppubl:10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d 2024-09-15T18:02:13+00:00 Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic Koch, J C Sjöberg, Y O’Donnell, J A Carey, M P Sullivan, P F Terskaia, A Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas National Park Service Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Program National Science Foundation U.S. Geological Survey Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d/pdf unknown IOP Publishing http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://iopscience.iop.org/info/page/text-and-data-mining Environmental Research Letters volume 17, issue 4, page 044074 ISSN 1748-9326 journal-article 2022 crioppubl https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d 2024-08-12T04:13:45Z Abstract Climate change has the potential to impact headwater streams in the Arctic by thawing permafrost and subsequently altering hydrologic regimes and vegetation distribution, physiognomy and productivity. Permafrost thaw and increased subsurface flow have been inferred from the chemistry of large rivers, but there is limited empirical evidence of the impacts to headwater streams. Here we demonstrate how changing vegetation cover and soil thaw may alter headwater catchment hydrology using water budgets, stream discharge trends, and chemistry across a gradient of ground temperature in northwestern Alaska. Colder, tundra-dominated catchments shed precipitation through stream discharge, whereas in warmer catchments with greater forest extent, evapotranspiration (ET) and infiltration are substantial fluxes. Forest soils thaw earlier, remain thawed longer, and display seasonal water content declines, consistent with greater ET and infiltration. Streambed infiltration and water chemistry indicate that even minor warming can lead to increased infiltration and subsurface flow. Additional warming, permafrost loss, and vegetation shifts in the Arctic will deliver water back to the atmosphere and to subsurface aquifers in many regions, with the potential to substantially reduce discharge in headwater streams, if not compensated by increasing precipitation. Decreasing discharge in headwater streams will have important implications for aquatic and riparian ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska IOP Publishing Environmental Research Letters 17 4 044074 |
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Abstract Climate change has the potential to impact headwater streams in the Arctic by thawing permafrost and subsequently altering hydrologic regimes and vegetation distribution, physiognomy and productivity. Permafrost thaw and increased subsurface flow have been inferred from the chemistry of large rivers, but there is limited empirical evidence of the impacts to headwater streams. Here we demonstrate how changing vegetation cover and soil thaw may alter headwater catchment hydrology using water budgets, stream discharge trends, and chemistry across a gradient of ground temperature in northwestern Alaska. Colder, tundra-dominated catchments shed precipitation through stream discharge, whereas in warmer catchments with greater forest extent, evapotranspiration (ET) and infiltration are substantial fluxes. Forest soils thaw earlier, remain thawed longer, and display seasonal water content declines, consistent with greater ET and infiltration. Streambed infiltration and water chemistry indicate that even minor warming can lead to increased infiltration and subsurface flow. Additional warming, permafrost loss, and vegetation shifts in the Arctic will deliver water back to the atmosphere and to subsurface aquifers in many regions, with the potential to substantially reduce discharge in headwater streams, if not compensated by increasing precipitation. Decreasing discharge in headwater streams will have important implications for aquatic and riparian ecosystems. |
author2 |
Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas National Park Service Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Program National Science Foundation U.S. Geological Survey Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Koch, J C Sjöberg, Y O’Donnell, J A Carey, M P Sullivan, P F Terskaia, A |
spellingShingle |
Koch, J C Sjöberg, Y O’Donnell, J A Carey, M P Sullivan, P F Terskaia, A Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic |
author_facet |
Koch, J C Sjöberg, Y O’Donnell, J A Carey, M P Sullivan, P F Terskaia, A |
author_sort |
Koch, J C |
title |
Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic |
title_short |
Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic |
title_full |
Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic |
title_sort |
sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming arctic |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d/pdf |
genre |
Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters volume 17, issue 4, page 044074 ISSN 1748-9326 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://iopscience.iop.org/info/page/text-and-data-mining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f2d |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
044074 |
_version_ |
1810439674812956672 |