| Summary: | 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.
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