Polaris Project 2017: Aquatic isotopes, carbon, and nitrogen, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

• Main Authors: Ludwig, Sarah, Holmes, Robert M, Natali, Susan, Mann, Paul, Schade, John, Jimmie, Jordan, Bristol, Emily, Peter, Darcy, Dabrowski, Jessica
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Arctic Data Center 2018
• Subjects: aquatic; arctic; fire; carbon; nitrogen; alaska; lake; fen; isotopes; Arctic; Yukon; Kuskokwim; permafrost; Yukon river; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18739/a20298; https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A20298

This project is integrating scientific research in the Arctic with education and outreach, with a strong central focus on engaging undergraduate students and visiting faculty from groups that have had little involvement in Arctic science to date. The central element of the project is a month-long research expedition to the Yukon River Delta in Alaska. The expedition provides a deep intellectual and cultural immersion in the context of an authentic research experience that is paramount for "hooking" students and keeping them moving along the pipeline to careers as Arctic scientists. The overarching scientific issue that drives the research is the vulnerability and fate of ancient carbon stored in Arctic permafrost (permanently frozen ground). Widespread permafrost thaw is expected to occur this century, but large uncertainties remain in estimating the timing, magnitude, and form of carbon that will be released when thawed. Project participants are working in collaborative research groups to make fundamental scientific discoveries related to the vulnerability of permafrost carbon in the Yukon River Delta and the potential implications of permafrost thaw in this region for the global climate system. This data set includes aquatic results from the 2017 expedition, such as water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved organic nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, dissolved methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide, water and carbon isotopes, and spectral slopes and specific UV absorbance from CDOM measurements. A subset of sample sites also have field fluxes of methane and carbon dioxide.