| Summary: | Variation in instream temperatures due to climate change may drastically affect the health and stability of aquatic arctic ecosystems. To better understand the effects of temperature variation on these ecosystems, the dominant heat sources and sinks must be quantified. This study investigates the variability of instream temperatures in lmnavait Creek, a beaded arctic stream consisting of small pools connected by shallow chutes located north of the Brooks Range in Alaska. Temperature data were collected both longitudinally and vertically in the water column, bed sediments, and surrounding water tracks. lt was found that the average instream temperatures vary longitudinally and, although the pools are small and shallow, they are vertically stratified. These temperature and other supporting data (e.g., instream flow, weather data) have been used to investigate heat fate and transport through the development of an instream temperature model. This model includes advective, surface, and bed conduction fluxes along with simplified vertical exchange between stratified layers. This approach captures many but not all of the processes occurring within the pools. Therefore, exchange between stratified layers and lateral seepage from adjacent hillslopes need further investigation. Preliminary data analysis and modeling results will be presented.
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