Hydrographic Data, Upper Kuparuk River Watershed, Alaska, 1993-2017

In Arctic landscapes, watershed processes are tightly linked to cold temperatures, permafrost, snow and glaciers, and strong seasonality in precipitation, storage, and runoff. Thus, a rapidly changing Arctic climate will affect watershed function and result in changes to the transport of water, sediment, and nutrients to downstream aquatic and marine ecosystems. There is increasing evidence of hydrologic intensification of the Arctic terrestrial water cycle, fueling inquiry into the hydrologic responses that integrate the varying climate and landscape units. Key to understanding these complex watershed processes is long-term hydrologic monitoring in Arctic Alaska. The goal of this project is to install, operate, and maintain hydroclimate observation stations in the Kuparuk River basin and adjacent catchments (Putuligayuk River) to obtain continuous data streams for the community of Arctic stakeholders. The Upper Kuparuk River is located in the foothills region of Brooks Range and is the headwaters of the Kuparuk River. The Kuparuk River flows north through the foothills and coastal plain of Alaska, before discharging into the Beaufort Sea. The gauging station for the Upper Kuparuk River is approximately 0.5 kilometers south of the Dalton Highway, near MP289 (milepost). Runoff in the Upper Kuparuk River (basin area 142 square kilometers) was measured by researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Water and Environmental Research Center from 1993 to 2017. This dataset contains continuous runoff collected by researchers from University of Alaska Fairbanks from 1993 to 2017.

北极景观中的流域过程与低温、多年冻土（permafrost）、积雪及冰川，以及降水、蓄水与径流的强季节性紧密关联。因此，快速变化的北极气候将影响流域功能，并导致水、沉积物与营养物质向下游水生和海洋生态系统的输运过程发生改变。越来越多的证据表明北极陆地水文循环正呈现增强趋势，这推动了学界对整合多样气候与景观单元的水文响应展开研究。理解这些复杂流域过程的关键，在于北极阿拉斯加地区的长期水文监测工作。本项目的目标是在库帕鲁克河（Kuparuk River）流域及相邻集水区（普图利加尤克河（Putuligayuk River））布设、运行并维护水文气候观测站，为北极地区利益相关群体获取连续的观测数据流。库帕鲁克河上游位于布鲁克斯岭（Brooks Range）山麓地带，是库帕鲁克河的源头区域。库帕鲁克河向北流经阿拉斯加的山麓与沿海平原，最终注入博福特海（Beaufort Sea）。库帕鲁克河上游的水文监测站位于道尔顿公路（Dalton Highway）以南约0.5公里处，靠近289英里里程碑（MP289）。1993年至2017年间，阿拉斯加费尔班克斯大学水与环境研究中心（University of Alaska Fairbanks Water and Environmental Research Center）的研究人员对库帕鲁克河上游（流域面积142平方公里）的径流进行了观测。本数据集包含1993年至2017年由该机构研究人员采集的连续径流观测数据。