Using local knowledge, hydrological, and climate data to develop a driftwood harvest model in interior Alaska. (AGU)

Rural Alaskan residents are concerned that the character of the summer discharge in the Yukon River is changing, which is affecting their ability to harvest driftwood. The Yukon River flows northwesterly through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory before flowing southwest through Alaska. In most summers, residents of Tanana, Alaska harvest driftwood from the Yukon River during two different periods. Typically, driftwood accompanies high flows on the Yukon River associated with spring break?up. A few weeks later, a second series of driftwood appears, associated with the "2nd rise," which is reported to occur during early June. This study examines the nature of the differential timing of high flow events in the Yukon River. Many communities in interior Alaska have grown to rely upon driftwood as an important source of wood, which is used in construction, carving, and as a fuel source. Increasingly, villages in rural Alaska are trying to lessen their dependence upon expensive fossil fuels. To achieve this goal, a number of Alaskan villages have recently installed wood chip?fired boilers to generate heat and/or electricity and additional boilers are slated to be installed in rural Alaska in the near future. These boilers are largely fed by driftwood, a cheap and easily processed wood source. Some Tanana residents have expressed concern that in recent years, driftwood was not readily available because the "2nd rise" flood event was absent. This is disconcerting for rural Alaskans that are becoming increasingly reliant upon the driftwood flows. Our goal is to determine if the perceived changes in driftwood availability are related to changes in river hydrology and if predicted changes in hydrology may affect driftwood flows and the livelihoods of rural Alaskans.阿拉斯加农村居民担忧育空河（Yukon River）夏季径流特征正发生改变，这已对其采集浮木的能力造成影响。育空河向西北流经不列颠哥伦比亚省与育空地区，随后转向西南流经阿拉斯加州。多数情况下，阿拉斯加塔纳纳的居民会在两个时段从育空河采集浮木。通常，浮木伴随春季融雪引发的育空河高水位过程出现。数周后，第二批浮木随之出现，该现象与被称为“第二次涨水（2nd rise）”的事件相关，据报道该事件多发生于六月初。本研究旨在探究育空河高流量事件的差异化时间分布特征。阿拉斯加内陆的诸多社区已将浮木作为重要木材来源，用于建筑、雕刻以及燃料供应。如今，阿拉斯加农村村庄正愈发迫切地希望降低对昂贵化石燃料的依赖。为达成这一目标，近期已有多个阿拉斯加村庄安装了以木片为燃料的锅炉，用于供热和/或发电，未来阿拉斯加农村地区还计划增设更多此类锅炉。这些锅炉主要以浮木作为燃料来源，这是一种廉价且易于获取的木材资源。部分塔纳纳居民反映，近年来因“第二次涨水（2nd rise）”事件缺失，浮木难以获取。这令愈发依赖浮木资源的阿拉斯加农村居民倍感不安。本研究的目标在于探明：人们感知到的浮木可获取性变化是否与河流水文状况改变存在关联，以及预测的水文变化是否会影响浮木径流情况与阿拉斯加农村居民的生计。