Water-Quality Data from the Yukon River Basin in Alaska and Canada

The water-quality data available here has been collected as part of a collaborative monitoring project between the US Geological Survey, Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, and Yukon River Basin communities known as the Indigenous Observation Network. Since 2006 the USGS National Research Program (NRP) and Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) have been partnering to collect water-quality samples from the Yukon River and tributaries with the assistance of trained community members living in the Yukon River Basin. The YRITWC provides support for this project through sample collection, sample processing and shipment logistics with communities and to the USGS. The USGS provides water analysis and data interpretation support. Through this partnership over 300 community members have been trained in water sample collection, which has resulted in over 1500 samples collected at more than 50 sites covering the entire 2,300 mile reach of the Yukon River since the program began. This program has allowed the USGS to create and maintain a baseline record (long-term at some sites) of water-quality in the river basin, critical for understanding climate change impacts.