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Turner, Kevin W.

Many northern lake-rich regions are undergoing pronounced hydrological change, yet inadequate knowledge of the drivers of these landscape-scale responses hampers our ability to predict future conditions. We address this challenge in the thermokarst landscape of Old Crow Flats (OCF) using a combination of remote sensing imagery and monitoring of stable isotope compositions of lake waters over three thaw seasons (2007?2009). Quantitative analysis confirmed that the hydrological behavior of lakes is strongly influenced by catchment vegetation and physiography. Catchments of snowmelt-dominated lakes, typically located in southern peripheral areas of OCF, encompass high proportions of woodland/forest and tall shrub vegetation...
Application of novel hydrological methods for assessing runoff generation in remote northern landscapes is necessary to identify the consequences of climate variability and change. In Old Crow Flats, a lake-rich thermokarst landscape in northern Yukon Territory (Canada), local land users have concerns over the effects of recent lake drainage and fluctuating river discharge on their traditional way of life. In the absence of hydrometric stations, we evaluate the utility of isotopic monitoring of the lower Old Crow River, which is fed by several tributaries and drains the flats, for tracking runoff generation. Isotopic ?snapshots? obtained from 2007, 2008 and 2009 during the recession limb of the spring freshet hydrograph...
Many northern lake-rich regions are undergoing pronounced hydrological change, yet inadequate knowledge of the drivers of these landscape-scale responses hampers our ability to predict future conditions. We address this challenge in the thermokarst landscape of Old Crow Flats (OCF) using a combination of remote sensing imagery and monitoring of stable isotope compositions of lake waters over three thaw seasons (2007?2009). Quantitative analysis confirmed that the hydrological behavior of lakes is strongly influenced by catchment vegetation and physiography. Catchments of snowmelt-dominated lakes, typically located in southern peripheral areas of OCF, encompass high proportions of woodland/forest and tall shrub vegetation...
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