Our overarching questions are: (1) How much of the river water and water-borne constituents (i.e. sediment, nutrients, organic matter) from the Jago, Okpilak and Hulahula rivers are coming from glacier melt? (2) How do inputs from these rivers affect the downstream ecosystems? (3) How will loss of glaciers affect these ecosystems? The study will help elucidate how inputs from glacier-dominated arctic rivers differ from unglaciated rivers, through a combination of ground work, boat work, and remote sensing. In Phase One of this study, we intend to explore the relationship between glaciers and coastal ecosystems. Our goal in this phase-one study is not to answer these questions conclusively but rather improve our understanding to the point of making realistic predictions of future states that can be tested in future phases of the project. In addition to exploring these predictions in more detail, future phases of the project will integrate additional ecosystem linkages made apparent by earlier phases of our work and as more funds become available. Understanding the linkages between climate, glaciers and ecosystems will improve our ability to plan for potential changes in ecosystem responses that may be different from region to region along the Arctic Ocean coast, as well as differentiate these responses from responses to human activities such as resource extraction.
