Stream Dynamics
Tens of thousands of streams in the north Pacific coastal temperate rainforest shape the landscape and provide critical habitat and food sources for its inhabitants. From icy glacial waters to carbon-rich creeks draining from wetlands, these diverse watersheds drive the movement of nutrients and sediment from land to sea on globally significant scales.
ACRC scientists are exploring how the diversity of water sources in Southeast Alaska influences stream food webs that sustain salmon productivity. This research helps inform freshwater fisheries management in the face of climate change.
UAS researchers are working with local community members in Yakutat, Alaska, to investigate the relationship between landscape characteristics and stream temperatures using drone imagery and a network of temperature sensors across different aquatic habitats in the Situk River watershed.
ACRC researchers are sampling the glacial outflow stream during large storms and the Mendenhall outburst flood to better understand how climate change and extreme events are impacting coastal watersheds.
Monthly stream water monitoring provides needed data on water quality, stream chemistry, and streamflow that inform food web research, glacial influence studies, and resource management.