Characteristics of discharge and suspended-sediment load in a subarctic river, Tanana River, Alaska, were examined by observations in the glacier-melt and permafrost-melt seasons (June to September) of 2002 and 2003. The drainage basin (area: 6.48 10 4 km 2) of the river is occupied by the ca. 96 % permafrost region of the diluvium to alluvium and the ca. 4 % glacier-covered region in the Alaska Range and the Wrangell Mountains. The hydrographs of the Tanana River are explained by the superimposition of rainfall runoffs and baseflow from the permafrost region and glacier-melt runoffs from the glacial region. The suspended-sediment load, meanwhile, varied synchronously with the discharge, but its magnitude nonlinearly responded to the discharge. The nonlinearity of sediment load occurred only under local rainfalls, when the sediment supply from river channels was possibly insufficient. The runoff analyses by a tank model were carried out for the hydrographs of 2002 and 2003. The rainfall onto the whole drainage basin and the meltwater input into the glaciers were estimated by the Thiesen method and the positive degree-day approach (PDDA), respectively. The analytical results reasonably reproducing the hydrographs, indicated that the glacier-melt runoffs occupy 60 % and 66 % of the total discharge in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.