Drilling and testing the DOI-04-1A coalbed methane well, Fort Yukon, Alaska

Clark, Arthur C.; Barker, Charles E.; Weeks, Edwin P.

doi:10.3133/ofr20091064

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…This follows the common, but generally untested, assumption (by field measurements) in Alaska that permafrost, in both continuous and discontinuous regimes, is absent below major water bodies such as rivers and large lakes [e.g., see Williams , 1970; Burn , 2002, 2005]. Where permafrost is present near Fort Yukon, AK, a deep borehole indicates a permafrost thickness of ∼90 m [ Clark et al , 2009].…”

Section: Study Area and Datamentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Lateral grid spacing for all simulations presented here is 1500 m, and there are 26 vertical layers, ranging from 1 to 25 m thick. Modeled basin thickness is 400 m. The hydrogeology of the basin, based on descriptions by Williams [1962] and the State Surficial Geology Map of Alaska [ Karlstrom et al , 1964] and data from a deep borehole at Fort Yukon [ Clark et al , 2009], is here interpreted as belonging to six lithologic units with different hydraulic properties: upper alluvium (sand and gravel mix), lower alluvium (sand to fine silt mix), loess, bedrock, mountain alluvium and colluvium, and permafrost. Table 2 provides a list of parameter values in the base case model.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of the uncertainty of the winter streamflow data, the variation of measurement seasonal timing and periods of record among the stations, and given that this is a scoping modeling investigation with broad objectives, model calibration is considered sufficient when base flow, calculated by summing (area cumulative) net groundwater fluxes for river reaches, is approximated to the order of magnitude of the measurement. To reduce the number of parameters that need to be estimated, the lower (subpermafrost) alluvium K is set to be 10 times lower than upper alluvium K (based on geologic descriptions by Williams [1962] and Clark et al [2009]). These values are linked through a multiplier function during calibration.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of permafrost distribution on groundwater flow in the context of climate‐driven permafrost thaw: Example from Yukon Flats Basin, Alaska, United States

Walvoord

Voss

Wellman

2012

Water Resources Research

256

262

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Understanding the role of permafrost in controlling groundwater flow paths and fluxes is central in studies aimed at assessing potential climate change impacts on vegetation, species habitat, biogeochemical cycling, and biodiversity. Recent field studies in interior Alaska show evidence of hydrologic changes hypothesized to result from permafrost degradation. This study assesses the hydrologic control exerted by permafrost, elucidates modes of regional groundwater flow for various spatial permafrost patterns, and evaluates potential hydrologic consequences of permafrost degradation. The Yukon Flats Basin (YFB), a large (118,340 km2) subbasin within the Yukon River Basin, provides the basis for this investigation. Model simulations that represent an assumed permafrost thaw sequence reveal the following trends with decreasing permafrost coverage: (1) increased groundwater discharge to rivers, consistent with historical trends in base flow observations in the Yukon River Basin, (2) potential for increased overall groundwater flux, (3) increased spatial extent of groundwater discharge in lowlands, and (4) decreased proportion of suprapermafrost (shallow) groundwater contribution to total base flow. These trends directly affect the chemical composition and residence time of riverine exports, the state of groundwater‐influenced lakes and wetlands, seasonal river‐ice thickness, and stream temperatures. Presently, the YFB is coarsely mapped as spanning the continuous‐discontinuous permafrost transition that model analysis shows to be a critical threshold; thus, the YFB may be on the verge of major hydrologic change should the current permafrost extent decrease. This possibility underscores the need for improved characterization of permafrost and other hydrogeologic information in the region via geophysical techniques, remote sensing, and ground‐based observations.

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Section: Study Area and Datamentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of permafrost distribution on groundwater flow in the context of climate‐driven permafrost thaw: Example from Yukon Flats Basin, Alaska, United States

Walvoord

Voss

Wellman

2012

Water Resources Research

256

262

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“…The region is located in the discontinuous permafrost zone (50–90% coverage; Jorgenson et al, ; Romanovsky et al, ), and the region contains many thaw and oxbow lakes. Permafrost extends to approximately 90 m below the surface near Fort Yukon, located near the center of the study region (Clark et al, ).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic Controls on Floodplain Soil Organic Carbon in the Yukon Flats, Interior Alaska, From Reach to River Basin Scales

Lininger

Wohl

Rose

2018

Water Resources Research

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Floodplains accumulate and store organic carbon (OC) and release OC to rivers, but studies of floodplain soil OC come from small rivers or small spatial extents on larger rivers in temperate latitudes. Warming climate is causing substantial change in geomorphic process and OC fluxes in high latitude rivers. We investigate geomorphic controls on floodplain soil OC concentrations in active‐layer mineral sediment in the Yukon Flats, interior Alaska. We characterize OC along the Yukon River and four tributaries in relation to geomorphic controls at the river basin, segment, and reach scales. Average OC concentration within floodplain soil is 2.8% (median = 2.2%). Statistical analyses indicate that OC varies among river basins, among planform types along a river depending on the geomorphic unit, and among geomorphic units. OC decreases with sample depth, suggesting that most OC accumulates via autochthonous inputs from floodplain vegetation. Floodplain and river characteristics, such as grain size, soil moisture, planform, migration rate, and riverine DOC concentrations, likely influence differences among rivers. Grain size, soil moisture, and age of surface likely influence differences among geomorphic units. Mean OC concentrations vary more among geomorphic units (wetlands = 5.1% versus bars = 2.0%) than among study rivers (Dall River = 3.8% versus Teedrinjik River = 2.3%), suggesting that reach‐scale geomorphic processes more strongly control the spatial distribution of OC than basin‐scale processes. Investigating differences at the basin and reach scale is necessary to accurately assess the amount and distribution of floodplain soil OC, as well as the geomorphic controls on OC.

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“…It encompasses ~8500 lakes covering ~10% of the land surface. The basin underlying the study area contains up to ~3 km of mid‐Tertiary to early‐Quaternary clay, silt and sand, and surficial deposits (up to 50 m thick) of primarily fluvial gravel [ Clark et al ., ; Williams , ]. The study area overlies the regional transition between discontinuous and continuous permafrost [ Jorgenson et al ., ].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Linkages between lake shrinkage/expansion and sublacustrine permafrost distribution determined from remote sensing of interior Alaska, USA

Jepsen

Voss

Walvoord

et al. 2013

Geophysical Research Letters

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[1] Linkages between permafrost distribution and lake surface-area changes in cold regions have not been previously examined over a large scale because of the paucity of subsurface permafrost information. Here, a first large-scale examination of these linkages is made over a 5150 km 2 area of Yukon Flats, Alaska, USA, by evaluating the relationship between lake surface-area changes during 1979-2009, derived from Landsat satellite data, and sublacustrine groundwater flow-path connectivity inferred from a pioneering, airborne geophysical survey of permafrost. The results suggest that the shallow (few tens of meters) thaw state of permafrost has more influence than deeper permafrost conditions on the evolving water budgets of lakes on a multidecadal time scale. In the region studied, these key shallow aquifers have high hydraulic conductivity and great spatial variability in thaw state, making groundwater flow and associated lake level evolution particularly sensitive to climate change owing to the close proximity of these aquifers to the atmosphere. Citation: Jepsen, S. M., C. I. Voss, M. A.Walvoord, B. J. Minsley, and J. Rover (2013), Linkages between lake shrinkage/expansion and sublacustrine permafrost distribution determined from remote sensing of interior Alaska, USA, Geophys.

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Drilling and testing the DOI-04-1A coalbed methane well, Fort Yukon, Alaska

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Influence of permafrost distribution on groundwater flow in the context of climate‐driven permafrost thaw: Example from Yukon Flats Basin, Alaska, United States

Influence of permafrost distribution on groundwater flow in the context of climate‐driven permafrost thaw: Example from Yukon Flats Basin, Alaska, United States

Geomorphic Controls on Floodplain Soil Organic Carbon in the Yukon Flats, Interior Alaska, From Reach to River Basin Scales

Linkages between lake shrinkage/expansion and sublacustrine permafrost distribution determined from remote sensing of interior Alaska, USA

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