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Allison Bidlack

How do glaciers impact Alaska’s coastal ecosystems, and what do glacier changes mean for the future of this ecologically and economically valuable system?
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Projecting Future Streamflow in Southeast Alaska
Understanding freshwater flow is frequently highlighted as a priority in land management planning and assessments. Changes in climate can impact streamflow through reduced snowpack and snowfall, earlier spring runoff, increased winter flow and flooding, and decreased summer flow. In Southeast Alaska, streamflow is expected to shift dramatically in response to changes in factors such as precipitation and air temperature. Understanding how streamflow might change is instrumental not only for predicting changes in plant distribution and soil moisture, but also for infrastructure planning. Culvert replacement, bridge design, hydropower development, water reservoir placement, and floodplain restoration planning all require...
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From Land to Sea: How Will Shifts in Stream Flow Influence Delivery of Nutrients, Organic Matter, and Organisms to Alaska and Hawai‘i Nearshore Marine Ecosystems?
Nearshore marine ecosystems in Alaska and Hawai‘i rely heavily on organic materials and nutrients delivered by rivers and streams. It is hypothesized that the magnitude and timing of stream flows influences this delivery of materials to coastal ecosystems. However, despite previous research on the topic, there is still considerable uncertainty about how stream flow may influence these land-to-water (“ridge-to-reef") linkages, and how climate change induced shifts in runoff may ripple across ecosystem boundaries to influence estuary and nearshore marine ecosystems and species of cultural and commercial importance (e.g., Pacific salmon, gobies, and coral reefs). This project is a collaborative study to examine...
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