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Eran Hood

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From Icefield to Ocean: Glacier Change Impacts to Alaska’s Coastal Ecosystems
The Gulf of Alaska is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on Earth, supporting salmon fisheries that alone provide nearly $1 billion per year in economic benefits to Southeast Alaska. Glaciers are central to many of the area’s natural processes and economic activities, but the rates of glacier loss in Alaska are among the highest on Earth, with a 26-36 percent reduction in total volume expected by the end of the century. This project brought together scientists and managers at a workshop to synthesize the impacts of glacier change on the region’s coastal ecosystems and to determine related research and monitoring needs. Collected knowledge shows that melting glaciers are expected to have cascading effects...
Abstract (from http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/65/5/499): Rates of glacier mass loss in the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest (PCTR) are among the highest on Earth, and changes in glacier volume and extent will affect the flow regime and chemistry of coastal rivers, as well as the nearshore marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska. Here we synthesize physical, chemical and biological linkages that characterize the northern PCTR ecosystem, with particular emphasis on the potential impacts of glacier change in the coastal mountain ranges on the surface–water hydrology, biogeochemistry, coastal oceanography and aquatic ecology. We also evaluate the relative importance and interplay between interannual...
Abstract (from Geophysical Research Letters): Lateral transport of organic carbon (OC) to the coastal ocean is an important component of the global carbon cycle because rivers transport, mineralize, and bury significant amounts of OC. Glaciers drive water and sediment export from many high‐elevation and high‐latitude ecosystems, yet their role in watershed OC balances is poorly understood, particularly with regard to particulate OC. Here, we evaluate seasonal water, sediment, and comprehensive OC budgets, including both dissolved and particulate forms, for three watersheds in southeast Alaska that vary in glacier coverage. We show that glacier loss will shift the dominant size fraction of riverine OC from particulate...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
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Projecting the Future Distribution and Flow of Water in Alaskan Coastal Forest Watersheds
Water is a key ecosystem service that provides life to vegetation, animals, and human communities. The distribution and flow of water on a landscape influences many ecological functions, such as the distribution and health of vegetation and soil development and function. However, the future of many important water resources remains uncertain. Reduced snowfall and snowpack, earlier spring runoff, increased winter streamflow and flooding, and decreased summer streamflow have all been identified as potential impacts to water resources due to climate change. These factors all influence the water balance in the Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest (PCTR). Ensuring healthy flow and availability of water resources is...
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Improving Forecasts of Glacier Outburst Flood Events
Suicide Basin is a glacier-fed lake that branches off Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. Since 2011, Suicide Basin has been collecting melt- and rainwater each summer, creating a temporary glacier-dammed lake. Water that accumulates typically gets released through channels that run beneath the glacier. These channels are normally blocked by ice, but if the water pressure gets too high the channel breaks open, rapidly draining the basin in what is known as an “outburst flood”. In past years, these events have led to flooding along Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River in the most heavily populated neighborhood of Juneau. Because of the threats posed to infrastructure in the Mendenhall Valley, it is critical that...
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