Water, carbon and permafrost dynamics in boreal Alaska
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This collection of hydrologic, biogeochemical, geophysical, soil, thermal, and physical data provides a framework for investigating the vulnerability of water and carbon cycles to changing permafrost conditions across boreal Alaska. Multidisciplinary data are needed to evaluate the effects of fire and climate on subsurface permafrost, soil physical, and hydrological conditions, which in turn are used to inform hydrological modeling of surface and subsurface water distribution, flow, and water availability in response to change. Vulnerability of the aquatic carbon cycle is investigated by detailed characterization of the chemistry, age, and degradability of permafrost carbon sources and their biogeochemical change, transport, and mineralization to carbon dioxide and methane along surface water and groundwater flowpaths and in receiving lakes.