Application of the TopoFlow model to two sub-basins of the Caribou Poker Creek Research Watershed

Permafrost affected soils warms at faster rate than scientists are expected. Surface and subsurface hydrology directly interacts with permafrost and affects its thermal balance. In this study we applied the TopoFlow hydrological model to simulate the C2 and C3 sub-basins with almost no permafrost in C2 and 50% of permafrost in C3 sub-basin of the Caribou Poker Creek Research Watershed to better understand the processes governing water discharge mechanism in the Arctic. TopoFlow simulates the surface and subsurface water flow across a landscape with variable topography. TopoFlow includes multiple hydrological processes: snowmelt, plant transpiration, surface evaporation, surface infiltration of precipitation, downward percolation of soil water, and overland or surface water flow. In this work we introduce all steps required to run the hydrological model from data processing to model setup and results interpretation. We evaluate water mass balance of the model from a simple to complex configuration. The modeling results show that model is able to address the observed discharge rates with the corresponding uncertainty.