Biogeochemical Tracers in Arctic Rivers: Linking the Pan-Arctic Watershed to the Arctic Ocean (the PARTNERS project)

The Arctic is undergoing unusual and apparently progressive changes in the land, ocean, and atmospheric components of the hydrologic cycle that could have long-term consequences for both local and global climate. Understanding sources and fates of river discharge is important because rivers make an enormous contribution to the freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean. The overall objective of the PARTNERS project is to use river water chemistry as a means to study the origins and fates of continental runoff. Through a collaboration among scientists in Russia, Canada, and the United States, sampling was initiated during summer 2003 on the downstream reaches of the six largest arctic rivers (Yenisey, Lena, Ob', Mackenzie, Yukon, Kolyma). Samples are being analyzed for a wide range of constituents, focusing on compounds that can be used as tracers of river water in the Arctic Ocean or that give clues about watershed sources or processes. Sampling will occur for four years (2003-2007), with sampling frequency peaking at 7X per year during 2004 and 2005. To insure that the riverine endmember data being collected by the PARTNERS project is most relevant, we are actively coordinating with oceanographic research efforts. This multinational, multidisciplinary project is greatly improving our understanding of land-ocean linkage in the pan-Arctic watershed.