The arctic freshwater system: Changes and impacts

  1. Daniel White1,
  2. Larry Hinzman2,
  3. Lilian Alessa3,
  4. John Cassano4,
  5. Molly Chambers1,
  6. Kelly Falkner5,
  7. Jennifer Francis6,
  8. William J. Gutowski Jr.7,
  9. Marika Holland8,
  10. R. Max Holmes9,
  11. Henry Huntington10,
  12. Douglas Kane11,
  13. Andrew Kliskey3,
  14. Craig Lee12,
  15. James McClelland13,
  16. Bruce Peterson14,
  17. T. Scott Rupp15,
  18. Fiamma Straneo9,
  19. Michael Steele12,
  20. Rebecca Woodgate12,
  21. Daqing Yang11,
  22. Kenji Yoshikawa11,
  23. Tingjun Zhang16

Article first published online: 20 NOV 2007

DOI: 10.1029/2006JG000353

Issue

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2005–2012)

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2005–2012)

Additional Information

How to Cite

White, D., et al. (2007), The arctic freshwater system: Changes and impacts, J. Geophys. Res., 112, G04S54, doi:10.1029/2006JG000353.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

  2. 2

    International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

  3. 3

    Resilience and Adaptive Management Group, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska, USA

  4. 4

    Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

  5. 5

    College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

  6. 6

    Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

  7. 7

    Agronomy, Geological and Atmospheric Sciences Department, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA

  8. 8

    National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA

  9. 9

    Woods Hole Research Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

  10. 10

    Huntington Consulting, Eagle River, Alaska, USA

  11. 11

    Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

  12. 12

    Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

  13. 13

    Marine Science Institute, University of Texas, Port Aransas, Texas, USA

  14. 14

    Marine Biology Laboratory, Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

  15. 15

    School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

  16. 16

    National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 20 NOV 2007
  2. Article first published online: 20 NOV 2007
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 26 APR 2007
  4. Manuscript Revised: 19 FEB 2007
  5. Manuscript Received: 25 OCT 2006

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Keywords:

  • Arctic;
  • freshwater;
  • system;
  • changes;
  • impacts

[1] Dramatic changes have been observed in the Arctic over the last century. Many of these involve the storage and cycling of fresh water. On land, precipitation and river discharge, lake abundance and size, glacier area and volume, soil moisture, and a variety of permafrost characteristics have changed. In the ocean, sea ice thickness and areal coverage have decreased and water mass circulation patterns have shifted, changing freshwater pathways and sea ice cover dynamics. Precipitation onto the ocean surface has also changed. Such changes are expected to continue, and perhaps accelerate, in the coming century, enhanced by complex feedbacks between the oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial freshwater systems. Change to the arctic freshwater system heralds changes for our global physical and ecological environment as well as human activities in the Arctic. In this paper we review observed changes in the arctic freshwater system over the last century in terrestrial, atmospheric, and oceanic systems.

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