title: Current Magnitude and Mechanisms of Groundwater Discharge in the Arctic: Case Study from Alaska.
abstract: To better understand groundwater-surface water dynamics in high latitude areas, we conducted a field study at three sites in Alaska with varying permafrost coverage. The natural groundwater tracer ((222)Rn, radon) was used to evaluate groundwater discharge, and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was used to examine subsurface mixing dynamics. Different controls govern groundwater discharge at these sites. In areas with sporadic permafrost (Kasitsna Bay), the major driver of submarine groundwater discharge is tidal pumping, due to the large tidal oscillations, whereas at Point Barrow, a site with continuous permafrost and small tidal amplitudes, fluxes are mostly affected by seasonal permafrost thawing. Extended areas of low resistivity in the subsurface alongshore combined with high radon in surface water suggests that groundwater-surface water interactions might enhance heat transport into deeper permafrost layers promoting permafrost thawing, thereby enhancing groundwater discharge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, United States.
authors.forename: Natasha T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Dimova
authors.forename: Adina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paytan
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: Katy J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Sparrow
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: Fenix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Garcia-Tigreros Kodovska
authors.forename: Alanna L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lecher
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Slawomir M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Tulaczyk
mesh_terms: D000413:Alaska; D061006:Bays; D060587:Groundwater / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D062070:Hydrology / Q000379:methods*; D065946:Permafrost; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis; D014872:Water Movements
chemical_list: D011886:Radon