A lake-centric geospatial database to guide research and inform management decisions in an Arctic watershed in northern Alaska experiencing climate and land-use changes.
Lakes are dominant and diverse landscape features in the Arctic, but conventional land cover classification schemes typically map them as a single uniform class. Here, we present a detailed lake-centric geospatial database for an Arctic watershed in northern Alaska. We developed a GIS dataset consisting of 4362 lakes that provides information on lake morphometry, hydrologic connectivity, surface area dynamics, surrounding terrestrial ecotypes, and other important conditions describing Arctic lakes. Analyzing the geospatial database relative to fish and bird survey data shows relations to lake depth and hydrologic connectivity, which are being used to guide research and aid in the management of aquatic resources in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Further development of similar geospatial databases is needed to better understand and plan for the impacts of ongoing climate and land-use changes occurring across lake-rich landscapes in the Arctic.
U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA. bjones@usgs.gov.
Benjamin M
BM
Jones
Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 467 Duckering Avenue, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
Christopher D
CD
Arp
Bureau of Land Management, Arctic Field Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA.
Matthew S
MS
Whitman
Bureau of Land Management, Arctic Field Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA.
Debora
D
Nigro
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A43, 14469, Potsdam, Germany.|Department of Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Ingmar
I
Nitze
BSA Environmental Services, Inc., 23400 Mercantile Rd. #8, Beachwood, OH, 44122, USA.
John
J
Beaver
Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 467 Duckering Avenue, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
Anne
A
Gädeke
U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA.
Callie
C
Zuck
Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 467 Duckering Avenue, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
Anna
A
Liljedahl
Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, 3354 College Rd., Fairbanks, AK, 9907, USA.
Ronald
R
Daanen
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 902 Koyukuk Ave., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
Eric
E
Torvinen
Bureau of Land Management, Arctic Field Office, 222 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA.
Stacey
S
Fritz
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A43, 14469, Potsdam, Germany.|Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A43, 14473, Potsdam, Germany.
Guido
G
Grosse
D000413:Alaska; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D002980:Climate; D057231:Climate Change; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003657:Decision Making; D060106:Lakes; D010578:Petroleum; D014881:Water Supply
D010578:Petroleum
Arctic; Climate Change; GIS; Lakes; Land-use change; Watershed