WESTERN ALASKA PARTNERSHIP

August 15th, 2019

8/15/2019

Water temperature in lakes and lagoons plays a key role in hydrology, water quality, and habitat suitability for aquatic organisms. The purpose of this project is to provide land and resource managers with information related to the past, present, and future temperature trends in lake surface waters in western Alaska. Through a combination of remote sensing, in situ data collection, model development, we will analyze similarities and differences related to spatial and temporal patterns of lake surface temperatures in western Alaska from 1985 to 2100.

Project ID: WA2011_03

Lead Investigator: Ben Jones, USGS; Christopher Arp, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Simon Hook, NASA JPL

Collaborators: John Lenters, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Jeff Shearer, NPS; Daniel Gillliken, Ron Britton, Bill Pyle, Pat Walsh & Tina Moran, USFWS; Mike Brubaker, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; Daniel Schindler, University of Washington, Guido Grosse, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Craig Ely, USGS

Project Duration: 2011-2014

Temperature, Phenology, and Embryo Survival in Western Alaska Sockeye Salmon Populations: The Potential for Adaptation to a Warming World?

8/2/2019

Viable sockeye salmon populations are critical to the economy, culture, and freshwater ecosystems of Bristol Bay in Western Alaska, and it is unclear how populations might respond to warming temperatures during the critical life history stages of spawning and embryo incubation.

Project ID: WA2014_38

Lead Investigator: Jeffrey Falke, USGS; Peter Westley, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Collaborators: Krista Bartz & Dan Young, National Park Service; Jennifer Griffiths, Stockholm University; Thomas Quinn, University of Washington

Project Duration: 2014-201

Water Temperature Regimes in the Togiak NWR and Wood-Tikchik State Park

8/2/2019

Southwest Alaska is one of the fastest warming regions on Earth and its aquatic resources are at distinct risk from changing climate. Previous work has demonstrated that a variety of physical and biological processes are sensitive to changing climate regimes in this region, including those that support wildlife and fisheries that are of substantial importance for subsistence and commercial activities.

Project ID: WA2014_37

Lead Investigator: Daniel Schindler, University of Washington

Collaborators: Patrick Walsh, USFWS

Project Duration: 2014-2016

Landscape-scale analysis of the relationship between juvenile Chinook size and growth and stream temperature in western Alaska

8/2/2019

Water temperature plays a critical role in the health of pre-smolt salmon life stages, and changes in water temperature may be a strong driving factor on growth and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon. Climate is expected to warm substantially in the coming decades in western Alaska, potentially affecting juvenile salmon condition in freshwater habitats.

Project ID: WA2014_36

Lead Investigator: Suresh Sethi, USFWS

Collaborators: Brad Harris, Alaska Pacific University

Project Duration: 2014-2015

Water Temperature Monitoring Standards for Alaska

8/2/2019

Researchers have consistently prioritized the need to measure the status and trends of stream and lake temperatures across Alaska landscapes, and to compile those data for predictive modeling. This project identified minimum data standards and recommended protocols to guide collection of water temperature data to use in landscape-level assessments, with the objective of encouraging rapid, structured growth in water temperature monitoring efforts across Alaska, in support of understanding current and future trends.

Project ID: WA2014_34

Lead Investigator: Jamie Trammell, UAA Alaska Natural Heritage Program

Collaborators: Sue Mauger, Cook Inletkeeper; Rebecca Shaftel, Marcus Geist & Dan Bogan, UAA Alaska Natural Heritage Program

Project Duration: 2014

Implementation of the Strategy to Establishment a Voluntary Water Temperature Monitoring Network in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska

8/2/2019

Streams, rivers, and lakes of the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska, provide essential spawning and rearing habitat for millions of Pacific salmon collectively regarded as a foundation of the regional ecosystem and economy. Climate projections for the archipelago indicate probable increases in annual and seasonal air temperature over the next 85 years. Corresponding increases in the temperature of freshwaters also are expected, which may adversely influence the biology of salmon, the quality of salmon habitat, and the availability of salmon to support the ecosystem and economy.

Project ID: WA2014_31

Lead Investigator: Bill Pyle, USFWS

Collaborators: Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association, Sun'aq Tribe

Project Duration: 2014- 2017

Develop a Voluntary Participation Water Temperature Network Implementation Plan for the Ahklun Mountains and Bristol Bay Lowlands

8/2/2019

Water temperature is one of the most significant factors in the health of stream ecosystems. Temperature plays a critical role in salmonid reproduction and survivorship and is an essential indicator for monitoring the health of Bristol Bay salmon habitats, which support vital subsistence, commercial and sport fisheries.

Project ID: WA2014_30

Lead Investigator: Tim Troll, Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust

Collaborators: Sue Flensburg, BBNA; Sue Mauger, Cook Inletkeeper

Project Duration: 2014 - 2015

NHD Stewardship in Alaska

8/2/2019

This project is focused on establishing a statewide framework to improve the hydrography mapping and stewardship in Alaska. This will be achieved through the creation of a statewide system to make digital mapping data updates accessible and affordable, and through the creation of a statewide hydrography mapping coordinator position to synchronize updates and guide hydrography mapping development. This framework will allow agencies and organizations to greatly improve their hydrography mapping data, as well as consume and uplift project level hydrography data that would not otherwise be incorporated.

Project ID: WA2013_29

Lead Investigators: Becci Anderson, USGS; Kacy Krieger, University of Alaska Anchorage

Collaborators: William Rice, USFWS; Erik Johnson, USFS; Tom Heinrichs, UAF; Sanjay Pyare, Mike Plivelich, Kim Homan, UAS; Jeff Simley, USGS; Jeremy Littell, Alaska Climate Science Center; Aaron Poe, Aleutian Bering Sea Islands LCC; Greg Balogh, Arctic LCC; Mary Mahaffy, North Pacific LCC; John DeLapp, Northwest Boreal LCC; David Wigglesworth, Alaska Fish Habitat Partnerships

Project Duration: 2013 - 2015

Alaska online aquatic temperature site (AK-OATS)

8/2/2019

Alaska’s freshwater resources, vitally important for salmon and other species, are vulnerable to changes resulting from climate change. Though temperature is a critical element in the suitability of aquatic habitats, Alaska’s stream and lake temperature monitoring is occurring through independent agencies/partners without a means to link and share data. Because a coordinated network of monitoring data can help scientists and managers understand how aquatic systems are responding to climate change, conducting an inventory of past and present stream and lake temperature monitoring efforts has been identified as a priority science need for Alaska.

Project ID: WA2013_28

Lead Investigator: Jamie Trammell, University of Alaska Anchorage

Collaborators: Marcus Geist & Dan Bogan, University of Alaska Anchorage

Project Duration: 2013 - 2014

Community Observation and Vulnerability Assessment

8/2/2019

No one has better knowledge, and opportunity to document, how coastal storms affect the coast than the people who live in coastal communities. By training the network of Local Environmental Observers (LEOs) to collect coastal storm data in Western Alaska, we improve local capacity to engage in coastal observations. Through this project, the LCC supported the development of the Climate Change & Health Impact Assessment report for the Bering Straits region. The report can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.

Project ID: WA2012_23

Lead Investigator: Michael Brubaker, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

Collaborators: James Berner, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; Kevin Zweifel, Norton Sound Health Corporation; Anahma Shannon, Kawerak, Inc.; Paul Eaton, Maniilaq Association; John Chase, Northwest Arctic Borough

Project Duration: 2012 - 2014

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