Snow hydrology of a headwater Arctic basin: 1. Physical measurements and process studies

The hydrologic cycle of an arctic watershed is dominated by such physical elements as snow, ice, permafrost, seasonally frozen soils, wide fluctuations in surface energy balance, and phase change of snow and ice to water. Hydrologic data collected over a 5‐year period (1985–1989) from an arctic watershed in northern Alaska are presented. Processes related to snow accumulation, redistribution, ablation, evaporation and subsequent snowmelt‐generated runoff are discussed. The total water content of the snowpack at the end of winter has comprised between 28 and 40% of the annual precipitation. Redistribution of snow on the ground by the wind is a major factor in increasing the snowmelt runoff. Much of the redistributed snow accumulates in the valley bottom along the stream and also along depressions on the hillslopes. These depressions are small surface drainage channels that are referred to as water tracks. Partitioning of the snowmelt into runoff, evaporation and increased soil water storage in the active layer was carried out on the plot and watershed scale. Over a 5‐year period, the volume of snowmelt runoff varied from 50 to 66% of the average watershed snowpack, while evaporation varied from 20 to 34% and soil moisture storage increased between 10 and 19%. Much greater variation in these hydrologic components occurred at the plot scale.