ABSTRACT OPP-9708997 SMITH UNIV. CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES This project is designed to achieve a better understanding of the timing, volume, and biogeochemistry of freshwater runoff from the land surface to the Arctic Ocean. Rivers, deltas, and estuaries experience or influence a variety of processes that are relevant to problems of global change, such as greenhouse gas emissions, the surface energy balance, and biogeochemical cycling, and the delivery of freshwater, sediment, and nutrients to the Arctic shelf environment. The proposed study would use multi-temporal high resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and visible/near-infrared satellite data in combination with Russian ground station observations to assess: (1) the timing and volume of freshwater delivery to the Arctic Ocean; (2) the timing and magnitude of seasonal inundation of the land surface, and the indentification of those rivers that actively exchange water, sediment, and nutrients with surrounding aquatic ecosystems; and (3) the relationship between temperature, river outflows, and freeze-up/break-up of river, estuary, and shelf ice.
