Water quality data for lakes on the North Slope of Alaska

A regional assessment of thermokarst lakes across the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska was conducted using satellite images to detect changes in lake coverage and morphometry during the satellite era. This effort was supplemented by the use of digital aerial photographs to extend the analysis back to ~1950, and to assess temporal patterns of change. The analyses were augmented by summer field studies focused on lake evaporation, seasonal and interannual changes in fundamental lake characteristics, and collection of lake water temperature and bathymetry in three study areas. The measurement program is designed to map patterns of shoreline changes, monitor interannual variations in lake levels, and estimate energy and moisture exchange between lakes and the atmosphere. In summer 2008, lakes near Barrow were studied and instrumented. In 2009, the focus was on lakes further inland near Atqasuk. In 2010, lakes near the Arctic Coastal Plain-Arctic Foothills were studied.