Observed median July temperatures in eleven headwater streams by the Agashashok, Cutler, and Imelyak rivers in the Noatak river basin.
Observed median July temperatures in eleven headwater streams with varying near-stream (< 1 km) permafrost extent, by the Agashashok, Cutler, and Imelyak rivers in the Noatak river basin. A total of 51 sensors (3 to 6 in each stream) were used for monitoring water temperatures. Error bars show mean values for the coldest and warmest sensor in each stream. (Data from Obu et al., 2018 and Jorgensen et al., 2009.) Credit: Sjöberg et al. [2021], Figures 1 and 2
Source: Water Resources Research

Temperature is a key water quality variable, and there has been growing concern that climate warming is driving an increase in stream temperature in many regions. Stream warming can have a range of impacts on aquatic ecology, such as increased prevalence of conditions including proliferative kidney disease in brown trout and shifts in fish species assemblages. Climate warming has also been associated with increasingly widespread permafrost thawing.

Sjöberg et al. [2021] present evidence for a novel and seemingly counter-intuitive hypothesis: that thawing permafrost may result in lower summer stream temperatures. Considering the ongoing and widespread occurrence of permafrost thaw, these results have broad-ranging significance, particularly in relation to aquatic ecology and fish habitat.

Citation: Sjöberg, Y., Jan, A., Painter, S. L., Coon, E. T., Carey, M. P., O’Donnell, J. A., & Koch, J. C. [2021]. Permafrost promotes shallow groundwater flow and warmer headwater streams. Water Resources Research, 57, e2020WR027463. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027463

—Dan Moore, Associate Editor, Water Resources Research

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