During a five-year period, which represents the entire project span, the research team performed
discharge measurements on seven gaging stations distributed on the National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska (NPR-A), an area of approximately 23 million acres that extends from the north side of
the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean. Specifically, 225 discharge measurements were taken
during that period. In addition, records of air temperature and rainfall, as well as wind speed and
wind direction from stations that collected such data were analyzed. The air temperature data
indicate that the entire region followed a pronounced warming trend, ending with the 2010/2011
winter, which was the warmest winter recorded at the stations. Rainfall data suggest a trend in
increasing precipitation during the summer months from the coastal plain to the foothill area.
Unusually dry conditions were experienced over the entire area in 2007 and in 2011. The overall
highest mean wind speed was recorded in June at the two stations where wind data were
available; the lowest mean wind speed was recorded in December at one station and in March at
the other station. Wind roses indicate two main wind directions—roughly from the northeast and
southwest—with winds from the northeast predominant.List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iv
Acknowledgments and Disclaimer ................................................................................................. v
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 2 Discharge Measurements ...................................................................................... 3
2.1 Fieldwork ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 3 Meteorological Data ............................................................................................ 10
3.1 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 11
3.2 Results ............................................................................................................................ 11
3.2.1 Rainfall .................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.2 Air Temperature ...................................................................................................... 15
3.2.3 Wind ........................................................................................................................ 20
CHAPTER 4 Information Technology ...................................................................................... 28
4.1 Aquatic Informatics Aquarius Software ......................................................................... 28
4.2 Telemetry Data Retrieval ............................................................................................... 28
4.3 Near-Real-Time Data Delivery Online .......................................................................... 28
4.4 Information Technology Infrastructure .......................................................................... 30
References ..................................................................................................................................... 31
Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 3
