Early in 2001, Bill Barber and Jay Klinck, avid kayakers and scientists, began planning a northern expedition that would take them across more than 2,000 miles of mostly untamed wilderness along the Yukon River.
At the same time, USGS scientists were making plans to study the last, unregulated great river in North America, spanning one of the largest and most diverse ecosystems in the world. Soon, the paths of kayakers and scientists would cross.
Bill and Jay are affiliated with the Center for Northern Studies; a small, not for profit, undergraduate and research institution, in Wolcott, Vermont. Having participated in science projects in remote regions, they realized that their journey down the Yukon River could provide a unique opportunity to collect water and sediment samples that would be of value to scientists studying environmental change in Alaska.
As large as Texas, the Yukon River drainage basin is changing. Air temperature records since the 1960s suggest a warming trend that may melt the permafrost and increase glacial runoff.
Climate change and associated changes in hydrology may have a direct effect on the movement of carbon and nutrients in the basin. Should they occur, these changes would influence not only the Yukon River ecosystem but also the ecosystems of the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
Yukon basin warming and permafrost melting could liberate large amounts of carbon stored as peat in the vast wetlands of the Yukon basin. Carbon release on this scale might contribute to atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
As USGS scientists and other Interior bureaus were discussing how to monitor and study these potential changes, Bill and Jay were establishing collaborative contacts through numerous conversations with the individuals at University of Alaska in Fairbanks, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Eventually, Bill and Jay found Ed Landa of the National Research Program of the USGS Water Resources Discipline in Reston, Virginia. At the time, Ed and his colleagues were looking for ways to collect preliminary water quality data along reaches of the river. When Bill and Jay called it was apparent that a fortuitous partnership was in the making.
Both parties would benefit from such a relationship; Bill and Jay, as USGS volunteers, had a greater sense of purpose and the USGS would be able to better plan the full-scale study with the information obtained.
All expeditions of this kind have a common denominator-appropriate gear. Despite all efforts to streamline the sampling equipment, the USGS scientists gave Bill and Jay enough gear to swamp their boats. With considerable effort, most of the gear was stowed and Bill and Jay shoved off the banks of the Yukon at Whitehorse, Northwest Territory, Canada, in early June.
A kayaker sits so close to the water that it is difficult to see very far ahead. At one Point, there were surprised by a line of unexpected rocks and forced to head to the right bank where they found an impressive whirlpool at least 100 feet across and swirling around several large tree trunks. Along the way, they collected 50 water and sediment samples above and below numerous tributary confluences.
They also measured several other water quality characteristics. Filtering river water loaded with fine sediment known as glacial flour proved to be a long and difficult task, especially when hoards of mosquitoes were preying on every square inch of exposed skin. "It was like the mosquitoes knew when both our hands were occupied with the filtering equipment," said bill.
"As soon as we started filtering, they suddenly appeared in the clouds." The sampling work didn't stop at filtering. Bottles had to be labeled, notes had to be recorded; and arrangements had to be made through the local villages to chill and quickly ship the samples to USGS research laboratories.
In mid-July, forty-five days and 2,000 miles down the river, Bill and Jay pulled their kayaks from the Yukon River near where it spills into the Bering Sea. The information from Bill and Jay helped develop a "starting point" for the USGS study of water quality changes along the Yukon River.
This knowledge provided insight to processes affecting the transport and fate of carbon and nutrients in the Yukon basin, and at a bargain price. Bill and jay provided data that would have otherwise cost the USGS many times the cost of their trip.
This was a unique opportunity for both parties. The USGS was provided with information crucial to the objectives of its mission; Bill and Jay cam away from the Yukon River with a sense of purpose and a treasure chest of unforgettable memories.