Physical parameters
Discharge and temperature data for the Kuparuk have been collected with
different instruments as technology evolved over the ~40
years of this monitoring initiative. In the early years of the
experiment, temperature and stream height were recorded manually each
day. Since 1993, data loggers have measured stream temperature and
stream height at regular intervals. Discharge measurements were taken at
a variety of stage heights throughout the summer using a Gurley meter,
Marsh McBirney portable water current meter, or SonTek FlowTracker. From
1993 through 2017, the University of Alaska Fairbanks’s Water and
Environmental Research Center (WERC) produced the official Kuparuk
discharge record. High flow measurements were taken during spring
freshet using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Within season
discharge was measured periodically by the Arctic LTER and at the end of
the season, a consolidated rating curve was developed. Typically a
pressure transducer (e.g. Onset HOBO U20) was used to provide continuous
stage data. The consolidated rating curve was then applied to continuous
stage height measurements to produce continuous discharge estimates.
Temperature was recorded by a variety of means over the years, including
thermometer measurements in early years, but more recently, Campbell
data loggers, and HOBO pressure transducers.