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.