YK Delta Waterbody Greenhouse Gas Fluxes and Landcover, 2016-2019

Approximately 300 water samples from July 2016-2019 in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta were used to train gradient boosting models predicting dissolved methane and carbon dioxide concentrations for ~17,000 waterbodies. The models integrate Sentinel-2, Sentinel-1, DEM, and landcover data within a Google Earth Engine and SAGA workflow to estimate diffusive fluxes. Outputs include watershed landcover data and predicted fluxes in GeoTIFF and shapefile formats.

Use Cases

• Quantifying regional carbon emissions from Arctic lakes and streams based on predicted dissolved gas concentrations.
• Analyzing relationships between watershed characteristics (e.g., NDVI, slope) and aquatic greenhouse gas fluxes.
• Validating or improving earth system models that incorporate inland water carbon dynamics.
• Assessing the impact of permafrost thaw and landcover change on aquatic greenhouse gas release.

Strengths

• Model predictions cover a large spatial extent, scaling from ~300 field samples to ~17,000 waterbodies.
• Integrates a multi-sensor remote sensing approach (Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, DEM) with machine learning.
• Provides both flux estimates and underlying watershed landcover data in standard geospatial formats.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is medium; specific column names and exact file sizes are not provided.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2019 vs. 2026), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Flux calculations rely on a single, averaged gas transfer velocity (0.33 m/d) which may not capture spatial variability.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field observations scaled via gradient boosting models using remote sensing and terrain drivers processed in Google Earth Engine and SAGA.

Time Range

2016-2019

Freshness

2026-04-10 04:35:59.259350

Geography

Central-interior Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, USA