Fish Creek Watershed Observatory

Monitoring Aquatic Habitat in the Context of Land-use and Climate Change Impacts in Arctic Alaska

Station Name:
Crea Creek
Latitude:
N 70.289°
Longitude:
W 151.312°
Elevation:
3.9 masl
Drainage Area:
28.9 km2
Record:
2009 – present
Purpose:

This station was established to collect baseline data prior to development of ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc.'s GMT1 (CD-6) project in which a permanent road and stream crossing are planned within this watershed. In addition to stream gauging and water quality monitoring, several fish ecology and aquatic habitat studies have been conducted in this beaded stream-thermokarst lake system as part of the FCWO.

Crea Creek watershed map
Crea Creek

Fyke nets set in Crea Creek channel for study of Arctic Grayling migration and habitat use in late June.

Crea Creek plot

Select Published Studies on Crea Creek:

  • Heim, K. C., M. S. Wipfli, M. S. Whitman, C. D. Arp, J. Adams, and J. A. Falke. 2015. Environmental cues of Arctic grayling seasonal movement in a small Arctic stream: the importance of surface water connectivity. Environmental Biology of Fishes DOI 10.1007/s10641-015-0453-x
  • Jones, B. M., A. Gusmeroli, C. D. Arp, T. Strozzi, G. Grosse, B. V. Gaglioti, and M. S. Whitman. 2013. Classification of freshwater ice conditions on the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain using ground penetrating radar and TerraSAR-X satellite data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 34(23): 8253-8265.