UNDERSTANDING INFLOW STREAM DISCHARGE AND SEDIMENT FLUX VARIABILITY, LINNEDALEN, SVALBARD

High latitude arctic regions are experiencing rapid climate change. Linnedalen (Linne Valley) in the Svalbard archipelago is an excellent research field site to study and monitor glacier mass balances of Linnebreen (Linne glacier), meltwater stream discharge of Linneelva (linne river), and sedimentation of Linnevatnet (Lake Linne). Studying the short term dynamic relationships between the glacier, stream, and lake of Linnedalen can provide a baseline for mapping out modern Holocene climatic events. The focus of my research is the fluvial system of Linneelva. I examined the correlation between short term weather conditions, discharge, and sediment flux. I related river stage and discharge to develop a rating curve that allowed me to infer river sediment transport. I also analyzed suspended sediment samples to attain grain size and distribution at the lake inlet. My results indicate an overall decrease in discharge, stage, and sediment concentration for the field reserch time. The rating curve had an R² value of 0.8835, which is a fairly high correlation between stage and discharge. These results will help enhance future data collection techniques and will be used to interpret sedimentation and sedimentation rate variations in Linnevatnet.