Hydrologic modeling of an arctic tundra watershed: Toward Pan-Arctic predictions

A simple land surface model is used to explore the dynamics of the hydrolog ic cycle operating in arctic tundra regions. The model accounts for the top ographic control of surface hydrology, ground thermal processes, and snow p hysics. The approach described relies only on the statistics of the topogra phy rather than the details of the topography and is therefore computationa lly inexpensive and compatible with the large spatial scales of today's cli mate models. As such, the model can easily be applied on an arctic-wide bas is to explore issues ranging from the delivery of seasonal melt water to th e Arctic Ocean to impacts of climate change on the hydrologic cycle.