61 
Nutrient Regimes of Soils, 
Landscapes, Lakes, and Streams, 
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska 
LOWELL A. DOUGLAS and AYTEKIN BILGIN* 
Department of Soils and Crops 
Rutgers University 
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 
Introduction 
The concentration of many nutrients in a 
hydrological system may be defined as functions 
of the rate of solubilization and dilution effects. 
The former includes sources of nutrients derived 
from mineral and organic soil and sediments and 
precipitation, and the latter includes climatic 
and geomorphic factors. In this study we have 
investigated streams and lakes near Prudhoe Bay 
to define climatic, geomorphic, and soil factors 
which affect the amount of dissolved nutrients 
found in these tundra drainage systems. 
Durum and Haffty (1961) concluded that 
the major sources of nutrients in streams and 
lakes were weathering and soil formation. 
Cleaves et al. (1970) concluded that in some 
watersheds ‘‘chemical weathering presently is 
the dominant agent of erosion.’’ Several investi- 
gators have reported differences in the quantities 
of dissolved nutrients in streams and lakes 
(Brown et al. 1962; Kalff 1968; Toth and Ott 
1969). These investigators have sampled water 
bodies associated with geologic formations of 
contrasting composition. In this study we inves- 
tigated the effect of soil types, all of which had 
been developed from the same parent material 
(geologic formation), on the nutrient level of 
several arctic streams and lakes. Included in this 
“Deceased. 
study was an evaluation of the proportion of 
fertilizer that will be lost to surface runoff after 
application on tundra soils. The results present- 
ed are part of a doctoral dissertation that was 
completed as this volume went to press (Bilgin 
1975). 
Methods 
Water sampling was initiated in late June 
1971 approximately 40 days after spring thaw 
and continued through August. The 1972 
sampling was initiated in early June at the time 
of spring thaw and continued through mid- 
August. 
During 1971 investigations, one 1-liter 
sample was passed through a column of mixed- 
bed ion exchange resin; the rest was used for the 
determination of carbonate, bicarbonate, and 
chloride titrimetrically (Brown et al. 1962). The 
column was returned to Rutgers University, 
eluted with 100 ml of 2.5 N HCI, and calcium, 
magnesium, potassium, and sodium were deter- 
mined by atomic absorption. Phenyl mercuric 
acetate was added to the second set of samples 
and stored. At 3-week intervals these samples 
were taken to the Naval Arctic Research Labora- 
tory at Barrow and ammonia-nitrogen, phos- 
phate, and ferrous and ferric iron were deter- 
mined colorimetrically using Hach methods. 
