Water quality parameters and constituent concentrations measured in the Peel and Arctic Red Rivers, 2007–2010

Abstract

Outflow from north-flowing circumpolar rivers has a strong influence on the Arctic Ocean. The Peel and Arctic Red Rivers are tributaries of the Mackenzie Delta, a large, lake-rich floodplain that forms the interface between the Mackenzie River and the Beaufort Sea basin of the Arctic Ocean. Here, we present water quality data that were collected from the Peel and Arctic Red Rivers between 2007 and 2010 as part of an International Polar Year project that investigated the seasonal hydrology and biogeochemistry of the Mackenzie River and its delta. The Peel River was sampled 57 times between May 2007 and September 2010 upstream of the community of Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories (NT), while the Arctic Red River was sampled 32 times between May 2007 and August 2008 (with one additional sample in June 2010) approximately 0.5 km upstream of its confluence with the Mackenzie River near the community of Tsiigehtchic, NT. Each water sample was analyzed for up to 22 water quality parameters, including water temperature, specific conductivity, pH, chlorophyll a, total suspended sediments, particulate nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus), soluble reactive silica, major ions (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate), dissolved carbon (inorganic and organic fractions), and dissolved nutrients (three nitrogen and two phosphorus fractions). This data set, which is available for download and reuse, provides important baseline information about water quality in the Peel and Arctic Red Rivers, complements other data that have been collected in these watersheds, and will be of interest to researchers, resource managers, Indigenous organizations, and governments that are active in the region.