Uncovering the melt: Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)  and in-situ sensor synergies reveal dissolved organic  carbon (DOC) pathways in a northern peatland

Korhonen, Petra; Ala-Aho, Pertti; Kløve, Bjørn; Marttila, Hannu

doi:10.5194/hess-30-3019-2026

Articles | Volume 30, issue 10

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3019-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3019-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 30, issue 10

Research article

|

20 May 2026

Research article |

| 20 May 2026

Uncovering the melt: Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and in-situ sensor synergies reveal dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pathways in a northern peatland

Petra Korhonen, Pertti Ala-Aho, Bjørn Kløve, and Hannu Marttila

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3019-2026-supplement

Data sets

Stream monitoring and UAS snow depth maps in Puukkosuo fen, Oulanka, Spring 2024 Petra Korhonen et al. https://doi.org/10.23729/fd-bc940cd3-6cda-3ac8-a99c-f1399e602a6b

Short summary

We studied how the melting of snow affects the release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in a northern peatland. Using detailed aerial surveys of snow cover, landscape moisture, and continuous water quality measurements revealed that DOC is released as snow cover melts, especially in wetter areas. Our results show how the snowmelt patterns control DOC transport, highlighting the sensitivity of northern peatland ecosystems to climate-driven changes in snow cover.