Arctic Observatory Network (AON)

Additional webcam images can now be viewed on this site, click the 'Webcam Gallery' menu item.  We hope to create downloadable archives of images in the future.  In the meantime, please use the 'contact us' link at right to obtain past image files.

The project technician will be traveling to Cherskiy in September to assist our Russian colleagues with maintainance, calibration and some repairs to the 35 m eddy tower at Pleistocene Park.   Some damage occurred over the winter and during heavy flooding this spring.  Main items to replace are power supplies, net radiometer and the tower data and power cables.  We will add a second set of flux instruments at a lower height on the tower which will serve to better measure the vertical CO₂ gradient and help resolve spatial resolution of the flux data.

In June 2012, we will be improving our research sites at Imnavait Cr with the addition of several sensors and webcams:

• We will install an open path, fast-response methane analyzer at the Fen site.  This instrument will measure methane fluxes from the wet sedge tundra ecosystem at this site during the summer months and shoulder seasons.  This information can be combined with our existing CO₂ monitoring and with streamflow carbon data to construct a comprehensive carbon budget for the Imnavait basin.
• We will be testing a new hybrid closed path CO₂/H₂O analyzer at the Ridge site.  If the cold weather performance of this system is good, we anticipate better data coverage during the winter since the optical path is enclosed thereby avoiding ice and snow accumulation.
• In order to record seasonal changes and create a visual record of plant phenology, we are installing webcams at each of the three Inmavait Cr sites.  The cameras will be mounted at ~3m, aimed downward at the vegetation with about 20% horizon, and capture several images per day.  Our existing Ridge webcam images, as well as those at nearby Toolik Field Station, have been used to monitor snow cover, animal migration, weather conditions for field work and aviation and for troubleshooting tower instruments.  The new images will be available on this website and also as part of the PhenoCam network.

As the first step in upgrading the Tussock station to year-round operation with satellite data/communciations support, we will begin placing equipment at the site in March. A temporary expansion of the renewable energy and communication systems will precede the full upgrade this summer. We also hope to test new analyzers purchased as part of our newly funded research efforts.

We have a new paper out in Ecosphere this month discussing multiyear results of our work at Imnavait Cr.  Click here for the abstract or the full article, titled Seasonal Patterns of Carbon Dioxide and Water Fluxes in Three Representative Tundra Ecosystems in Northern Alaska.