ARCTIC Spatial Representativeness of Climatic Data from Baffin Island, N.W.T., with Implications for Muskoxen and Caribou Distribution
ABSTRACT. Climatic records from often widely scattered arctic stations are commonly used to draw conclusions about such matters as wildlife habitat and distribution, yet little is known about the validity of extrapolating from such limited data. Statistical tests of meteorological network representa...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1988
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.584.4450 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic42-1-50.pdf |
| Summary: | ABSTRACT. Climatic records from often widely scattered arctic stations are commonly used to draw conclusions about such matters as wildlife habitat and distribution, yet little is known about the validity of extrapolating from such limited data. Statistical tests of meteorological network representativeness can be applied where station numbers and record length permit. Such an analysis was carried out on 29 years of temperature and precipitation data from five stations in central Baffin Island and Foxe Basin. It was found that seasonal temperatures and degree-days correlate highly across the region, indicating that interpolation and extrapolation can be carried out with confidence. Such was not the case for rainfall, snowfall, and depth of snow cover, all of which showed large extrapolation errors over modest (mesoscale) distances. This is attributed to the intrinsic variability of precipitation in the region and, in the case of snowfall and snow depth, the inadequacy of the measurement method. The results have been applied in an evaluation of suggestions concerning climatic constraints on the distribution and numbers of muskoxen and caribou, with the conclusion that the data do not support a causal relationship based on climate. Key words: climate, spatial representativeness, Baffin Island, muskoxen, caribou RÉSUMÉ. Des données climatiques de stations arctiques souvent très éloignées les unes des autres, sont couramment utilisées pour tirer des conclusions sur des questions telles que l’habitat et la distribution de la faune, mais on ne sait pas grand chose de la validité des extrapolations àpartir de données aussi limitées. Là où le nombre de stations et la durée des observations le permettent, on peut appliquer des tests statistiques pour savoir si le réseau météorologique est représentatif. Une analyze de ce genre a été effectuée avec des données de température et de précipitation recueillies sur une durée de 29 ans, dans cinq stations du centre de la terre de Baffin et du bassin de Foxe. On a trouvé que les ... |
|---|