Research on the Seasonal Snow of the Arctic Slope

• Main Author: Benson, C. S.
• Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute. 1988
• Subjects: Mapping; Alaskan North Slope; Progress Report; Document Types; Phase Transformations; Beaufort Sea; Prudhoe Bay; Arctic Regions; Atmospheric Precipitations; Surface Waters; Coastal Waters; Melting; Wind; Topography; Seas; Variations 540110*; Seasonal Variations; Snow; Bays; Arctic Ocean; 54 Environmental Sciences; Polar Regions; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/7077187; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1184157/

The original objectives of this research included a regional study of snow on the entire Arctic Slope. During the first year the scope was restricted to the R{sub 4}D area. In the second and third years the primary focus was also on the R{sub 4}D area,but measurements were made at Prudhoe Bay, Atgasuk and Wainwright to determine the flux of wind-blown snow on a wider scale. Additional broadening of scope was discussed at the San Diego R{sub 4}D meetings in April 1986 and 1987 and at the extrapolation workshop held at Penn State University in Spring 1987. The broadening of scope has also included detailed studies of chemistry and controls exerted by large-scale advection of air masses on the longwave, thermal IR, and radiation. The latter phenomena are critical in initiating snowmelt.