Seasonal Snow of Arctic Alaska R4D Investigations. Final Report

• Main Author: Benson, C. S.
• Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute. 1993
• Subjects: Alaska; Solar Radiation; Snow; 58 Geosciences; Atmospheric Chemistry; Geosciences; Progress Report 580000; Wind; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/10102355; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1272301/

Seasonal snow is present on the Arctic Slope of Alaska for nine months each year. Its presence or absence determines whether 80% of the solar radiation is reflected or absorbed, respectively. Although life on the Arctic Slope is adapted to, and in some cases dependent upon seasonal snow, little is known about it from a scientific point of view. Its quantity has been grossly underestimated, and knowledge of its distribution and the extent of wind transport and redistribution is very limited. This research project dealt with the amount, regional distribution and physical properties of wind blown snow and its biological role in the R4D area of the Arctic Slope. Physical processes which operate within the snow that were studied included the flux of heat and vapor and the fractionation of stable isotopes through it during fall and winter, and the complex heat and mass transfer within the snow and between snow, its substrate and the overlying atmosphere during the melt period.