Cold Soak

Posted by Sam Wright on behalf of Cathy Wilson

The charter flight from Nome to Barrow could have been called the “Arctic geomorphology express”. We had great views of periglacial features that included giant solifluction lobes, polygonal ground, thermokarst ponds and lakes, water tracks, pingos and more.  While some features of the landscape remained the same from site to site, others changed dramatically.  One surprise was the juxtaposition of patches of high and low centered polygonal ground throughout most of the transect from Nome to Barrow.   This suggests that permafrost and ice wedge degradation is taking place across the Arctic, driven by small differences in topography, soils, drainage and other factors that were indiscernible from our low flying plane.  The exception was our first stop, Council, where there was little evidence of polygonal ground of any type. Were ice wedge polygons pervasive in the past and now nearly completely obscured by intensive thermokarst? Most puzzling was the extent of permafrost degradation in the Barrow area. How could someplace so cold have so many high centered polygons and so much thermokarst?

 

 

 

These are just a couple of questions that piqued our curiosity and fueled our growing Arctic fever. By the time we landed in Barrow we were ready to get our feet wet and hands dirty in the pursuit of Arctic science… and that’s when we got a taste of how hard it is to work in a remote, cold, and environmentally sensitive location like Barrow.  We went from T-shirts in Council to layers of down and Gortex in Barrow, in August! At each of our stops we gained an appreciation for the need to deploy monitoring infrastructure that is resistant to bears (does anything stop a bear?) and foxes (flexible metal conduit for cables), protects the tundra (board walks and tundra mats) and operates/survives at 40 below zero (new phrase for NGEE neophytes: “cold soak” eg. test instruments at extreme cold temperatures before purchasing).  In this environment, even a met tower can warm the permafrost and generate its own thermokarst.  In addition to the infrastructure associated with “science” we developed a new sense of what constitutes luxury accommodation in remote, extreme Arctic towns and villages. By the time we packed up to head home, the women’s quonset hut felt like the “penthouse suite”.

 

Photos on this post were taken by Cathy Wilson

Microtopography. Microheterogeneity. Microbiology. - Dave Graham

Nine flights in Alaska last week reminded me how far the tundra spans in this state that is 14-times the size of Tennessee. Polygonal features cover the ground like a giant jigsaw puzzle.


Standing in the middle of the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO), you can see for miles in any direction. Only the much-welcome power lines break up the landscape. The largest permafrost degradation features rise only ~80 cm from the surrounding troughs. But a few centimeters make all the difference to the fauna, and probably the microbes as well. Liquid water is precious for the cotton grass in saturated depressions and the rootless sphagnum moss that forms tight clusters in moist terrain. Microtopography begets microheterogeneity.







While polygons and vegetation stand out from above, the subsurface is a bustling metropolis of microbial activity. The temperature drops from a chilly 4 degrees C (air) to 3.5 degrees C (surface water) to 2 degrees C (dry ground). Microbes in this cold active layer busily degrade dying plant material, but we know much less about the microbes that are degrading old, long-buried biomass from the thawing permafrost of high-centered polygons. The nutrients and gasses released by this microbial activity are key to understanding the tundra’s future vegetation and climate. I would expect the variations in microtopography and water distribution to have a huge effect on microbial heterogeneity. I look forward to returning during ‘drilling season’ to sample cores of this hidden world.

This was a wonderful trip from all aspects. Our team learned a great deal about the properties and processes of arctic soils, permafrost, hydrology, and vegetation dynamics, and also discovered the logistical challenges associated with working in such remote areas. The conditions were perfect to experience the Arctic at its best, which may disguise how truly difficult working in these areas can be. But, at this stage where we are trying to select sites that completely encompass the range of conditions and match the needs of all disciplines, it was certainly an optimum time to be there. We were lucky, but I believe the team was also ready to face the worst. It looked like everyone had assembled good quality gear to remain dry and warm under what can be tough working conditions. It will probably not be possible for me to accompany each team on their first trip back to the sites, but I think the team leaders have learned enough to be self-sufficient. I will try to accompany them, or send some of my people until we are confident all groups can operate safely. We will rely heavily upon our logistical providers to help us operate safely, but we have much training and many more discussions are needed before we reach that point.

We easily found sites that fit our needs in terms of a range of permafrost degradation. In Council, all of the permafrost is warm and degrading and we see vast evidence of thermokarst and shrub invasion. Along the transect between Council and Barrow, we discovered hundreds of sites of with evidence of degradation, and consequent impacts to the ecosystem. In Atqasuk, we discovered the best site for pristine low-centered polygons, see next image as an example.



We were surprised to see the extensive amounts of advanced permafrost degradation in terms of high centered polygons.




We can not say for certain what is causing this degradation, but I guess that is why we are doing the research. The process of the permafrost degradation is important to the ecosystem, to the hydrology and to the climate. We can understand its impacts, and we can predict the process... we just cannot explain where and why it will occur.



Much work remains to be done. We have a strong team, and we are committed to working with knowledgeable scientists who have conducted related research in the past or are actively conducting relevant research presently. Such complementary studies will help greatly in leveraging our measurements and extending our understanding.

Alaska Seen Through a Camera Lens

The team that participated in this week's trip to Alaska represented a terrific group of people. The cast of characters spanned a broad range of scientific disciplines from plant and microbial ecology to hydrology to subsurface science and geophysics. Through this blog you had the opportunity to read their unique perspectives on the places we visited; Nome, Council, Kougaruk, Ivotuk, Atqasuk, and Barrow. You also had the chance to read how each perceives the challenges we face in conducting research on the Seward Peninsula and the North Slope. These landscapes are complex, but our approach is a strong one and this team is ready to move forward with a scope of work that will ultimately lead to improved understanding of basic Arctic processes and the modeling of those in support of improved climate change predictions.

Our team also included a photographer, Roy Kaltschmidt from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Roy took many of the pictures that you have seen this week scattered throughout our postings. His contributions to the NGEE project are easy to spot as they reflect a perspective that can only come from a thoughtful analysis of the lighting, colors, angles, and composition of the scene in question. The majority of our team used their cameras to record an event, Roy used his to capture, and in some cases create, an impression. This proved to be a distinguishing feature of his work.


Roy was present throughout our trip and sat in on our community meetings, project presentations, and field site visits. He never seemed to grow tired. However, while we were having lunch or dinner, possible before breakfast, Roy would often "go missing" only to return 15 to 30 minutes later with stories of people and places he saw around the towns and villages we visited. There was an interesting encounter with the circus clown in Nome and a Snowy Owl in Barrow. As a result of Roy's curiosity hundreds of pictures emerged over the course of our trip. Those pictures do much more than simply record our trip.

I want to thank Roy for joining our team this week. We will compile his photographs and, with his permission, make them available for viewing through the NGEE web site or another site that Roy may designate. We will work out those details and announce that site within the next couple of weeks. We hope that you will then be able to enjoy more of Roy's view of the Arctic.

Landscapes of the Future

Our team has been in Alaska for a week now and we have seen some pretty amazing places; today was no exception. The community of Barrow, together with the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC), is a strong advocate for scientific research on the North Slope. This advocacy was so strong that the community created the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO), a 7,450 acre outdoor laboratory for Arctic science. Our destination today was the BEO and we were looking forward to it!


The BEO is home to numerous field research projects. We know many of the scientists who are working on the BEO and their projects. It was fun to pick out experimental "landmarks" associated with the various projects that dot the surrounding landscape. These included boardwalks and robotic tram systems of the Biocomplexity Experiment; the tower that supports the BEO eddy covariance instrument; the passive warming chambers of the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX); and many others.

Over the course of the day we were able to identify an area of the BEO that contained what appeared to be the right mix of features that we had hoped to find; polygons. Arctic tundra is widely known for patterned or polygonal ground that forms due to rapid changes in temperatures, repeated freeze-thaw cycles, and formation of ice wedges within permafrost. What we observed on the BEO was a landscape where low-centered polygons were in transition to high-centered polygons in a complex process associated with permafrost degradation. These transitions drive not only changes in topography, but hydrology, carbon and nitrogen cycles, vegetation dynamics, and net energy exchange. The NGEE project hopes to study these transitional landscapes, the processes responsible for them, and how they drive ecosystem-climate feedbacks at regional to global scales. It looks like we can accomplish all these objectives by working on the BEO. Our next step will be to discuss this with other scientists who are conducting research in the area and get their input before we proceed much further.

Our excitement in locating what we think is a great research site on the BEO was tempered somewhat by the fact that most of our team departs Alaska tonight. Margaret Torn will stay an extra day or two to work at the DOE/BER Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) site and to present a Schoolyard Saturday talk for local residents. These talks are educational and outreach activities hosted by BASC with the goal of more closely integrating the community into science being conducted on the BEO and elsewhere. The NGEE project is pleased to support this program and our team appreciates Margaret's willingness to help us connect so early in our project with the local community.

Seeking the Wild Sphagnum

Posted by Sam Wright on behalf of Rich Norby

One of my primary objectives for this trip has been to learn some of the plants and plant communities of the tundra. I've read about them, of course, and looked at photos, but nothing compares with seeing them live. I've been especially interested in the Sphagnum species. Sphagnum mosses are really cool. They shape the environment in important ways, and they should be good indicators of changes in site hydrology. We saw a lot of Sphagnum at the Council site on Tuesday. One of the species is probably S. fuscum. I don't want to guess at the other species, but I collected samples to send to the experts. Even without knowing species, it was clear that some species were morphologically adapted for relatively drier conditions and some for wetter conditions. This differetiation creates interesting research opportunities. As we moved north on Wednesday, I saw progressively less Sphagnum. From what I had read, I didn't expect to see any Sphagnum here in Barrow, but I did see some yesterday, and perhaps when we get back out field site today, I'll see more.

 

Posted by Sam Wright on behalf of Larry Hinzman

Today was another good day for site selection and team building for the NGEE program. We met today with community leaders from Barrow, who not only welcomed our request to conduct research near their community, but also encouraged the initiation of this project by telling us of more evidence of warming in the Arctic. The Barrow community leaders spoke of willows, ground squirrels and salmon berries all thriving where they had never existed in living memory. They suggested numerous sites where we could conduct research to document and understand these changes. We discussed the goals of the NGEE project and our approach of integrating the science of many disciplines in Council to Barrow, and eventually in a transect between the two.

The community leaders and the many researchers who are already working here have been very welcoming and helpful in sharing their knowledge and ideas. Many have encouraged us to incorporate traditional or local knowledge into our studies. They have also asked that we present our reports and findings in formats that are understandable and useful for community members. It is often difficult for researchers, who are accustomed to analyzing measurements collected over periodic time series or spatial grids to incorporate observations of changes in species, stocks or fluxes, but these observations can provide key information in deciding what to monitor and where to establish our research sites.

Barrow offers no limitations in selecting sites that could provide valuable information. On the contrary, it will be difficult to settle on one area, as many of the places we visited today appear prime to experience substantial permafrost degradation in coming years. The amount of thermokarsting was somewhat surprising to me, but perhaps I have never been searching so diligently for thermokarst before. Barrow is quite cold and I expected the permafrost to be stable with signs of degradation only in areas that have experienced disturbance. It will be necessary to acquire aerial photography from the 1950s and 1980s to see if these are new features and/or to determine how quickly they are changing. Many sites could satisfy our scientific objectives, so we also have the opportunity to consider other factors such as availability of historic data, previous studies, logistical demands, opportunity to collaborate with on-going research, and availability of electricity and telemetry. The ARM site was particularly attractive due to the tremendous amount of historical observations and on-going measurements of very relevant meteorological variables.  Plus, there is a mix of low-centered and high-centered polygonal ground in the area, indicating both stable and degrading permafrost.  It is nice to be in a position where we have so many good options.

Arctic Biota: Amazing and Abundant

Walking on the tundra feels like walking on sponges. Wet sponges, to be exact.

We have now looked at potential research sites spanning from Council to Barrow. What has surprised me most is the density and variety of the vegetation across the region. Other than areas disturbed by man, it is hard to find bare soil. Every square inch is covered in a deep mat of actively growing plants. Since there isn't much grazing pressure at the sites we've visited, we've been treated to lush vegetation, including an abundance of wild berries and flowers.

This environment is one of abundance and deprivation. Looking at the current abundance, it is difficult to remember that for much of the year the plants and animals are just barely hanging on, waiting for next summer. That realization makes me want to tread lightly as I walk. I don't want to hinder their chance for survival.

Enjoyed Anchorage, Now off to Nome

Posted by Sam Wright on behalf of Stan Wullschleger
 
It was a long day getting to Anchorage, but arrived at the Ted Stevens International Airport late on Saturday afternoon. Checked into hotel and decided to go for an evening run on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Twenty hours of daylight makes this an easy decision. The Coastal Trail goes along the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet for 10 miles or more to the west of Anchorage. I was impressed by the scenery and by the number of people out enjoying the trail.

Left the hotel early Sunday morning with plenty of time to check-in for the flight to Nome and get through security. On the way to the airport the shuttle dropped off a party of hunters at Lake Hood. There are hundreds of seaplanes around the perimeter of this lake. I was told that 1 in 30 residents of Anchorage have a pilots license. My son, Kevin, is a pilot and currently training to be an air traffic controller. He and his buddies in Oklahoma City would enjoy this aspect of the Anchorage area.

I met Larry Hinzman at the airport, along with Bob Busey also from UAF, and we traveled together to Nome. Its a 90 minute flight in an Alaska Airlines 737 Combi. The cabin area of these planes is divided to carry cargo in the front  and passengers in the back. Nome can only be reached by barge or plane, and thus the airlines take every opportunity to transport people and supplies to this coastal town.

We spent much of the day in Nome visiting the handful of hardware stores and checking on the availability of general supplies needed for field research. Bob has a lot of practical experience working in the area and knows his way around. We drove out of town to the top of Anvil Mountain. Anvil Mountain was a military radar site at one time; now it provides a good location for the deployment of communication towers. Bob, Larry, and others from UAF maintain a repeater at this site along with a weather station. The repeater allows data from several sites to be gathered remotely using telemetry and then downloaded to a web-accessible site at the university in Fairbanks. From there, data can be processed and shared among project participants and with the larger scientific community. This capability will be an asset for any research site we might establish on the Seward Peninsula as part of the NGEE project.

Tonight Larry, Bob, and I will have dinner with a colleague of Larry's who lives in Nome. This will be a good opportunity to learn more about the area and to discuss our plans to potentially conduct at least a portion of our research near Council. Council is located about 1.5 hours drive northeast of Nome and has been the site of several successful research campaigns including ATLAS. Council lies at a zone of transition (i.e., ecotone) between boreal forests, shrub lands, and tundra. It is a hotspot for rapid changes in permafrost stability, surface hydrology, and vegetation dynamics. The rest of our team arrives tomorrow and we will visit this site on Tuesday.

As for Monday we meet with representatives of CH2MHill Polar Services to discuss logistical support at Council and then have an afternoon meeting planned with local community leaders and representatives of several state and federal agencies. We have prepared to short presentation on the NGEE project. It should be a good day and we look forward to receiving constructive feedback on our plans.

A Grid Cell Outside My Window

Posted by Sam Wright on behalf of Stan Wullschleger

Today I am flying to Anchorage where I will stay the night before departing for the Seward Peninsula and Nome on Sunday morning. My plan is to join Larry Hinzman, Director of the UAF International Arctic Research Center (IARC) for discussions with local leaders who are interested in the status of our NGEE project. Other members of our team will arrive on Monday.

Our plane left the Seattle/Tacoma airport 15 minutes ago and the pilot just announced that we had reached our cruising altitude of 30,000 feet. Looking out the window, and resisting the temptation to fall asleep, I am reminded that climate models include land surface components that are parameterized at a scale similar to the landscape that stretches out below me. A grid cell depicts the spatial resolution of a climate model and is frequently measured in hundreds of square kilometers. At this scale it is possible to distinguish only broad characteristics of ecosystems. The structural and functional diversity that I know is present within these ecosystems when viewed on the ground, is seen as only different shades of green from this altitude. That becomes a problem when we try to represent critical processes that are important but must do so at scales far larger than those at which ecology, hydrology, plant and energy dynamics, and biogeochemical cycles play out on the landscape. High-resolution models where the grid cell is much smaller in size than that used in today's models are needed if we are to adequately represent this surface and subsurface complexity in climate models. Peter Thornton, a scientist at ORNL and a member of our NGEE team, emphasized this in a presentation last week. He indicated that high-resolution, process-rich models can help integrate results from field and lab research into climate models where the goal is to improve predictions at regional and global scales. While clearly an ambitious undertaking, we envision that the NGEE project with its combination of field observations, lab experiments, and process modeling can ultimately provide this high-resolution simulation capability for Arctic landscapes. It will be an exciting week as our team considers this goal while seeing first-hand the complexity of ecosystems across Alaska.