Eddy Flux Measurements, Ridge Station, Imnavait Creek, Alaska - 2017

In contribution to the Arctic Observing Network, the researchers have established two observatories of landscape-level carbon, water and energy balances at Imnavait Creek, Alaska and at Pleistocene Park near Cherskii, Russia. These will form part of a network of observatories with Abisko (Sweden), Zackenburg (Greenland) and a location in the Canadian High Arctic which will provide further data points as part of the International Polar Year. This particular part of the project focuses on simultaneous measurements of carbon, water and energy fluxes of the terrestrial landscape at hourly, daily, seasonal and multi-year time scales. These are the major regulatory drivers of the Arctic climate system and form key linkages and feedbacks between the land surface, the atmosphere and the oceans. We will provide a comprehensive description of the state of the regional Arctic system with respect to these variables, its overall regulation and controlling features and its interaction with the global system. In support of these objectives, a 3m eddy covariance station was established on a low ridge adjacent to Imnavait Creek, Alaska. This station has been continuously monitoring carbon dioxide, water vapor, energy fluxes and various micrometeorological variables.