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PAGE21 project was featured in a plenary session "Permafrost in the 21st century" at the 2015 Arctic Circle conference in Reykjavik,...
Blog Tundra Stories: Snow Measuring Station
Friday, 20 July 2012
It has been a bit more than a week since we landed on Samoylov and started our field work.
Snow Pack Analyzer 2012, photo: Max HeikenfeldMost days it has been over 20 degrees Celsius and under the mosquito shirts, it has been almost as warm as in our Banja, the Russian sauna. Every day we load our expedition sled with construction materials for our snow measuring station and drag it to the center of the island. Snow measuring station and sleigh in summer at 20 degrees Celsius?
No doubt, in the Arctic, there can be extreme weather phenomena, but even for snow at the moment it is also too hot and we don't expect snow before late September. We use sleds in the summer to transport heavy things across the tundra. On the damp peat that works almost as well as on snow and is much more comfortable to use than something on the back.
But why does a snow measuring station will be built in the summer and what it has to do with the permafrost?
Snow consists of a very loose structure of ice crystals and includes a lot of air. Like all porous materials such as foam, snow is a very good thermal insulator and prevents the cooling of the soil in winter. The ability of the snow cover to protect the ground depends primarily on the snow depth and the thermal properties of snow. This sounds simple but is very difficult to measure. Depending on wind strength and direction, there can be found piles of snow behind small hills, whereas in wind exposed areas there will hardly be any snow. The insulating properties of snow are highly variable, because snow crystals change over time and form distinct layers in the snow. With our measuring instruments, we try to capture many of these factors. With the help of a 15-meter-long skeleton, we want to measure ultrasonic sensors, the differences in snow depth. In addition, we have built an instrument with which we can, using long sensor bands throughout the winter, capture the changes in snow density. The snow temperature is measured with thin needles to various depths. If our instruments are ready, we need only wait the snow to fall in the winter. If nothing breaks, we can collect the data the next summer and learn more about the snow during the winter and how the permafrost was affected.
Greetings,
Moritz
______________________________________
Main page of the English translation of the blog "Tundra Stories": http://page21.org/blogs/59-samoylov
Original blog in German: http://www.awi.de/de/go/Tundra-Stories
It has been a bit more than a week since we landed on Samoylov and started our field work.
Snow Pack Analyzer 2012, photo: Max HeikenfeldMost days it has been over 20 degrees Celsius and under the mosquito shirts, it has been almost as warm as in our Banja, the Russian sauna. Every day we load our expedition sled with construction materials for our snow measuring station and drag it to the center of the island. Snow measuring station and sleigh in summer at 20 degrees Celsius?No doubt, in the Arctic, there can be extreme weather phenomena, but even for snow at the moment it is also too hot and we don't expect snow before late September. We use sleds in the summer to transport heavy things across the tundra. On the damp peat that works almost as well as on snow and is much more comfortable to use than something on the back.
But why does a snow measuring station will be built in the summer and what it has to do with the permafrost?
Snow consists of a very loose structure of ice crystals and includes a lot of air. Like all porous materials such as foam, snow is a very good thermal insulator and prevents the cooling of the soil in winter. The ability of the snow cover to protect the ground depends primarily on the snow depth and the thermal properties of snow. This sounds simple but is very difficult to measure. Depending on wind strength and direction, there can be found piles of snow behind small hills, whereas in wind exposed areas there will hardly be any snow. The insulating properties of snow are highly variable, because snow crystals change over time and form distinct layers in the snow. With our measuring instruments, we try to capture many of these factors. With the help of a 15-meter-long skeleton, we want to measure ultrasonic sensors, the differences in snow depth. In addition, we have built an instrument with which we can, using long sensor bands throughout the winter, capture the changes in snow density. The snow temperature is measured with thin needles to various depths. If our instruments are ready, we need only wait the snow to fall in the winter. If nothing breaks, we can collect the data the next summer and learn more about the snow during the winter and how the permafrost was affected.
Greetings,
Moritz
______________________________________
Main page of the English translation of the blog "Tundra Stories": http://page21.org/blogs/59-samoylov
Original blog in German: http://www.awi.de/de/go/Tundra-Stories