Hydrological Response of a Patchy High Arctic Wetland

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 317-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy L. Young ◽  
Ming-ko Woo
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Snow Storage ◽  
Streamflow Response ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Surface And Subsurface Flow ◽  
Present Understanding

High Arctic patchy wetlands are ecological oases in a polar desert environment and are vulnerable to climatic warming. At present, understanding of their responses to external factors (climate and terrain) is limited. This study examines a wetland located in a topographic depression maintained by seasonal snowmelt, ground ice melt and lateral inflows. The wetland is located on Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada. Hydrological, climatological and soil observations were made over several summers with different weather conditions. The summers of 1996 and 1997 were cool and wet but the summer of 1998 was warm and dry. The melt in 1996 was rapid due to rain on snow events and only lasted six days. Deeper snow in 1997 prolonged the melt season to 18 days. A shallow snow-cover in 1998 and early melt depleted the snow by early June. Surface, groundwater and storage fluctuations in the wetland were dictated by snowmelt, rainfall, evaporation loss from the wetland and lateral inputs which in turn were controlled by the melting of the late-lying snow storage in the catchment. Soil factors influence the spatial variations in ground thaw which affects the surface and subsurface flow. Streamflow response of the wetland reflects a nival regime and augmentation of streamflow thoughout the summer season in all three years is supported by multiple water sources: ground ice melt and suprapermafrost water from a large late-lying snowpack. Overall, this study suggests that the survival of some patchy wetlands depends on their interaction with the surrounding basin, with a dependency probably being more important during warm and dry seasons.

scholarly journals Ground ice melt in the high Arctic leads to greater ecological heterogeneity

2015 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Becker ◽  
T. Jonathan Davies ◽  
Wayne H. Pollard
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Ice Melt

scholarly journals An estimate of ice wedge volume for a High Arctic polar desert environment, Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3589-3604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Bernard-Grand'Maison ◽  
Wayne Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Ellesmere Island ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Polar Desert ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Carbon Release ◽  
Wedge Volume

Abstract. Quantifying ground-ice volume on a regional scale is necessary to assess the vulnerability of permafrost landscapes to thaw-induced disturbance like terrain subsidence and to quantify potential carbon release. Ice wedges (IWs) are a ubiquitous ground-ice landform in the Arctic. Their high spatial variability makes generalizing their potential role in landscape change problematic. IWs form polygonal networks that are visible on satellite imagery from surface troughs. This study provides a first approximation of IW ice volume for the Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, a continuous permafrost area characterized by polar desert conditions and extensive ground ice. We perform basic GIS analyses on high-resolution satellite imagery to delineate IW troughs and estimate the associated IW ice volume using a 3-D subsurface model. We demonstrate the potential of two semi-automated IW trough delineation methods, one newly developed and one marginally used in previous studies, to increase the time efficiency of this process compared to manual delineation. Our methods yield acceptable IW ice volume estimates, validating the value of GIS to estimate IW volume on much larger scales. We estimate that IWs are potentially present on 50 % of the Fosheim Peninsula (∼3000 km2), where 3.81 % of the top 5.9 m of permafrost could be IW ice.

Nonlinear Dynamics of a Spar Platform

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elvidio Gavassoni ◽  
Paulo Batista Gonçalves ◽  
Deane M. Roehl
Keyword(s):  
Asymptotic Methods ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Spar Platform ◽  
Highly Nonlinear ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Floating Platforms ◽  
And Storage

Spar floating platforms have been largely used for deep water drilling, oil and natural gas production and storage of these fluids. In extreme weather conditions such structures may exhibit a highly nonlinear dynamic behavior. In this paper a 2-DOF model is used to study the heave and pitch coupled response in free and forced vibration. Special attention is given to the determination of the nonlinear vibration modes (NNMs). Non-similar and similar NNMs are obtained analytically by direct application of asymptotic methods and the results show important NNM features such as instability and multiplicity of modes. The NNMs are used to generate reduced order models that consist of 1-DOF nonlinear oscillators. It facilitates the parametric analysis and the derivation of important features of the system such as the frequency-amplitude relation associated to each nonlinear mode and resonance curves. The stability is analyzed by the Floquet theory. Bifurcation diagrams and Mathieu charts are used to identify the unstable regions in the force parameter space. The analytical results show good agreement with the numerical solution obtained by direct integration of the equation of motion.

SEISMIC EXPLORATION IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC ISLANDS

Geophysics ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
George D. Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Seismic Exploration ◽  
Efficient Operation ◽  
Reflection And Refraction ◽  
Adverse Weather Conditions ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
Sverdrup Basin ◽  
June July

The Polar Continental Shelf Project, a broad program of research in the Canadian Arctic, was started in 1959. Seismic studies were undertaken by the Geological Survey of Canada. Refraction and reflection techniques were employed in the first stages of a reconnaissance program during May, June, July, and August 1960. Certain new techniques were developed during this seismic program in the high Arctic. The crew operated from motor toboggans in 1960 but helicopters will be used more extensively in the future for a more efficient operation. Adverse weather conditions such as blizzards, low temperatures, white‐outs, wind, and rain are a hindrance to operations at various times of the year. The sea ice appears to present no great noise problem to standard recording techniques. Several air shots were recorded in direct comparison with surface shots but the gain in energy level is not enough to justify using the method. The records from various locations within the Sverdrup Basin indicate that both reflection and refraction techniques are satisfactory. A cross‐section illustrates the results of the 1960 program.

The Influence of Weather On Incubation Scheduling of the White-Rumped Sandpiper (Calidris Fuscicollis): a Uniparental Incubator in a Cold Environment

Behaviour ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 95 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 261-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Montgomerie ◽  
Ralph V. Cantar
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Rhythm ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Barometric Pressure ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Collective Effects ◽  
Incubation Behaviour ◽  
The Individual

AbstractWe studied the incubation scheduling of 8 white-rumped sandpipers (Calidris fuscicollis), a species in which only the female incubates. Because the female is small and nests in the high arctic, these birds are probably under more cold stress than birds nesting in the temperate zone. We examined the individual and collective effects of several weather variables on a female's incubation behaviour to ascertain what amount of the variability within a day was directly attributable to weather conditions. Birds made an average of 25.1 off-nest trips each day, averaging 10.5 min each. This resulted in spending, on average, 82.5% of their time incubating eggs. There was a clear within-day cycle in incubation scheduling; birds made more and longer trips in the middle of the day and, as a result, spent more total time off the nest in that period. Birds adjusted their hour-by-hour schedules to weather largely by altering the number of trips made, and less so by adjusting trip length. There was a circadian rhythm in recess time/h, explaining at least 11% of the variation in recess time/h. When the circadian rhythm was controlled statistically, weather accounted for an average of 38% of the explainable variation in recess time/h. The relative importance of each weather variable on the recess time/h was (in descending order of importance): wind speed, air temperature, solar radiation, barometric pressure, and relative humidity. Weather (primarily wind speed and temperature) exerted its strongest effects early and late in the bird's active day (0400-2300 h). On cold and windy days, birds increased the time spent on their nests early and late in the day, and made more trips than usual in the middle of the day, when air temperature was highest. We suggest that the incubation scheduling of these birds conformed to the long-term predictability of the daily weather cycle by following a circadian rhythm of behaviour modified by a response to concurrent weather that would have reduced egg cooling.

scholarly journals VESPA-22: a ground-based microwave spectrometer for long-term measurements of Polar stratospheric water vapor

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Mevi ◽  
Giovanni Muscari ◽  
Pietro Paolo Bertagnolio ◽  
Irene Fiorucci ◽  
Giandomenico Pace
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Black Body ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Frequency Resolution ◽  
Integration Time ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Stratospheric Water Vapor ◽  
Sensitivity Range ◽  
Half Power

Abstract. The new ground-based 22 GHz spectrometer, VESPA-22 (water Vapor Emission Spectrometer for Polar Atmosphere at 22 GHz) measures the 22.23 GHz water vapor emission line with a bandwith of 500 MHz and a frequency resolution of 31 kHz. The integration time for a measurement is of the order of hours, depending on season and weather conditions. Water vapor spectra are collected using the beam switching technique. VESPA-22 is designed to operate automatically with minimum need of maintenance; it employs an uncooled front-end characterized by a receiver temperature of about 180 K and its quasi-optical system presents a half power full beam angle of 3.5°. VESPA-22 measures also the sky opacity with a temporal resolution of two measurements an hour using the tipping curve technique. The instrument calibration is performed automatically by a noise diode; the emission temperature of this element is measured two times an hour through the observation of a black body at ambient temperature and of the sky at 60° of elevation. The retrieved profiles obtained inverting a 24-hour integration spectra present a sensitivity higher than 0.8 from about 25 to 72 km of altitude, a vertical resolution from about 12 to 23 km (depending on altitude) and an overall 1σ uncertainty between 5 and 12 %. In July 2016, VESPA-22 was installed at the THAAO (Thule High Arctic Atmospheric Observatory) located at Thule Air Base (76.5° N, 68.8° W), Greenland, and has been operating almost continuously since then, with very few interruption periods characterized by poor weather. The VESPA-22 water vapor mixing ratio vertical profiles discussed in this work cover the period from July 2016 to May 2017 and are compared with Version 4.2 of concurrent Aura/MLS (Waters et al., 2006) water vapor vertical profiles. In the sensitivity range of VESPA-22 retrievals, the intercomparison between the VESPA-22 dataset and Aura/MLS dataset convolved with VESPA-22 averaging kernels reveals a correlation coefficient of about 0.9 or higher and an average difference reaching its maximum of −6 % or −0.2 ppmv at the top of the sensitivity range.

scholarly journals Rainfall Returns Periods in Iraq

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussein Ilaibi Zamil Al-Sudani
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Weather Condition ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
The Other ◽  
Return Periods ◽  
East Region ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Water Management Plans ◽  
Dry Seasons

Rainfall date obtained for thirty-two meteorological stations distributed in Iraq to find the rainfall returns period, which contributes in the improvement of water management plans all over Iraq, especially during dry seasons. Mean annual summation of rainfall has a symmetrical increasing pattern from southern west towards northern east, according to the increasing ratio of rainfall in the northern region of Iraq. The northern east region of Iraq has characterized by very abnormal and abnormal events regarding rainfall (P) in term of return periods, while the northern west, middle and southern regions characterize by a normal distribution of rainfall. , Iraq has only two types of weather conditions, according to rainfall returns periods: the humid weather condition located in the northern east part and dry weather condition in the other parts of it.

scholarly journals Research On Technological Utilizing in an Automatic Device for Collecting Rain and Snow in Qinghai Province, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 276 ◽  
pp. 01029
Author(s):  
Mingtao Long ◽  
Luyao Hu ◽  
Jiaquan Yang ◽  
Yongjun Hu ◽  
Zihan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Purification ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Automatic Device ◽  
Calculation Model ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
And Storage

Based on the climatic conditions in the northwest and the widely used water storage method in the northwest rural areas, we designed a rain and snow collection device, which is realized by an inductor and an “M” collection curtain, which uses the rotation of the motor and the supply of the heating film. Water purification and storage can be obtained through compound grit tanks, biochar adsorption systems, etc. The collected water resources can be integrated with water purification and storage through flood control and antifreeze devices. Real-time senses the changes of water level and water temperature. In this article, a calculation model for the optimal sedimentation effect is also established, which can calculate the minimum scale parameters of the sedimentation tank under different weather conditions, and provide guidance for the construction of the system. In addition, we tested the actual collection capacity of the system, and the results showed that the system has high practical value. At present, there is no a complete and systematic study integrated with it in the Northwest region. This system can alleviate the lack of water resources in some areas to a certain extent, play a positive role in the rural ecological environment and lessen flood

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