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CALM SITE R27 |
LAVRENTIYA |
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Site code |
R27 |
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Site name |
Lavrentiya |
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CAPS I Metadata form |
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CAPS II Metadata form |
GGD313_R27 |
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Site Photograph |
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Responsible for data submission |
Dmitri Zamolodchikov |
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Email Address |
dzamolod”-at-“hotbox.ru |
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Institution/Organization |
Center for
Ecology and Forest Productivity, Moscow |
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Location description |
Chukotka |
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Location Lat. |
65 deg. 36
min. N |
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Location Lon. |
171 deg. 03
min. W |
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Elevation avg. (m) |
100 |
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Methods Grid |
100 |
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Methods Other |
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Landscape Description |
Gentle
mountain slope |
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Vegetation /Classification |
Wet dwarf
shrub-sedge-moss |
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Soils (or Material) |
Gleyi-Histic Cryosols
(loamy) |
|
Thaw depth measurements (year started) |
2000 |
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Air temp. measurements (year started) |
2000 |
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Snow cover measurements (year started) |
|
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soil
temp. measurements (year started) |
2001 |
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soil moisture measurements (year started) |
2000 |
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general description of soil moisture (dry, moist, wet,
saturated) |
Wet |
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soil texture: if non organic describe texture, if organic
indicate thickness of organic layer (cm) |
Silty
loam, organic layer thickness 17 cm |
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SITE DESCRIPTION The
Lavrentiya site (R27) was initiated in 2000 near
the settlement of Lavrentiya, on the Bering Strait
coast (65°36' N, 171°03' W). The site’s low, gently sloping (5–10°) ridges
and hills, interspersed with stream valleys and small shallow lakes, are
characteristic of post-glacial relief in this area. The distinguishing
physiographic features are the low hilly relief formed through erosion of
Mesozoic block structures by glacial, fluvial and marine processes. The CALM
sample grid is located on a gentle mountain slope with northeast exposure
(3°N and 1°E) at 70 m a.s.l. between a low massif
and a marine terrace. Microrelief on the Gleyic-Histic Cryosol soils is
poorly developed. The predominant plant communities are wet sedge Salix mossy
tundra. At the peak of vegetative growth the projective cover on the CALM
grid of Salix species averaged 32%, sedges 35%, other vascular species
6%, mosses (including Sphagnum spp.) 66%, and lichens 3%. The
local climate and atmospheric motion are highly seasonal and have a strong
maritime influence. Strong offshore winds bring cool and cloudy weather and
frequent fogs during the warm season. The oceanic climate has high humidity
and a small range of diurnal and monthly air temperatures. The closest
permanent weather station is at the settlement of Uelen
(66°10' N, 169°50' W). Long-term observations at Uelen
yield a mean annual air temperature of –7.8°C, and mean monthly temperatures
of +5.3°C and –20.3°C for the warmest (July) and coldest (February) months,
respectively. In general, summer
temperatures are considerably lower than in the Anadyr’ region, whereas
winter air temperatures are higher, resulting in similar annual averages. Due
to the severe climate conditions, the area is part of the continuous
permafrost zone. Permafrost occurs throughout the area to depths of 200–400
m, and has average annual temperatures of –5 to –7°% at a depth of 12 m (Zamolodchikov et al., 2004). SOIL DESCRIPTION:
(predominant texture, i.e., ‘sand’, ‘gravel’, ‘peat’, etc.): Gleyic-Histic Cryosol |
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SAMPLING DESIGN AND METHOD:
1-ha grid consists of a square array
of surveyed permanent stakes separated by 10 m, yielding an 11 × 11 array of
sampling nodes on each grid. Thaw depth and snow sampling was conducted twice by
manual probing at each stake. The two values for each sampling point are
averaged, yielding a maximum of 121 data points per grid per probing date. The
active layer was not measured at locations where grid points intersect rocks or
deep water.
REFERENCES:
Zamolodchikov, D.G., Kotov, A.N., Karelin, D.V.
& Razzhivin, V.Y. 2004. Active-Layer Monitoring in Northeast
Russia: Spatial, Seasonal, and Interannual
Variability. Polar Geography 28 (4): 286-307.
Zamolodchikov D., A. Kotov,
D. Karelin, and V. Razzhivin. 2008. Recent Climate and Active Layer Changes in
Northeast Russia: Regional Output of Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring
(CALM). Proceedings of
the 9th International Conference on Permafrost, Fairbanks, Alaska, June 29 - July
3, 2008, Vol. 2, 2021-2026.
Site Photos