2 April 2012 Journal Entry 4/2/2012 Winter vs. Summer

Now we have seen what the tundra in this area looks like in the winter months. Although, most of the winter the days were much shorter and temperatures and wind were much more of a factor. Remember that the length of days up here is much different than in Huntington Beach. Around Christmas in Healy, the sun comes up at almost 11:00 am and goes down just a bit after 3:00 in the afternoon. That is a little more than four hours of daylight! On the other end of things, during June, the sun comes up at about 3:30 in the morning and doesn’t set until after midnight! The days are almost 21 hours long! The beach would never close at home if it stayed that light all summer!

So what does all of this sunlight really do for the tundra? It has a lot to do with the photosynthesis in the area. The wintertime doesn’t really come in to play in this factor, because the plants have mostly gone dormant or are buried under snow. They are resting and getting ready for their chance. And their chance does come in the spring. At this time of the year, when the daylight is short, which way is the CO2 going, in or out?

When spring hits the days start getting longer and the snow begin to melt away. The plants can feel the change and are ready for it. Some of the plants have been storing food and living off of that until the sun comes and the permafrost get warm enough for the top layer to get active. Other plants have just shut down completely and wait. They all take off when the time is right. The tundra is then transformed into a carpet of life. Everyday it get a little greener until late in the summer when everybody is green and grown as tall as they can. Now what do you think the carbon balance is? And remember that the tundra biome extends around the world at these latitudes. That is a bunch of activity to balance!