Today’s Journal

    The race is on to sample the snow before it all melts away! We spent today sampling snow depth and density and collecting snow samples. I’ll use this journal to tell you about how we measure snow depth.

    Snow depth transects

    The main point of the snow depth transects is to get a sense of the depth of snow inside as compared to outside the water tracks. Each water track site has three transects that are marked with flags, one at the bottom of the water track, one in the middle and one at the top. Snow depth has been measured several times at these same locations. We first lay down a 60 meter tape and then take depth measurements every two meters. This may seem like a simple task, but I must admit that everything is a bit more challenging while wearing snow shoes and trying to trample the least amount of snow as possible.

    Snow depth transect
    Snow depth transect

    It is very helpful to have two people so one person can record date while the other one takes the measurements. As you can see in the photo below one person measures the distance from the snow surface to the top of the probe. We know the total length of the probe, so we can do the math to calculate the snow depth.

    snow depth measuring
    Sarah is measuring snow depth on a east facing slope while Caitlin records the data

    There was a dramatic difference in snow depth in the sites that were east facing as compared to the west facing sites. Look at how shallow the snow pack is in the photo below.

    snow depth monitoring
    Molly measuring snow depth on a west facing slope.

    Generally we are seeing that there tends to be more snow inside the water track as compared to outside, but this does vary from site to site. As you can see in the photo below, there is almost no snow outside the water track on this west facing slope. This is very exciting because as the snow melts the water should start to flow and the water sampling excitement can begin.

    snow depth transect
    West facing water track snow depth transect. The wooden stakes mark the boundaries of the water track.

    So why is the snow deeper in the water tracks? The tundra is a cold and windy place. During the long winter season, the wind redistributes the snow. Two factors, shrubs and topographical depressions may contribute to the increased snow depths in the water tracks. The depression can accumulate more snow while the shrubs may act as a windbreak to encourage snow accumulation.

    Check back tomorrow to learn about digging snow pits in the Arctic tomorrow!

    Question to Ponder- Discussion

    In my journal from May 10, I asked students to look at the two photos and think about the following questions

    What differences do you observe between the two hillslopes? Which slope is west-facing and which is the east-facing slope?

    The top photo was of the east side of the valley so those slopes are west facing. The bottom photo is of the west side of the valley, which means the slopes are east facing. As I discussed in this journal entry, the west facing slopes get much more sunlight and are melting much faster. Remember the sun is barely reaching the horizon at about midnight and soon it won’t be setting at all. The snow conditions are dramatically different on each side of the valley. We can still reach our east facing slope sites with snow machines, while we are walking from snow patch to bare patch on the west facing slopes. The water should be running through these water tracks in a few days!

    Date
    Location
    Kuparak River Valley
    Weather Summary
    Partly sunny, breezy
    Temperature
    40

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