24 May 2012 Flow All Around

Today’s Journal

Yesterday and today we have been continuing long days of site set up. It is 10:30pm and we are just getting back from the field, so I am going to keep this journal brief. Today was the first day of cool overcast skies with a bit of precipitation. This was actually the type of weather I expected for this time of year. It was quite chilly when not moving around, so I was glad to be working on the transects which allowed me to move as I was taking data.

We have water flow in all of our sites, and we are getting close to having all the sites up and running. One of the sites is completely melted out and has likely already seen peak flow.

At several of the other sites we are still shoveling snow out from behind the weirs, but the water is running. In most areas where the snow remains, the bottom of the snow pack is completely saturated and often melted. When you step into the snow the bottom half of the snow pack is water or slush. I am really loving the xtra tuff boots now!

The look of the tundra has really changed in the time I have been here. The snow is fading as the brown emerges. As expected the west facing slope have less snow than the east facing slopes. I am told that I will also start to see the transition from brown to green as the vegetation leafs out. In the photo below you can see that snow is mostly persisting on the water tracks.

Parting Shot

When carrying solar panel stands through the tundra, you must get creative. These panels will charge the batteries that run the data loggers.