CRYONET Site Questionnaire:
Site specific metadata:
Name of site: Arctic Station, Disko Island
Latitude/Longitude/Altitude: 69o15’N, 53o34’W,0-1200 m.a.s.l.
Landscape type (e.g. arctic coastal, tundra, alpine…): Low-Arctic ecosystem covering the marine (fiord),
terrestrial tundra and mountains.
Onsite technical staff: all-year round
All-year round observations y/n: Automatic stations year round and onsite during late winter, spring,
summer and early winter.
Year established: 1992
Link to website if available: http://arktiskstation.ku.dk/English/
Station manager (Email): Responsible for snow and ice-related data in the terrestrial part: Birger Ulf
Hansen (buh@geo.ku.dk
Organisation in charge of station: Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen
Other information: Monitoring programs cover all aspects of the abiotic and biotic environment. These
programs are run by different institutions all gathered under the Faculty of Science, University of
Copenhagen.
Monitoring of the atmosphere:
Solid precipitation: Through snow density and depth measurements
Snowfall: Sonic range sensors, automatic density and depth sensors, snow pack temperature profiles
Trace gases: H2O, CO2, CH4 with eddy covariance and during summer and early winter automated
chambers
Aerosols: None
UV, stratospheric ozone: None
Radiation (longwave, shortwave): Full radiation balance monitored at 1 sites in the area
Others: Full energy balance at one station in the area including sensible and latent heat fluxes year
round.
Snow cover
Physical parameters: Depth, density, layering, cover (point and distributed)
Chemical parameters:
Others: Snow distribution through use of automatic cameras, satellite products and modelling
(SnowModel).
Glaciers and ice caps
Mass balance (measured parameters): None
Ice flow (measured parameters): None
Basal water pressure (measured parameters): None
Others:
Sea ice
Mass balance (measured parameters): Cover and timing
Meteorology: Radiation, air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, air pressure etc.
Snow on ice (measured parameters):
Ice chemistry (measured parameters):
Others:
Permafrost
Borehole measurements (measured parameters): Only sporadic permafrost
Meteorology: Radiation, air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, air pressure etc.
Snow on ground (measured parameters): Sonic range sensors
Active layer thickness (measured parameters): 10x10 CALM gridnet
GST: Soil temperature in 1 cm depth
Others: Soil surface temperatures, soil heat flux plates
Ice sheet
Mass balance (measured parameters):
Meteorology:
Ice chemistry (measured parameters):
Others:
Other measurements (hydrological, ecological, oceanographic, etc)
Hydrology (measured parameters): Drainage in the main river throughout the melting period
(automated and manually)
Ecology (measured parameters): Plants, birds, Arthropods, Mammals, phenology throughout the
ecosystem processes. See http://arktiskstation.ku.dk/English/
Oceanography (measured parameters):
Other thematic linkages:
Linkages to satellite data (describe validation programs, applications of satellite data, etc.)
50+ high resolution satellite scenes gathered since 1992 for the area including QuickBird, Formosat,
WorldView, Ikonos, ASTER, SPOT, Landsat a.o.
Participation in international monitoring programmes such as GAW, GTN-G, GTN-P, ….
Networks and start of contribution:
International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), The Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine
Environments (GLORIA), Hydrology Data and Information Services Center (HDISC), FluxNet, Circumpolar
Biodiversity Mapping Program (CBMP), Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS),
International Network of Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT).
Most contributions have started in 1992.