Active layer hydrology for Imnavait Creek, Toolik, Alaska

The hydrology of the active layer of a watershed is described. In the annual hydrologic cycle, snowmelt is the most significant event at Imnavait Creek located near Toolik Lake, Alaska. Precipitation that has accumulated for more than 6 months on the surface melts in a relatively short period of 7 to 10 days once sustained melting occurs. Significant runoff events are few. Convective storms covering relatively small areas on the North Slope of Alaska can produce significant small-scale events in a small watershed scale,but these events are rapidly attenuated outside the basin. Data collection began in August 1984. We have continuously monitored the hydrologic, the meteorologic, and the soil's physical conditions. Information was collected through implementation of four snowmelt runoff plots and measurements of essential microclimate parameters. Soil moisture and temperature profiles were measured adjacent to each snowmelt runoff plot, and heat flux is collected adjacent to one of these plots. Meteorological parameters were measured locally. The water content of the snowpack prior to snowmelt was measured throughout the watershed and measured daily adjacent to each plot during snowmelt. The stream draining the basin was measured regularly during the spring melt event to provide information on watershed runoff rates and the volume of snowmelt