Synoptic climatology of the eastern Brooks Range, Alaska: a data legacy of the international geophysical year

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2009"Data from three International Geophysical Year (1957-1958) expeditions and one International Hydrological Decade National Science Foundation project (1969-1972) to the eastern Alaska North Slope have been rescued and made available in digital form: Chamberlain Glacier, Lake Peters, and McCall Glacier. Comparisons between these sites and US and Canadian Weather Service stations within 500km of McCall Glacier were conducted to determine the broad temperature climatology of the region. McCall Glacier is generally a swing site, and the climatology of the region often was linked most closely to the Beaufort Sea coast, though on some occasions, was more closely related to the Mackenzie River Delta and on other occasions, to the Interior. These early data represent an important addition to the Arctic data legacy by allowing a more complete climate record to be developed that focuses on a region demonstrably sensitive to climate change and yet lacking in data. Key words: glacier, meteorology, International Geophysical Year, Alaska, McCall Glacier, Brooks Range, data rescue"--Leaf iiiNOAA CIFAR PRIDE project grant, NOAA grant NA06OAR4600179, International Arctic Research Center at UAF, NSF/JAMSTE