Introduction and Site Description 25 



Smaller streams are also little known and the research has been 

 restricted to observational limnology. The best-studied area is at Cape 

 Thompson (68''N, 165''W) where the discharge (Likes 1966) and biology 

 (Watson et al. 1966a) on Ogoturuk Creek were investigated. Near Barrow, 

 Brown et al. (1968) measured the hydrology of a small watershed (1.6 

 km^) over four summers and Lewellen (1972) reported on flow and 

 chemical data from three other Barrow area watersheds. 



Springs are present only in the foothills and mountains of arctic 

 Alaska. One spring, Shublik Spring on the Canning Rivt., has been 

 sampled by Kalff and Hobbie (unpublished, quoted in Hobbie 1973). It 

 flows year-round at 4.0 to S.S'C, and contains a fantastic abundance of 

 insects as well as a dwarf char (McCart and Craig 1973). 



There are other reports that cover several aquatic haoitats. 

 Hydrology was reviewed by Dingman (1973), Kalff (1968), and Barsdate 

 and Matson (1966). 



GEOGRAPHY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY 



Geographical Setting 



Northern Alaska, all of which lies north of the tree limit, is cut off 

 from the rest of the state by the east-west running Brooks Range, an 

 extension of the Rocky Mountain System. North of the mountains, which 

 have an area of 136,200 km^ lie the Arctic Foothills (100,800 km^) and 

 between the foothills and the Arctic Ocean lies the Arctic Coastal Plain 

 which contains 70,900 km^ (Walker 1973). Barrow lies on the northern tip 

 of the coastal plain, some 1 75 km from the foothills (Figure 2- 1 ). 



Near Barrow, the flat coastal plain is covered either by large lakes, 

 shallow ponds, or old drained lake basins (Figure 2-2). In places, 

 freshwater lakes and ponds cover up to 40% of the surface. Despite the 

 abundance of water, streams are small and most flow only during the 

 spring melt. The remainder of the area is covered by grasses, sedges, 

 mosses, and lichens. Usually, the standing dead stems and leaves of the 

 grasses and sedges dominate the scene and color the tundra brown. 



The Naval Arctic Research Laboratory is on the coast of the Chukchi 

 Sea, 10 km from Point Barrow, and the town of Barrow lies 5 km further 

 southwest (Figure 2-1). Research on tundra ecology has been carried out 

 at this laboratory since 1947, while the National Weather Service has 

 operated a first-class station at Barrow since 1920. The pond research site 

 (71°18'N and 156''42'W) is halfway between the laboratory and the town 

 and 2 km inland. A shallow lake, Imikpuk, lies adjacent to the laboratory 

 and to the ocean, and a large lake, Ikroavik, lies 7 km south. 



