dune areas, roads, and, near the end of the 
season, from protruding bits of vegetation. Once 
the temperature of the entire snowpack reaches 
the melting point and melt action is continuous, 
the snow will disappear in about 2 weeks. In 
1972 the snow did not reach 0°C throughout 
until after 28 May. By 8 June 25% to 50% of the 
ground was snow free; by 9 June it was 50% 
snow free. 
A strong gradient exists in the tundra 
climate. The coastal influence maintains the 
snow cover at Prudhoe Bay and Barrow for 
several weeks longer than at sites only 50 to 100 
km inland. On 7 June 1972 there was no snow 
on the tundra south of Franklin Bluffs, yet the 
snow was still present in the Prudhoe Bay 
region. The images from ERTS may be especial- 
ly useful in observing this phenomenon. 
Acknowledgments 
This project was funded primarily from NSF 
funds provided to the Tundra Biome Program at 
the University of Alaska. Supplemental 
assistance was provided by the State of Alaska 
and industry funds. 
700 z 
millical/cm® min 
W\4ary, 
JULY 
SOLAR RADIATION 
ALBEDO 
i972 
SOLAR RADIATION 
ALBEDO 
SOO- 
47 
References 
Ambach, W. (1974). The influence of cloudiness 
on the net radiation balance of a snow 
surface with high albedo. J. Glaciol, 
13(67) :73-84. 
Benson, C. S. (1962). Stratigraphic studies in the 
snow and firn of the Greenland Ice Sheet. 
SIPRE(CRREL) Research Report 70, 93 pp. 
. (1967). A reconnaissance snow survey 
of Interior Alaska. Geophysical Institute, 
University of Alaska, Report UAGR-190, 
December 1967, 71 pp. 
(1969). The seasonal snow cover of 
Arctic Alaska. Arctic Institute of North 
America (AINA) Research Paper No. 51, 
80 pp. 
Brown, J., R. K. Haugen, and S. Parrish (This 
volume). Selected climatic and soil thermal 
characteristics of the Prudhoe Bay region. 
Carlson, R. F., W. R. Norton, and J. McDougal 
(1974). Modeling snowmelt runoff in an 
arctic coastal plain. Institute of Water Re- 
sources, University of Alaska, Report No. 
IWR-43, 72 pp. 
{e) 
millical /cm@ min 
MAY 
JUNE 
1973 
Fig. 22. Incoming short-wave radiation and albedo at Prudhoe Bay during the 
summers of 1972 and 1972. 
