Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network (ARCN)
Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network (ARCN).
The Arctic Network (ARCN) includes five National Park Service (NPS) system units: • Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA), • Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR), • Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR), • Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA), and • Noatak National Preserve (NOAT). Collectively these units represent approximately 19.3 million acres, or roughly 25% of the land area of NPS-managed units in the United States. Administratively, the parklands in ARCN are managed as two units: • Western Arctic Parklands (WEAR), which consists of one monument (CAKR), one park (KOVA), and two preserves (BELA and NOAT), and is managed by a superintendent in Kotzebue and an office in Nome; and • GAAR, which is managed by a superintendent in Fairbanks, with field offices in Bettles and Coldfoot. The park headquarters for all five parks are outside the park boundaries, and the parks themselves are accessible only by airplane, boat, or on foot. The ARCN parks contain a broad array of the ecosystems typical of the subarctic (boreal forest or taiga), and arctic (tundra) biomes of northwestern North America. The boundary, or ecotone, between these two biomes is also represented in many different phases. Because these parks encompass large areas of mountainous terrain, including a major portion of the Brooks Range, they also include examples of virtually every type of alpine situation to be found in northern Alaska. The intent of the NPS monitoring program is to track a subset of physical, chemical, and biological elements and processes of park ecosystems that are selected to represent the overall health or condition of park resources, known or hypothesized effects of stressors, or elements that have important human values. These resources and process are termed “vital signs.” This subset of resources and processes is part of the total suite of natural resources that park managers are directed to preserve “unimpaired for future generations.” The broad-based, scientifically sound information obtained through natural resource monitoring will have multiple applications for management decision-making, research, education, and promoting public understanding of park resources.
- Type
- Program
- Authors
- National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division
- Units
- ARCN , BELA , CAKR , GAAR , KOVA , NOAT
- Keywords
- Air Quality, Alaska, Arctic, Biological, Biology, Bird, Boreal, Brown Bear, Caribou, Chemical, Climate, Coastal, Contaminant, decision making, Deposition, Ecology, Ecosystem, Education, Erosion, FIRE, Glacier, Lagoon, LAKE, long term, Long-term, Monitoring, Moose, Muskox, National Park, Natural Resource, Permafrost, Physical, Pond, Processes, Resource Management, Sheep, Snow, Snowpack, Soil, Stream, Tundra, Vegetation, Water Quality, Weather, Wildlife, Yellow-billed Loon
Contents
- Ecological Land Survey And Synthesis For The Arctic Network Of National Parks
- Air Quality Monitoring in the Arctic Network National Parklands
- Coastal Shoreline Monitoring in the Arctic Network National Parklands
- Brown Bear Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Climate Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Monitoring Terrestrial Landscape Patterns and Dynamics in the NPS Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Dall's Sheep Monitoring in the Arctic Network National Parks
- Caribou Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parks
- Monitoring Coastal Lagoon Communities and Ecosystems in the Arctic Network of National Parks
- Western Yellow-billed Loon Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Wet and Dry Deposition Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Stream Communities and Ecosystems Monitoring in Alaska's Arctic Network
- Lake Communities and Ecosystems Vital Sign for Alaska's Arctic Inventory & Monitoring Network
- Monitoring Fire Effects and Severity in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Landbird Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Muskox Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Park Lands
- Permafrost Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Terrestrial Vegetation and Soils Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Arctic Network Freshwater Vital Signs Initiative
- Snowpack Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Moose Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
- Shallow Lake Monitoring in the Arctic and Central Alaska Networks of National Parklands.