Variations in Summer Temperature Patterns near Barrow, Alaska: Analysis and Ecological Interpretation
Myers JP and Pitelka FA. 1979. Variations in Summer Temperature Patterns near Barrow, Alaska: Analysis and Ecological Interpretation. Arctic and Alpine Research. 11(2):131-144
Twenty-six years (1950 through 1975) of daily mean temperature and wind direction records for May through September at Barrow, Alaska, were examined for seasonal patterns in variability. Cumulative deviations from average daily mean temperature were calculated to compare differences among years in temperature regimes. Seven years deviated more than 100 cumulative degrees Celsius by the end of August, while 5 yr remained close to the 26-yr average. Early May and late July through August were more variable among years than June and early July. This related to a decrease in the predictability of wind direction in August and to a concomitant increase in the sensitivity of temperature to wind direction. Within a given year, temperatures during the latter half of the summer were more predictable from one 15-d period to the next than were temperatures in June. These seasonal patterns in temperature variability foreshorten the length of the active period for tundra organisms and have important implications for life-history processes.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Myers, J; Pitelka, F
- Units
- ARCN , BELA , CAKR , GAAR , KOVA , NOAT
- Keywords
- Arctic, Beaufort Sea, Behavior, Chukchi Sea, Phalaropus fulicaria