Arctic Council Working Group Extreme ice/snow cover
Nest in snow storm
Photo: Dan Ruthrauff/USGS
Photo: Dan Ruthrauff/USGS
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| Description of extreme event | Detecting and monitoring the extreme event itself | Monitoring ecosystem impacts of the extreme event | ||||||||||
| Name | Description | Expected temporal scale of extreme event itself | Expected spatial scale of extreme event itself | Types of impact (and relevant cascading effects) | Definition of extreme event (see also Definition-sheet) | Variable to detect extreme event | Method to monitor (risk of) extreme event itself (if different from detection method) | Suggested background data needed to assess impact on ecosystem/biodiversity (if any)* | Suggested method to monitor impacts of extreme event (if different from or background data are missing) | Expected temporal scale of impact | Priority FECs to monitor | Reference/Links |
| Thickness | Brief (< month) | Large (region/ > 10 km2) | Delay of snow melt and uncover of vegetation, decreases availability of feed for higher trophic levels and higher risk of mismatch | Weekly measurements of snow cover thickness | Diversity, abundance, composition, productivity, phenology, spatial structure, ecosystem functions and processes, phenology, demographics, temporal cycles and health for flora and fauna | Monitor in affected and comparable reference area | < 1 year |
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| Spatial coverage | Medium (< year) | Large scale (Regional, > 100 km2) | Larger area, with potential decerased availablity of feed for higher trophic levels | Weekly measurements of snow cover thickness combined with satelite information on spatial range | Diversity, abundance, composition, productivity, phenology, spatial structure, ecosystem functions and processes, phenology, demographics, temporal cycles and health for flora and fauna | Monitor in affected and comparable reference area | < 1 year | |||||
| Temporal coverage | Medium (< year) | Large (region/ > 10 km2) | Delay in uncover of vegetation, decreases productivity, availability of feed for higher trophic levels and higher risk of mismatch | Weekly measurements of snow cover thickness | Diversity, abundance, composition, productivity, phenology, spatial structure, ecosystem functions and processes, phenology, demographics, temporal cycles and health for flora and fauna | Monitor in affected and comparable reference area | < 1 year | |||||