Toolik Field Station

Location

68° 39' 39.924" N, 149° 22' 13.692" W
Brief Site Description: 
Toolik Field Station hosts a core terrestrial NEON site.
Detailed Site Description: 

The Toolik Field Station (TFS) is operated and managed by the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) with cooperative agreement support from the Division of Polar Programs, Directorate for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

TFS provides housing, meals, and laboratories, in addition, to support services for arctic research and education to scientists and students from universities, institutions, and agencies from throughout the US and the world. Research support includes GIS and mapping services, technical and IT assistance, shared commonly used equipment, and collection of standardized environmental data.



NEON

Located on the North Slope of Alaska, in the foothills of the Brooks Range, above the Arctic Circle (68° 38' N, 149° 36'W), about an8 hour-drive North of Fairbanks, or about 3 hours South of Prudhoe Bay. The vegetation, predominantly characterized by wet and dry tussock tundra, can make for very difficult walking to access research plots. Mosquitoes are abundant between June and early August and constitute the main challenge to living and working in and around Toolik. Weather can also be unpredictable; precipitation in the form of rain or snow can occur any time of year, and average summer temperatures can vary from the 30s to mid-70s.

NEON data (Core Terrestrial) from this site. 

This site also hosts two NEON Aquatic Sites: Oksrukuyik Creek (Core) and Toolik Lake (Relocatable). 

Field Site Type: 
US affiliate
Registration: 
Unregistered
Network(s): 
LTSE
NEON
Study Start Date: 
1979
Mean Annual Precipitation: 
330 millimeters / year
Average Annual Temperature: 
-9°C
Average Summer Temperature: 
12°C
Average Winter Temperature: 
-24°C
Land Cover: 
Perennial Ice/Snow
Barren Land
Shrubland
Geology: 
unconsolidated materials
other sedimentary
Hydrology: Name: 
Kuparuk River
Hydrology: Surface water stream order: 
Fourth Order
Hydrology: Surface water - Stream Flow Performance: 
Perennial
Hydrology: Groundwater: 
Arrangment of Aquifer Components - Single, dominant unconfined aquifer
Climate: 
Polar
Sub-Climate: 
Unknown
Group visibility: 
Public - accessible to all site users