Climate Data Analysis of Existing Weather Stations in around the Central Alaska Network: Including Denali National Park and Preserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.
Dates
Year
2008
Citation
Keen, Richard A., 2008, Climate Data Analysis of Existing Weather Stations in around the Central Alaska Network: Including Denali National Park and Preserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. : no. Unpublished Material, 86 pages-86 pages.
Summary
The Central Alaska Network is part of the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program. It is composed of three national park units: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. The Inventory and Monitoring Program is the result of the National Parks Omnibus Management Act, which was passed by Congress in1998. This act directs the National Park Service “to establish baseline [resource] information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of National Park System resources.” The primary goal of the Central Alaska Network is to build a holistic picture of change across the ecosystems of the network — specifically, to detect [...]
Summary
The Central Alaska Network is part of the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program. It is composed of three national park units: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. The Inventory and Monitoring Program is the result of the National Parks Omnibus Management Act, which was passed by Congress in1998. This act directs the National Park Service “to establish baseline [resource] information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of National Park System resources.” The primary goal of the Central Alaska Network is to build a holistic picture of change across the ecosystems of the network — specifically, to detect change in their ecological components and in the relationships among those components. Knowing the condition of natural resources in national parks is fundamental to the Service’s ability to manage park resources “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations”. The three park units of the Central Alaska Network together span an enormous area measuring approximately 650 km from north to south and 650 km from east to west. Elevationsrange from sea level to 6194 m (20,320’); latitudes reach to more than 65 degrees north. The climate in this vast, northern country is extremely variable, ranging from strongly maritime to strongly continental. Climate and climate change have been identified as one of the carefully selected elements or vital signs of the network that are deemed tobe critical indicators of long-term, system-wide trends. A main objective for CAKN climate monitoring component is tomonitor and record weather conditions at representative locations in order to quantify one of the drivers in Alaskan ecosystems, identify long and short-term trends, provide reliable climate data to other researchers, and to participate in larger scale climate monitoring and modeling efforts. Several programs administered by various federal agencies and private entities deploy and/or manage weather stations throughout Interior Alaska. Most of the weather stationsaround the CAKN parks are located at airports, towns, and lodges. There are stations within each park and/or in the area adjacent to park lands that have been in operation for many decades. In order to provide a baseline of the past climate conditions in the regions surrounding the network this project involved the analysis and summary of any and all existing data within the scope of the network. The data series were analyzed to give a climatic description of the site including information on long-term averages and temporal variation. Comparisons of data from long-term stations such as McKinley Park, Eagle, and Gulkana with long-term climate data from Fairbanks and Anchorage were analyzed to see if the trends were similar. The methods used for data analysis and compilation are described in full so that in future years with the addition of new stations in the network the analysis could be replicated by NPS staff or other entities.