ACTIVE LAYER MONITORING METADATA FORM

Return (by mail, e-mail or fax) to Sharon Smith

Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth St. Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E8

Email: ssmith@nrcan.gc.ca

Fax: 613 992 0190

This form is currently in use for the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) component of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost

Site name: Plateau Mountain 2, Alberta

Site history (Year Started): 1976

Responsible individual(s) and address of organization for data collection including email and fax addresses: Stuart. A. Harris

Latitude and longitude: 50°13'N      116°31'W

Elevation above sea level(m): 2500m

Slope and aspect of site(s): 1°W on plateau

Landform or geomorphological description of area occupied by site(s): Plateau top in faltered ground (sorted polygons)

Predominant texture of soil (sand, gravel, peat, etc.): Gravelly loom

Vegetation classification (dominant, vegetation type, percentage of vegetation, bare ground, etc.): 30% cover  alpine tundra

Method used to determine active layer thickness: Interpolation of ground temperature profile

Information on permanent temperature and/or moisture installations(probes, recorders, depth of sensors, depth of permafrost boreholes, etc.); if possible provide annual values (or ranges) of these data: 100' depth, both 12 thermocouples and 7 YSI 44033 thermistors. The thermistors have now failed and the thermocouples are being logged by data logger.  Earlier readings were manual

Name and location (lat./long.) of closest climate station; provide separately mean monthly air temperatures and snow depth as available for years of active layer data: Air temperature measured at the site. Relative humidity 1995 to present

Relevant publications (complete citation, use additional space):

"Plateau Mountain: A Case Study of Alpine Permafrost in the Canadian Rocky Mountain", (with R.J.E. Brown). Proc Third Internat. Conf. On Permafrost, Edmonton, Alberta, vol.1, 1978, 385-391.

"Permafrost Distribution Along the Rocky Mountains in Alberta" (with the late R.J.E. Brown).1982. The Roger J. E. Brown Memorial Volume, Proceedings of the 4^th Canadian Permafrost Conference, Calgary, Alberta, H.M. French, Ed. National Research Council, Ottawa, pp.59-67.

"Distribution and Zonation of Permafrost Along the Eastern Ranges of the Cordillera of North America", Biuletyn Peryglacjalny, vol. 31, 1986, 107-118.

"Continentality Index: Its Uses and Limitations When Applied to Permafrost  in the Canadian Cordillera", Journal of Physical Geography, vol. 10. 1989, 268-282.

"The periglacial environment  of Plateau Mountain: An overview of current periglacial research." Polar Geography, vol. 21, 1997, 113-136 [with A. Prick].

 "A relict of Late Quaternary permafrost on a former nunatak at Plateau Mountain, Alberta." [in Russian]. Earth Cryosphere, vol. 1. No. 4, 1997, 20-27.

"Relict Late Quaternary permafrost on a former nunatak at Plateau Mountain, S.W. Alberta, Canada." [English & Polish]. Biuletyn Peryglacjalny, vol. 36, 1998, 47-72.

"Long-Term Air and Ground Temperature Records From the Canadian Cordillera", Proc. 5^th Canadian Permafrost Conference. National Research Council of Canada. Universite Laval, Collection Nordicana #54, 1990, pp. 151-157.

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