Location and Physical Characteristics
- Havikpak Creek (68°20'N, 133°30'W) is located a few kilometers north of the airport at Inuvik, NWT;
- The drainage basin is roughly 17 km2 in area;
- Surface cover is predominantly northern boreal forest, and the basin is within the continuous permafrost zone (with typically >20% ice content);
- Climate is characterized by short summers and long cold winters, with an 8-month snow-cover period. Mean annual air temperature is about -10 °C and annual precipitation is about 266 mm (66% of which is snow).
History
- Havikpak Creek has been a focus of hydrological research, where the National Water Research Institute (NWRI), Environment Canada, has operated a meteorological station since 1992;
- The Water Survey of Canada (WSC) has operated a gauge and collected discharge measurements since 1994.
Current Science Focus and Instrumentation
- Current scientific focus on the integrated effects of vegetation, snow, energy balance, active layer depth, thermokarst, soil water storage, and runoff;
- End of winter snow surveys are conducted each spring in mid- to late-April;
- There is a single 15 m meteorological tower within a forested site in the basin measuring: soil temperature, soil moisture, air temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction, incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation, and liquid precipitation;
- Cosmic ray observation of soil moisture and snow water equivalent (SWE) at main met station;
- A Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) upper air station is located within the Havikpak Creek basin, and routine meteorological measurements by the MSC are available at the Inuvik airport.