The surfaces of the landscapes in the Toolik Lake region have been modified by a variety of geomorphological processes including alluviation (movement of material by water), colluviation (movement of material by gravity) and periglacial processes (freezing and permafrost-related phenomena). Many of the surface forms have been described for the Imnavait Creek region (Walker and Walker 1996). Common surficial geomorphological features within the mapped area include sorted and nonsorted circles (frost boils), turf hummocks, gelifluction lobes and terraces, water tracks, high- and low-centered ice-wedge polygons, wetland features (strangmoor, aligned hummocks, palsas) and thermokarst features.
Back to Upper Kuparuk River Region
Go to Website Link :: Toolik Arctic Geobotanical Atlas below for details on legend units, photos of map units and plant species, glossary, bibliography and links to ground data.
Map Themes:
Elevation, Glacial Geology, Hydrology, Landform, Landsat NDVI trend 1985-2007, SPOT false-color infrared (CIR), SPOT NDVI, Surficial Geology, Surficial Geomorphology, Vegetation
References
Walker, D. A. and H. A. Maier. 2008. Vegetation in the vicinity of the Toolik Field Station, Alaska. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Biological Papers of the University of Alaska, No. 28. ISSN: 0568-8604. ISBN: 978-0-9767525-2-3
