Toolik Lake

Toolik Lake is a kettle lake formed by retreating glaciers during the Itkillik II age of glaciation.{{cite journal |last1=Hamilton |first1=Thomas D. |title=Glacial Geology of the Toolik Lake and Upper Kuparuk River Regions |journal=Biological Papers of the University of Alaska |date=2003 |volume=26 |url=https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/1502 |access-date=29 September 2021 |publisher=University of Alaska. Institute of Arctic Biology |language=en |issn=0568-8604}} Large masses of ice were left in their wake, and as they melted, lake basins were formed.{{cite web |title=Toolik Field Station Book |url=https://arc-lter.ecosystems.mbl.edu/toolik-field-station-book |website=Arctic Long Term Ecological Research |accessdate=19 July 2020}}

Toolik Lake covers {{cvt|358|acre}}, and has a max depth of {{cvt|77|ft}}.{{cite book |title=Sport Fishing Along the Dalton Highway |publisher=Alaska Department of Fish and Game Sport Fish Division, Region III |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |page=13 |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static-sf/Region3/PDFs/DaltonFishing.pdf |accessdate=19 July 2020}} The watershed of the lake is 63.7 km². Sunlight does not penetrate deep into the lake due to a high amount of dissolved organic matter. The lake may retain surface ice until late June and may refreeze as early as mid-September. Since recordings began, the alkalinity of the lake has doubled. There has been an increase in dissolved calcium and magnesium flowing into the lake, caused by an increase in weathering of mineral soils that were previously frozen.

The lake is bordered by Jade Mountain on the southwest.{{cite web |last1=Dell’Amore |first1=Christine |title=Arctic Dispatch: The Hike Up Jade Mountain |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/arctic-dispatch-the-hike-up-jade-mountain-412047/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=2 March 2022 |language=en}}

Toolik Lake is home to an active zooplankton community, primarily consisting of nanoflagellates, ciliates, rotifers, and copepods. Five species of fish exist in the lake, including Arctic grayling, burbot, lake trout, round whitefish, and slimy sculpin.{{cite web |title=Toolik Field Station::Fish Guide |url=https://toolik.alaska.edu/edc/biotic_monitoring/fish_guide.php |website=toolik.alaska.edu}} Grayling, trout, and whitefish are recreationally fished.

Tussock tundra dominates the terrain surrounding the lake. Other plant communities in the area include wet sedge tundra, as well drier heath tundra found at higher elevations.{{cite web |title=Global Fiducials Library Data Access Portal: GFP Site Description |url=https://gfl.usgs.gov/site_info_main_phones.shtml?current=1#tooliklakeakeast |website=gfl.usgs.gov |accessdate=19 July 2020}} Low growing shrubs are abundant, including birches and willows. Trees are not present. Since surveys began, there has been a 19 percent increase in vascular vegetation abundance in the area around Toolik Lake, and plant canopy height and extent have been increasing. Conversely, moss and lichen abundance has seen a significant decrease.{{cite journal |last1=Hobbie |first1=John E. |last2=Shaver |first2=Gaius R. |last3=Rastetter |first3=Edward B. |last4=Cherry |first4=Jessica E. |last5=Goetz |first5=Scott J. |last6=Guay |first6=Kevin C. |last7=Gould |first7=William A. |last8=Kling |first8=George W. |title=Ecosystem responses to climate change at a Low Arctic and a High Arctic long-term research site |journal=Ambio |date=February 2017 |volume=46 |issue=Suppl 1 |pages=160–173 |doi=10.1007/s13280-016-0870-x |pmid=28116685 |pmc=5258662 |issn=1654-7209|doi-access=free }}

Over 80 species of birds may be observed from the lake during spring migration.{{cite web |title=Toolik Field Station::Bird Monitoring |url=https://toolik.alaska.edu/edc/biotic_monitoring/bird_monitoring.php |website=toolik.alaska.edu}}{{cite web |title=Toolik Field Station::Bird Guide |url=https://toolik.alaska.edu/edc/biotic_monitoring/bird_guide.php |website=toolik.alaska.edu |accessdate=19 July 2020}}

Average monthly temperatures are below freezing for 9 months of the year. Only in June, July, and August do monthly average temperatures remain above freezing. Toolik experiences the midnight sun from June to August, while experiencing 24-hour darkness in December and January. The mean annual precipitation is {{cvt|331|mm}}. In the area, the average depth of winter snowfall is around one foot.{{cite news |title=How permafrost thawing affects vegetation, carbon cycle: Study focuses on Toolik Lake area of Alaska's North Slope |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160302204625.htm |access-date=2 June 2022 |work=ScienceDaily |date=2 March 2016 |language=en}}

Lightning strikes have become much more prevalent in northern Alaska since studies began, possibly linked with rising atmospheric temperatures. In 2007, Alaska's largest recorded tundra fire was started by a lightning strike, occurring only 20 miles from Toolik.{{cite news |last1=Lindsey |first1=Kelsey |title=As the Arctic warms, scientists at this remote field station try to make sense of the changing environment |url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/science/2017/09/10/as-the-arctic-warms-scientists-at-this-remote-field-station-try-to-make-sense-of-the-changing-environment/ |accessdate=19 July 2020 |work=Anchorage Daily News |date=10 September 2017}}

Toolik Lake has a tundra climate (Köppen ET).

{{Weather box

|location = Toolik Lake, Alaska, 1991–2020 normals: 2461ft (750m)

|single line = Yes

|Jan high F = 4.3

|Feb high F = 10.8

|Mar high F = 9.5

|Apr high F = 22.2

|May high F = 41.5

|Jun high F = 57.0

|Jul high F = 58.5

|Aug high F = 52.2

|Sep high F = 40.1

|Oct high F = 24.2

|Nov high F = 9.2

|Dec high F = 0.5

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = -5.5

|Feb mean F = 3.0

|Mar mean F = 0.0

|Apr mean F = 10.2

|May mean F = 32.5

|Jun mean F = 47.3

|Jul mean F = 49.7

|Aug mean F = 43.9

|Sep mean F = 32.9

|Oct mean F = 16.3

|Nov mean F = 2.1

|Dec mean F = -5.8

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = -15.2

|Feb low F = -4.9

|Mar low F = -9.5

|Apr low F = -1.9

|May low F = 23.5

|Jun low F = 37.6

|Jul low F = 40.9

|Aug low F = 35.6

|Sep low F = 25.7

|Oct low F = 8.4

|Nov low F = -5.0

|Dec low F = -12.0

|year low F =

|source 1 = NOAA

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00096409&format=pdf

|title = Toolik Lake 5 ENE, Alaska 1991-2020 Monthly Normals

|access-date = November 7, 2023

}}

}}

The Toolik Lake Research Natural Area is the 82,800 acre area managed by the Bureau of Land Management surrounding Toolik Lake.{{cite book |title=Toolik Field Station Long-Range Facilities Plan 2018 |date=December 2018 |publisher=National Science Foundation |url=https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/arctic/arsl/documents/facilities_upgrades/Toolik%20Long%20Range%20Facilities%20Plan%202018.pdf |accessdate=19 July 2020}} In 1991, it was designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Two rare plants are known to occur in the area; Claytoniella bostockii, and Erigeron muirii. In 2002, the Bureau of Land Management and the University of Alaska Museum Herbarium agreed to search at least 3,000 acres/year around the Toolik Lake Research Natural Area and the Galbraith Lake Outstanding Natural Area for rare plants.{{cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=Amy Breen |last2=Parker |first2=Carolyn |last3=Craig |first3=Tim |title=Toolik Lake Research Natural Area / ACEC Rare Plant Inventory, 2002 |date=July 2003 |publisher=Bureau of Land Management |location=Anchorage, Alaska |url=https://www.blm.gov/documents/national-office/blm-library/report/toolik-lake-research-natural-areaacec-rare-plant |accessdate=18 July 2020}}

Camping is prohibited within the area.

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File:ToolikFieldOffice.jpg

File:Toolik Field Station(1).jpg

The Toolik Field Station is an arctic research station located on the southeast shore of Toolik Lake. It is managed by the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The station is located on 33.87 acres of land, and can support a population of up to 175 researchers. The National Science Foundation provides the station with $3 million a year to support operations.

The station is supported by modern amenities, including generator produced electricity, running water and shower facilities, a sauna, a kitchen and dining facility, dormitory-style housing, heated garages, and full-service wet and dry chemistry labs.

In June 1975, UAF placed the first structure on the lake to facilitate aquatic research. It was originally called the "University Toolik Camp".{{cite web |title=Toolik Field Station::History of Toolik |url=https://toolik.alaska.edu/about/history.php |website=toolik.alaska.edu |accessdate=18 July 2020}} The initial research focused on the trophic levels, biogeochemistry, and nutrient cycling of the lake. By 1979, both aquatic and terrestrial ecologists were studying the site. The scope of research broadened to include the growth rates and nutrient limitation of tundra vegetation.{{cite web |last1=Shaver |first1=Gaius |title=History Of Research at Toolik |url=https://arc-lter.ecosystems.mbl.edu/history-research-toolik |website=Arctic Long Term Ecological Research |accessdate=18 July 2020}} The facility quickly grew too large for its location, and in 1983, it was moved and given its current name. In 1987, Toolik was designated a Long-Term Ecological Research site.

In the late 1980s, Toolik was studied as part of the Response, Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery from Disturbance (R4D) project supported by the United States Department of Energy and National Academy of Sciences. The goal of the project was to understand the effects of disturbance on tundra ecosystems.

Through grants from the Department of Energy, Alaska State Legislature, and the National Science Foundation, the station has been upgraded considerably since its inception.

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{{portalbar|Lakes}}

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Category:Lakes of Alaska

Category:Bodies of water of North Slope Borough, Alaska