2. Snowmelt Monitoring. Snowmelt was monitored at a site c. 3km North-East of the Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP) base (74 o 43’07” N, 94 o 59’19” W), near Resolute, Cornwallis Island, in the Canadian High Arctic. The region is well within the zone of continuous permafrost, and the mean annual air temperature (1947-1990) is -16.4 o C, reaching a monthly high in July of 4.2 o C. Winter endures for 8-9 months of the year, usually from mid-September to early-June, with the main snowmelt season beginning in mid-June and lasting for as little as one week or up to 3-4 weeks. A meteorological tower was set-up on June 1 st at a FLAT site and recorded a range of atmospheric and radiation data throughout the melt season. The 2000 spring snowmelt at Resolute was fairly typical, with temperatures rising above freezing from June 7 th and sustained melt occurring after June 15 th with warmer air temperatures. Various snow data were also acquired, such as a vertical temperature profile of the snow pack; snow ablation was monitored using a snow line above the snow (to measure surface changes) and surface density measurements taken, to yield a snow ablation curve for the site. Snowmelt took approximately 29 days to complete, from the first day of above 0 o C temperatures until snow cover was completely eliminated from the FLAT site and it’s immediate vicinity (c. 1 km 2 ).

3. Location of Cornwallis Island in the Canadian High Arctic Location of Flat Site Cornwallis Island N N

4. The Flat Site, Pre-Melt.

5. Flat Site, Mid-melt

6. Flat Site, Post/Late-melt.

7. Snow Ablation Curve at the FLAT site, Spring 2000, Resolute.

8. Contributors… David Jones, Graduate Student,York University, Toronto, Canada Dr. Kathy Young, York University, Toronto, Canada The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the following for financial and logistical support: Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP), Natural Sciences Engineering & Research Council (NSERC), The Arctic Institute of North America (AINA). Prof. Ming-ko Woo, MacMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.