Active layer is measured c. 400 m south of the runway on a south facing slope at an elevation of 11-22 m a.s.l. Vegetation changes from dry dryas heath at the upper end to a waterlogged Eriophorum fen in the lower end. The site consists of 208 measuring points in a 120 m x 150 m grid (16 almost N-S oriented rows each with 13 points, see chart in: GeoBasis_Zack_Soil_properties_ZEROCALM-2_Active_layer.pdf). There are 10 m between every point. Active layer is measured manually using a metal rod. The dataset was iniated in 1996. Measurements are started as soon as the one point is free of snow in the grid. Measurements are repeated every week until only the snow fan on the south-facing slope is left, thereafter measurements are repeated every second week until the upper part of the soil starts to freeze. Soil properties:Soil properties GeoBasis Zackenberg:The GeoBasis monitoring programme focuses on selected abiotic characteristics in order to describe the state of Greenlandic terrestrial environments and their potential feedback effects in a changing climate. Monitored plot data is up-scaled to a landscape level and is used to improve ecosystem models to be able to quantify these feedback mechanisms. The GeoBasis programme provides an active response to recommendations in international assessments such as ACIA and SWIPA; and is continuously being adapted based on AMAP and other international founded recommendations. Furthermore, the GeoBasis programme is directly involved in several international networks and research projects (e.g. the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) programme, the Nordic Centre of Excellence DEFROST, the Danish Centre of Excellence CENPERM, the EU-projects PAGE21 and INTERACT, and the Arctic Research Centre at Aarhus University). The GeoBasis programme is divided into a number of sub-groups, including:
