ABOUT
TOOLIK GIS
Toolik
Field Station was first established to support an aquatic
program designed to obtain base-line data on the North Slope and
inland coastal pond in 1975. Research expanded over the years to
include terrstrial, atmospheric, vertebrate and other components,
making Toolik home to a long running and diversified body of arctic
ecology. Facilities grew in proportion to the scope and scale of
ongoing projects, currently supporting over 300 researhcers from
over 50 institutions annually. Current science funding is $36,000,000
(total), averaging $8,600,000 annually, with annual logistic and
facility support of $1,700,000, and $1,000,000 in annual facility
upgrades.
Growth
of Toolik science, the number of researchers, and the facility from
a tented camp to a research station prompted the establishment of
Toolik GIS as part of the 5 year Cooperative Agreement between the
National Science Foundation
and the Institute of Arctic
Biology, UAF in 2001 (NSF Award No. 9981914). The mission
of Toolik Field Station GIS is to facilitate and enhance arctic research,
and to increase research and management efficiency, effectiveness
and capability. This is accomplished: 1) through Information Technology
(IT) and GIS support of administrative and management infrastructure
and production of planning tools for land management and permitting,
and 2) through direct consultation and service to scientists via network
and logistical support. Toolik GIS provides a rich spatial database,
project-specific data development, spatial analysis, consultation
and documentation. These services are available at the station during
the summer field season, and through the Toolik GIS office at UAF
year round. They include: an ongoing data development function, fast
turnaround of daily requests, and detailed, intensive consultation
on larger projects. Toolik Field Station GIS is also committed to
engineering the database, hardware and personnel to anticipate future
requirements and provide a legacy product to enhance the management
and science conducted at Toolik Field Station and in the arctic.
Fulfilling
the mission requires three basic types of activity: 1) maintenance,
expansion and development of the Toolik GIS database, 2) timely response
to daily requests, 3) specialized project-specific data development
and 4) active collaboration and publication of the results with research
scientists. To date, the Toolik GIS database includes several hundred
spatial datasets comprised of vector data and attributes, and raster
data from remotely sensed and derived sources. Staff are present on
site throughout the summer field season and by request during the
winter to provide on site logisitical, analytical and data development
support in the lab and in the field. Services are also available throughout
the year to provide scientists, managers and administrators with the
data, analyses and support necessary to maximize research and operations
at Toolik.
Toolik
GIS also plays an active role in the development and advancement of
spatial data services at the regional and circumartic scales. Involvement
in the scoping and execution of arctic GIS efforts include participation
in the North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI),
the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH),
the NSF
Arctic GIS Workshop, and other ongoing efforts.
The ultimate
vision for the Toolik GIS program is to continue to provide a stable
platform for enhancing and expanding scientific, managerial and administrative
efforts at Toolik while acting as a key node in arctic spatial data
services and distribution. In effect, Toolik GIS helps maximize the
efficiency and effectiveness of efforts ranging from individual projects
to multi-agency intiatives advancing our knowledge and management
of arctic ecosystems.
