Landscape Dynamics and Terrestrial Vegetation

Description

From calving glaciers to rumbling volcanoes, the SWAN is located in one of the most geologically active regions on the continent. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a spectacular 100 square-kilometer pyroclastic ash flow in Katmai National Park & Preserve, and Aniakchak Caldera, a 10 km-wide, 600 m-deep caldera in Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve are just two of the many volcanic features in the Network. Superimposed on these features are ice and permanent snowfields that blanket approximately one-fifth of the land area in the SWAN. Valley and tidewater glaciers radiate from massive snowfields along the coastal mountains of Kenai Fjords National Park, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, and Katmai National Park & Preserve, while rapidly retreating glaciers leave huge deposits of till in their wake.

View Model

Volcanic eruptions, tectonic forces, and glacial processes make the SWAN an ideal laboratory for both geologic research and long-term ecological studies. Collectively, the SWAN spans 3 Alaska climatic zones and 11 ecoregions, encompassing the area where coastal Aleutian, low Arctic, interior-boreal, and Pacific coastal flora and fauna converge. Approximately half of the land area in southwest Alaska is characterized by mean annual temperatures at or near 0 ºC, and as a result relatively small changes in temperature may have regional effects on seasonal snow and ice dynamics. Colonization by new species due to large-scale disturbance and/or climate change, changes in the distribution of existing species, or changes in the timing of critical life stages or patterns of migration could have important implications for park management and resource protection.