The Delta weather station was approximately centered on the broad (0.15 km^2) lower delta built into Lake C2. The delta surface slopes to the west at 2° , and is primarily comprised of gravel and cobble size sediments; there is generally less than 10 cm of topographic roughness on the delta surface near the station. Sparse vegetation cover on adjacent areas of the delta included 20 percent Saxifraga oppositifolia (purple saxifrage), 10 percent Salix arctica (arctic willow), and 60-65 percent lichens.
The Delta site was at an elevation of 8 m a.s.l., as determined by leveling from Taconite Inlet to Lake C2, and from the lake to the weather station. At spatial scales up to hundreds of meters, the influence of topography on Delta meteorological measurements was uniform in all directions. One small scale topographic influence was a 1 to 2 m gradual rise in topography 8 m south of the site, which may have influenced wind speeds when winds were from 180° +/- approximately 45° . At increasingly larger spatial scales, Delta measurements were influenced by such factors as the large area of ice covering Lake C2, the stream canyon to the east and the complex effects of mountainous terrain on air motion.
Continuous daylight prevailed during each of the field seasons. Solar radiation was obstructed at the Delta site by surrounding topography for a brief period shortly after midnight each day (GRAPH: sun altitude vs. azimuth). Although the shading significantly reduced the direct component of solar radiation for these hours, the effect of shadowing on daily radiation totals was small.