Visiting reserve and lake Alakol.

“Thought is invisible nature”

Heinrich Heine.

Natural history tours to Tien-Shan.

Climate of area Alakol of reserve sharply continental with droughty summer and cold, smal snow, wind in the winter, characteristic for deserts outside of tropics. On territory of a hollow within a year 3 basic get type of air weights: Arctic, polar and tropical (Chupkakhin, 1968).
The average annual temperature of air within the limits of 6.2 - 7.2, at an absolute maximum +42 and an absolute minimum-46 S. Srednemesjachnaja temperature of air in January on a meteorological station "Druzhba" - 16.6, in Usharal --14.0 in July average temperature of air in Dzungarian Gates makes + 25.3 With, in area Usharal - +24.1 S.
Summarnoj radiation makes 125 - 135 kcal/sm a year, thus on a terrestrial surface 168 kcal/km a year are necessary on the average.  The Mid-annual sum of deposits from 146 (item Druzhba) up to 279 mm (item Usharal). In December - their March the monthly average quantity on these two meteorological stations accordingly changed from 3.2 - 4.6 up to 31.4 - 28.6 mm, in April - May - from 13.5 - 12.2 up to 35.1 - 29.8 mm, June - July - from 15.7 - 18.4 up to 24.2 - 22.3 mm, August - September - from 21.7 - 14.5 up to 8.5 - 12.2 mm, October - November - from 5.2 - 2.3 up to 21.6 - 20.0 mm.
The maximum of deposits is necessary for April - May and November - December. Mid-annual relative humidity of air in Dzungarian Gates makes 58 % (a maximum in November - March - 71 - 85 %), in area Usharal - 63 % (77 - 81 %).
Last 25 years in Alakol to a hollow the significant warming a climate accompanied by frequent winter thawing weather and rains is marked.
Duration of phenological seasons on plain: spring - on March, 25th - on May, 5th (52 days), summer - on May, 16th - on September, 30th (138 days), autumn - on October, 1st - on November, 15th (45 days), winter - on November, 16th - on March, 24th (130 days).
Duration warm the period with average temperature above 0 makes 8 - 8.5 months (Trifonov, 1965). The first snowfalls are marked in the end of October - the beginning of November, the steady snow cover in height is established in second half of November.
The height of a snow cover 8 - 20 sm, in multisnow winters drops out up to 100 - 135 see As a result of strong winds on plain of a snow a little. During the winter period thawing weather with rains, the subsequent snowfalls and cold snaps which cause ice down to frost formation and destruction of many animals are frequent.
The snow cover on lakeside plain usually descends in the third decade of March, in separate years in the beginning of April.

Authorship:
Berezovikov Nikolay Nikolaevich, Cand.Biol.Sci.

Photos by:
Alexander Petrov.