The implementation of the GeoBasic monitoring programme was initiated during a three week intensive field campaign in August 2007. GeoBasic provides long term data of climatic, hydrological and physical landscape variables describing the environment at Kobbefjord close to Nuuk. The GeoBasic programme will include monitoring of the physical variables within: Snow and Ice, Soils, Vegetation and Carbon Flux. The implementation of the GeoBasic programme will continue in 2008 with installation of the remaining systems and the field based monitoring going on from May through September.

Four automatic oblique cameras were installed on the mountain ridges for snow distribution monitoring. A digital terrain model for the orthorectification of the images is under development. As part of the snow monitoring an initial snow survey was carried out during spring 2008 in cooperation with ClimateBasic. This survey will be repeated every year in late winter to approximate the maximum snow cover. A simple automatic weather station for micro-meteorological measurements of air temperature, humidity, incoming shortwave radiation and surface temperature has been installed at 554 meter above sea level (m a.s.l) on Qaqarssuaq in the middle, south part of the drainage basin. A similar station is planned for setup in approximately 1000 m a.s.l. in the northern part of the drainage basin. Data from these stations will mainly be used for monitoring inversion and radiation for use in the snow distribution and melt models.

The soil sub-programme will monitor the annual and seasonal variations in nutrient content as well as the physical characteristics of the soil. The two stations include a fen site and a heath site with mixed heath vegetation. Each station consists of an automatic logger measuring soil moisture and soil temperature at 3-4 depths depending on the thickness of the soil profile. Air temperature and relative humidity at 2 m, soil surface temperature and soil heat flux is also measured by the stations. A third station will be installed during the 2008 season.

The GeoBasic programme monitors the phenology of the vegetation communities using satellite imagery and automatic cameras. The landscape vegetation monitoring is made by two NDVI cameras installed at 297 and 554 m a.s.l. respectively overlooking the main part of the valley floor. Several high resolution satellite images were acquired from previous as well as the initial growing seasons.

The carbon flux sub-programme consist of a plot scale methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) flux system and a landscape scale carbon dioxide and water vapour (H2O) flux system monitoring a wetland area in Kobbefjord. The CH4 plot scale system is based on the chamber technique: a box of known volume isolates a known area of the surface and can be opened or closed. It consists of six automated chambers. The CO2 landscape scale system is based on an eddy covariance tower. The eddy covariance technique provides the net ecosystem exchange of CO2 giving information on the total flux, i.e. from both soil and vegetation, to or from the ecosystem. Power to the systems is delivered by large battery systems charged by solar panels in combination with a generator.