Remote Sensing of Biogeophysical Variables in the Canadian High Arctic: Examining Permafrost, Soil Moisture, Vegetation and Carbon Exchange

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Arctic ecosystems account for a large proportion of Canada’s land surface and are important systems within the context of global climate change and environmental change research. These northern environments are thought to be particularly sensitive to changes in climate, yet it remains unclear as to how tundra ecosystems will respond. For instance, it is estimated that temperatures have increased on average by 3-4 degrees in the Canadian Arctic over the past half century and will continue to exceed global mean warming. As a result, changes in Arctic tundra ecosystem patterns and processes will be expressed through permafrost degradation, shifts in vegetation phenology and species composition and abundance. In addition to the obvious impacts of increasing air and soil temperatures, there are a number of factors that serve as controls on vegetation growth in the Canadian Arctic, including soil moisture, nutrient availability, soil type and topography/micro-topography.

Our research in the Canadian High Arctic examines the potential for high spatial resolution remote sensing data (optical and synthetic aperture radar) to quantify biogeophysical variables that control carbon fluxes at landscape (i.e. watershed) scales. To examine these patterns and processes, in situ studies are conducted in order to calibrate and validate remote sensing models at high spatial resolution. Variables of significance for productivity modeling and estimating net ecosystem exchange include above-ground phytomass, percent vegetation cover, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and soil/surface moisture and permafrost degradation. These are critical environmental, structural and physiological variables linked to many ecosystem processes (e.g., phytomass information plays a significant role in assessing carbon stocks, is an important element in global change and productivity models, and is a measure of vegetation community structure which influences biodiversity). In this presentation, I will present the results of our remote sensing research at study sites on Melville Island and Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut.

Short Biography: Professor Treitz (pdf 39 kB)

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