This project uses semi-automated interpretation of high resolution imagery to assess the direction and magnitude of changes in shrub cover and aboveground biomass in alaskan and canadian arctic tundra…

This is a $142,127.35 cooperative agreement awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Montclair State University. The purpose of the project is to use semi-automated interpretation of high-resolution satellite imagery to assess changes in shrub cover and aboveground biomass in the Arctic tundra over a 10-15 year period. The goal is to provide data that can be used to validate lower spatial resolution remote sensing data products, initiate and calibrate ecological models, and assess the impacts of these changes on tundra summer albedo. The project will leverage commercial satellite imagery including QuickBird, GeoEye, and WorldView-3. The awarded contract does not have a set-aside designation, and Montclair State University is the prime contractor with no major subcontractors noted.

This project uses semi-automated interpretation of high resolution imagery to assess the direction and magnitude of changes in shrub cover and aboveground biomass in alaskan and canadian arctic tundra over a 10- to 15-year period to provide data that can be used to validate lower spatial resolution above remote sensing data products, initiate, drive, calibrate and validate ecological models, and assess the impacts of these changed on tundra summer albedo. IT exploits the availability of commercial satellite high spatial resolution imagery including the quickbird record from 2002 onwards; geoeye from 2012 onwards, and worldview-3 imagery when this becomes available. Modis ndvi and fire maps and meteorological data will be used to ensure that imagery is not compromised by extreme weather events or fire. IT will select sites that have cloud-free summer imagery, including existing or near-future above field campaign sites, and use the validated canapi method to measure shrub cover and where possible mean shrub crown radius and height; and use these estimates to quantify changes in shrub cover and biomass over the period 2002/3 to the near-present, and their impact on albedo, as estimated in modis, misr, and viirs products. Replication allows quantification of uncertainty from user bias. Shrub canopy estimates will be calibrated using field data already collected for 26 sites on the north slope of alaska in 2010 and 2011 that are held in the north american carbon program data set "woody vegetation characteristics of 1,039 sites across the north slope, alaska". The output data will be stored on the above science cloud. They will not only provide a more precise picture of rates of change in shrub abundance and how this impacts summer tundra albedo but will also have utility for other above remote sensing initiatives that use imagery acquired at lower spatial resolutions (aerial acquisitions, landsat, modis, misr, viirs); and for other tundra researchers.