Remote Sensing
wlcable - Mon, 2010-03-08 14:05
Remote Sensing at the Permafrost Lab
- Reginald Muskett, Research Associate Geophysicist
- Santosh Panda, Research Associate
- Prajna Regmi, Ph.D. Student (GG)
- Louise Farquharson, Ph. D. Student (GG, WERC)
- Guido Grosse, Research Assistant Professor (Affiliate, AWI Germany)
- Benjamin Jones, Research Geographer (Affiliate, USGS)
Research Group Remote Sensing of Permafrost Landscapes
Remote sensing is key to detection, monitoring, and understanding spatial processes of permafrost change in remote high latitude regions. We recently embedded a research group in the Permafrost Laboratory focusing strongly on the remote sensing of environmental dynamics in permafrost landscapes. We are engaged in the Panarctic, but our current focus regions are Alaska and North Siberia. We are working with optical imagery on various scales from aerial imagery to MODIS data, LIDAR, IfSAR, GRACE, and via external collaborations started working with SAR data (TSX, ERS-2, PALSAR). Field work and ground truth in remote Arctic regions and under sometimes extreme environmental conditions (winter cold, snow storms, summer heat, mosquitoes...) are a crucial component of our remote sensing studies. Our work is closely coupled with the modeling efforts by Profs. V. Romanovsky and S. Marchenko, and Postdoctoral Fellow R. Daanen. Several additional projects by lab members include remote sensing analyses on the sidelines. Research Technician B. Cable supports many technical aspects of our group. Together we are working on a still virtual project 'Permafrost Watch' in which we try to incorporate remote sensing, ground data and modeling on an operational basis for distinct real-world applications.
Our group is continuously looking for undergraduate and graduate students with interest in permafrost, cryospheric change, Arctic climate impacts, modeling, and remote sensing / GIS applications. Exciting research themes are just waiting to be tackled at this new and rapidly growing frontier of Earth's cryosphere sciences.
Current projects
- NASA Carbon Cycle Sciences: Assessing the spatial and temporal dynamics of thermokarst, methane emissions, and related carbon cycling in Siberia and Alaska
- NSF Office of Polar Programs: IPY: Understanding the Impacts of Icy Permafrost Degradation and Thermokarst-Lake Dynamics in the Arctic on Carbon Cycling, CO2 and CH4 emissions, and Feedbacks to Climate Change
- US FWS: Thermokarst lake drainage - Vulnerability to climate change and prediction of future habitatdistribution on the North Slope
- ESA: Approved user in the Data User Element Permafrost
- SPOT Planet Action: Detecting thermokarst lake change in Siberia using SPOT imagery
- ESA IPY: Remote Sensing Baseline for Long-term Monitoring of the Arctic Circumpolar Coastal Observatory Network (ACCO-Net)
- UAF IPY: Climate induced permafrost degradation in the Arctic (CIPEDIA)
- DLR: Testing high-resolution Terra-SAR-X data to assess greenhouse gas emissions of thermokarst lakes in the Arctic – A contribution to understanding arctic carbon dynamics during the IPY
- ESA:Characterizing Lena Delta Morphology using ALOS satellite data (LEDAM)
- ASF:Investigation of Arctic permafrost degradation using ALOS satellite data (IAPED)
- GRACE:GRACE-Derived Groundwater Storage Changes of the Arctic Permafrost Watersheds
Permafrost Watch is a still virtual project that aims at combining remote sensing and field data streams with modeling of permafrost to operationally measure, monitor and predict physical permafrost parameters for distinct target regions relevant to decision makers in government and industry.
Equipment and Facilities
Hardware
- LEICA VIVA RTK Differential GPS
- LEICA Total Station TS02
- Panasonic Toughbook
- Modified SIPRE Permafrost Drill Kit
- Various permafrost sampling gear
- Freezer storage and cold room laboratory
- Hobo Data Logger Launcher
- GARMIN hand held GPS
- TRIMBLE GeoExplorer XT GPS
- Time lapse cameras for long-term process monitoring
- Soil gas sampling probe
- Tree ring corer
- Several dedicated remote sensing and GIS workstations
- Shared and RAID-secured server space with 5.45 TB and 15 TB
- PLUSTEK OpticFilm 7500i slide scanner
- HP Scanjet 8300 Scanner
- Color and B/W Laser Printer
- Access to large-format plotters via the GI Design Center
Software
- ArcGIS 9.3 and 10 (including all extensions)
- ArcGIS Feature Analyst
- ENVI 4.8 single node + network floating licenses
- ENVI DEM Extraction Module
- ENVI FLAASH Atmospheric Correction Module
- ECognition Developer 4.68
- ERDAS Imagine
- Leica Geo Office
- ATCOR 2/3 Atmospheric Correction Software
- BEAM 4.5.1
- ASD Viewspec Pro
- MODIS Reprojection Tool
- MATLAB 7.6.0
- Strater
- Grapher 7
- Corel Draw X4
- Adobe Photoshop
- Endnote X2
- Standard Office Packages (MS Office, Open Office)
Other relevant resources available at UAF
GINA is a distributed data system for geospatial information, GINA maintains an enterprise-level geographic information system (GIS) with online archiving, internet mapping, and metadata services. GINA offers training and assistance in satellite image processing, GIS, and visualization. GINA provides custom processing, server-side analysis, and visualization tools. GINA unites and extends UA’s GIS and remote sensing activities through the use of internationally adopted standards and a shared web portal.
The Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) of the Geophysical Institute (GI) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, downlinks, archives, and distributes satellite data. ASF is comprised of a Satellite Tracking Ground Station(STGS) as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ground Network system, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Data Center in support of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) project, and the Americas ALOS Data Node (AADN) established by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In addition, ASF manages the GI’s GeoData Center and Map Office.
ARSC computational systems and resources include a wide range of high performance computing, storage and visualization technology.
Recent Publications
Thermokarst lakes and drained thermokarst lake basins
- ICESat-Derived Changes on the Lena Delta and Laptev Sea, Siberia
- Classification of freshwater ice conditions on the Alaskan Coastal Plain
- TerraSAR-X and Landsat based characterization of drained lake basins on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
- SAR based detection of methane bubbles in lake ice
- Hydrologic analysis of lake-rich watersheds on the Alaska Northslope
- Geologic methane seep detection and quantification with airborne surveys
- Characterizing Post-Drainage Succession in Thermokarst Lake Besins, Seward Peninsula, Alaska
- Hydrogeomorphic dynamics of thermokarst lakes under varying ice regimes on the Alaska Northslope
- Thermokarst lake erosion and drainage on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska
- Mapping of drained thermokarst lake basins and characterization of peat carbon stocks on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska
- Thermokarst lake distribution in Yedoma areas in Siberia
- Lake characteristics in the Lena River Delta
Coastal erosion
- ICESat-Derived Elevation Changes on the Lena Delta and Laptev Sea, Siberia
- Coastal erosion dynamics on the Bykovsky Peninsula, Northeast Siberia
- Coastal erosion patterns on the Buor Khaya coast, Northeast Siberia
- Quantifying coastal erosion at Cape Halkett, Alaska Beaufort Sea coast
Land cover characterization, carbon pools, and permafrost detection
- Arctic Dirunal Land-Surface Temperature Range Changes Derived by NASA MODIS-Terra and -Aqua 2000-2012
- High-resolution permafrost modeling in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park an Preserve
- High-resolution permafrost modeling in Denali National Park and Preserve
- GOSAT CH4 and CO2, MODIS Evapotranspiration on the Northern Hemisphere June-July 2009-2011
- Remote Sensing, Model-Derived and Ground Measurementts of Snow Water Equivalent and Snow Density in Alaska
- MODIS-Derived Arctic Land-Surface Temperature Trends
- Near-surface permafrost mapping using logistic-regression and remote sensing in Interior Alaska
- Landsat-based landcover classification of the Lena River Delta for quantification of near-surface soil organic carbon stocks
- Landsat-based landcover classification in the Lena River Delta for quantifying methane emissions
- Fieldspectral characterization of geomorphic units in the Lena River Delta
- Mapping thermokarst-affected terrain types in Northeast Siberian coastal lowlands
- Remote sensing and field-based mapping of permafrost distribution along the Alaska Highway corridor, interior Alaska
Periglacial feature mapping
- Mapping and morphometric characterization of pingos using an IfSAR derived DSM in northern Alaska
- Analysing spatial distribution of pingos in Siberia with topographic map data and ASTER remote sensing
- Using declassified Corona imagery to study periglacial geomorphology
Ground based remote sensing
- GPR based detection of slush on Alaskan lakes
- Detecting seasonal frost heave dynamics in patterned ground in North Alaska using terrestrial laser scanning
- GPR based mapping of floating vegetation mats around thermokarst lakes
- Characterizing river break-up patterns in Arctic Alaska using ground-based time lapse imagery
Gravimetric mass balance and snow water equivalent
- Multi-satellite based observations of changes in energy and masss balance of Russian permafrost regions
- Multi-satellite based observations of trends in snow-water equivalent in northern high latitudes
- Remote sensing and model based observations of snow density and snow water equivalent in Alaska
- GRACE based observations of ground water storage changes in Alaska permafrost regions
- Groundwater storage changes in arctic permafrost watersheds from GRACE and in situ measurements
Remote sensing of extraterrestrial periglacial enviornments
Glacier and ice
- Muskett, R.R., C.S. Lingle, J.M. Sauber, A. S. Post, W. V. Tangborn, B. T. Rabus, and K.A. Echelmeyer (2009): Airborne-Spaceborne DEM- and Laser Altimetry-Derived Surface Elevation and Volume Changes of the Bering Glacier System, 1972 through 2006. J. Glaciol., 55, 190, 316-326.
- Muskett, R.R., C.S. Lingle, J.M. Sauber, B.T. Rabus, and W.V. Tangborn (2008): Acceleration of Surface Lowering on the Tidewater Glaciers of Icy Bay, Alaska, U.S.A., from InSAR DEMs and ICESat Altimetry. Earth and Planetary Sci. Lett., 265, 345-359, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.10.012.
- Atwood, D.K., R.M. Guritz, R.R. Muskett, C.S. Lingle, J.M. Sauber, and J.T. Freymueller (2007): DEM Control in Arctic Alaska with ICESat Laser Altimetry. IEEE Trans. Geosci. and Remote Sensing, 45 (11), 3710-3720.
- Sauber, J., B. Molnia, C. Carabajal, S. Luthcke, and R. Muskett (2005): Ice elevation and surface change on the Malaspina Glacier, Alaska. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L23S01.
Links
- Task Force of the International Permafrost Association (IPA) on Remote Sensing of Permafrost (Co-Chaired by G.Grosse)