Schaefer, Kevin: National Snow and Ice Data Center (Project Lead)
Jafarov, Elchin: Woodwell Climate Research Center (Co-Investigator)
Natali, Susan (Sue): Woodwell Climate Research Center (Co-Investigator)
Parsekian, Andrew (Andy): University Of Wyoming (Co-Investigator)
Ludwig, Sarah (Ludda): Columbia University (Participant)
Michaelides, Roger: Washington University in St. Louis (Student-Graduate)
Schaefer, Sean: DePaul University (Student-Graduate)
Project Funding:
2016 - 2017
NRA: 2015 NASA: Rapid Response and Novel Research in Earth Science
Funded by NASA
Abstract:
To understand the impacts of fire on permafrost, we need large-scale, extensive measurements of ALT both within and outside the fire zone. We propose to perform large-scale surveys of Active Layer Thickness (ALT) in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta fire zones using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and mechanical probing. GPR uses pulsed, radio-frequency electromagnetic waves to noninvasively image the subsurface and is an effective tool to quickly map ALT over large areas. We will supplement this ALT data with measurements of Volumetric Water Content (VWC), Organic Layer Thickness (OLT), and burn severity. Our team will fly out of Bethel, Alaska to the Kuka Fire zone in the YK delta in August, 2016. Over a 6-day period, we will drag the GPR instrument across the ground to survey ~15 km of tundra in and around the burn areas, gathering a total of ~30,000 ALT measurements. We will develop statistical relationships between ALT and burn severity, vegetation type, and land form and publish the complete dataset on the ABoVE science cloud by December, 2016.
More details may be found in the following project profile(s):
