Progress in Estimating Boreal Eurasia Biomass Based on ICESat GLAS, ASTER GDEM, and Field Measurements

Christopher Neigh, NASA GSFC, christopher.s.neigh@nasa.gov (Presenter)
Ross Nelson, NASA GSFC, ross.f.nelson@nasa.gov
Guoqing Sun, NASA GSFC/UMD, guoqing.sun@nasa.gov
Kenneth Jon Ranson, NASA GSFC, kenneth.j.ranson@nasa.gov
Paul Montesano, NASA GSFC/Sigma Space, paul.m.montesano@nasa.gov
Hank A. Margolis, Laval University, hank.margolis@sbf.ulaval.ca

The Eurasian boreal forest is the largest continuous forest in the world and contains a vast quantity of carbon stock that is currently vulnerable to loss from climate change. We develop and present an approach to map the spatial distribution of above ground biomass throughout this region. Our method combines satellite measurements from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) that is carried on the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite ( ICESat), with the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM), and biomass field measurements collected from surveys from a number of different biomes throughout Boreal Eurasia. A slope model derived from the GDEM with quality control flags, and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) water mask was implemented to exclude poor quality GLAS shots and stratify measurements by MODIS International Geosphere Biosphere (IGBP) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ecozones. We derive equations from regional field measurements to estimate the spatial distribution of above ground biomass by land cover type within biome and present a map with uncertainties and limitations of this approach which can be used as a baseline for future studies.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Global Change Impact & Vulnerability   (Tue 11:30 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Nelson, Ross: A Lidar-Radar-Optical Data Fusion Approach for Estimating the Aboveground Carbon Stocks of North American Forests: Means and Uncertainties at Regional to Continental Scales ...details
• Nelson, Ross: Using the ICESAT-GLAS LiDAR to Estimate the Amount, Spatial Distribution, and Statistical Uncertainty of Aboveground Carbon Stocks of the North American Boreal Forest ...details
• Ranson, Jon: Amount, Spatial Distribution, and Statistical Uncertainty of Aboveground Carbon Stocks in the Circumpolar Boreal Forest ...details

Poster Location ID: 254