Upcoming Field Work to Characterize Permafrost Carbon Emissions in Alaska

Emily L Wilson, NASA GSFC, emily.l.wilson@nasa.gov (Presenter)
Eugenie Euskirchen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, seeuskirchen@alaska.edu
Lesley Ott, NASA GSFC, lesley.e.ott@nasa.gov
Bryan Duncan, NASA GSFC, bryan.n.duncan@nasa.gov
Lynn Carter, NASA GSFC, lynn.m.carter@nasa.gov
J. Houston Miller, George Washington Univ, houston@gwu.edu
Compton Tucker, NASA GSFC, compton.j.tucker@nasa.gov
Qing Liang, USRA, qing.liang-1@nasa.gov
Yasin Elshorbany, University of Maryland, yasin.f.elshorbany@nasa.gov

We will present details of an upcoming effort funded through NASA IDS to measure methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) above thawing permafrost at three sites, each representing a different ecosystem, near Fairbanks, AK. We have designed a unique and comprehensive array of ground experiments at these sites that will record permafrost depth and subsurface structure, meteorological data, and concentrations of key GHGs during seasonal ground thaw of the active layer in the summer. This is the first time that these types of measurements have been combined to provide a holistic view of the evolution of, and the atmospheric response to permafrost thaw. These data will allow us to estimate emission fluxes of carbon from the thawing permafrosts. To estimate a global source of GHG emissions from thawing permafrosts, we will use MODIS and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor data to “scale up” the data collected at the three sites on the basis of land surface type information. We refer to our work as a pilot study as we will collect observations near Fairbanks, AK with the intent to expand our observational network in the future to other sites in North America, which will aid in the monitoring of changes in GHG emissions in the Arctic as well as complement and help interpret data collected by space-borne instruments, such as GOSAT, IASI, and AIRS.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Theme 2: Landscapes to coasts: understanding Earth system connections   (Mon 1:30 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Related Activity: Related Activity or Previously Funded CC&E Activity not listed ...details

Poster Location ID: 12