ABoVE Measurements List by Theme
- Below is a list of potential measurements ABoVE researchers could be making, organized by Measurement Theme.
- Project Leads are asked to indicate which measurements their project will be taking during fieldwork (or have already taken during field work in 2016 or 2017) via the Sites/Measurements tab in the ABoVE Project Profile Update Tool (link available on your My Account page after sign-in).
- These measurements will be listed on each project profile and displayed in the ABoVE Planning Tool.
- BEFORE updating the Sites/Measurements info for your Project, review the measurements below. If a measurement is not listed, you can submit a request to add a new one by emailing Web Support. Once reviewed, it will be added to the master list and available for you to select in the Sites/Measurements tool.
- Download measurements (.xls) to have a list of the measurements locally on your computer.
Wildlife Vegetation Disturbance Carbon Dynamics Hydrology Weather Satellite Remote Sensing Snow Permafrost Ecosystem Services Airborne Remote Sensing Other
Wildlife
Position (robin) Position (golden eagle) Population (caribou) Position data (caribou) Age structure (caribou) Health (caribou) Harvest (caribou) Population (Dall Sheep) Position (Dall Sheep) Age structure (Dall Sheep) Health (Dall Sheep) Harvest (Dall Sheep) Population data (moose) Position data (moose) Age structure (moose) Health (moose) Harvest (moose) Population data (wolf) Position data (wolf) Age structure (wolf) Health (wolf) Harvest (wolf) Population data (brown bear) Position data (brown bear) Age structure (brown bear) Health (brown bear) Harvest (brown bear) Population (other) Position (other) Age structure (other) Health (other) Harvest (other)
Vegetation
Aboveground biomass (AGB) - total mass of organic matter above ground; (mass per area) Belowground biomass Canopy height & structure Chlorophyll fluorescence Chlorophyll-carotenoid index (CCI) Chronology of dieback Climate-growth relationships Dendrochronologies FIA plots [details in USFS] fPAR Ground Lidar Growth chronology of dead trees Growth chronology of live trees Large branch density Large branch length Large branch orientation Large branch radius Leaf area index (LAI) Light use efficiency (LUE) Light-adapted minimal fluorescence NDVI- from ground sensor Near-infrared vegetation index (NIRv) Needle-level irradiance Organic Layer Thickness (OLT) - Thickness of surface organic layer; (distance) Phenology PhotoSpec measurements (PhotoSpec measuremen) Photosynthetic Reflectance Index (PRI) Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) PYR Reflectance Relative SIF (SIF/Intensity) Shrub height Small branch density Small branch length Small branch orientation Small branch radius Soil Moisture Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) - Mass of carbon per mass of dry soil; (mass per mass) Soil organic layer Fe concentration Soil organic layer K concentration Soil organic layer P concentration Soil Organic Matter (SOM) - Mass of organic matter per mass of dry soil; (mass per mass) Soil Surface Roughness (SR) - soil surface soughness scale length associated with radar scattering, excluding vegetation; (distance) Soil Temperature (Tsoil) - Soil temperature; (temperature) Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) Spectral signatures - field-based measurement of vegetation spectra; Stand age Stand level growth chronologies Standing dead Surface temperature Top-of-canopy instantaneous irradiance Tree component C concentration (boles, bark, branches, needles/leaves) Tree component Fe concentration (boles, bark, branches, needles/leaves) Tree component K concentration (boles, bark, branches, needles/leaves) Tree component N concentration (boles, bark, branches, needles/leaves) Tree component P concentration (boles, bark, branches, needles/leaves) Tree density Tree health Tree ring 13C chronology of dead trees Tree ring 13C chronology of live trees Trunk density Trunk diameter (or DBH) (DB) Trunk dielectric constant (if possible and permitted) Trunk height (or trunk length) Tussock density Tussock diameter Tussock height Vegetation composition Surface Albedo Vegetation cover Vegetation type Woody Biomass
Disturbance
Adventitious root depth to burned organic layer surface (black spruce) Adventitious root depth to burned organic layer surface (non-black spruce) Age of burned soil organic layer surface Anthropogenic disturbance Basal age of soil organic layer Burn Severity Index Coarse woody debris using standardized methodology Composite burn index, AK amendment to reflect ground layer burning Density and diversity of seeding understory species Density and diversity of tree seedlings Depth of residual soil organic layer (depth from burned surface to mineral soil) Depth to water table Distance to road or structure Distance to unburned patch Diversity and or density of resprouting plant species Drainage class Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) Insect outbreak extent and severity Residual moss and lichen inventory Retrogressive thaw slump (mapping) Retrogressive thaw slump (runoff) Riverbank Erosion Area - Spatial Data; Seed rain Shrub burn scar to burned organic layer surface (shrub tundra) Shrub combustion estimates (based on allometric classes) Shrub inventory (basal diameter, density, species) Slope, aspect Soil organic layer bulk density Soil organic layer carbon concentration Soil organic layer coarse debris carbon concentration Soil organic layer coarse debris density Soil organic layer nitrogen concentration Soil organic layer profile description Soil texture Thaw depth (depth from ground surface to frozen ground) Tree combustion estimates (based on allometric classes) Tree inventory (DBH, density, species, live or dead) Tundra burn classes Tussock meristem to burned organic layer surface (moist acidic tundra) Vegetation Colonization Area - spatial data; Vegetation type identification
Carbon Dynamics
12C 13C 14C 14C of Black Carbon Autotrophic Respiration (Ra) Chlorine CO concentration ([CO]) - mass concentration of carbon monoxide in air; (kg m-3) CO flux (dCO/dt) - surface downward flux of carbon monoxide; (kg m-2 s-1) CO2 concentration ([CO2]) - mass concentration of carbon dioxide in air; (kg m-3) CO2 flux (dCO2/dt) - surface downward flux of carbon dioxide; (kg m-2 s-1) Dissolved anions and cations DOC, POC, DIC, PIC Ebullition bubble surveys Ecosystem respiration Eddy Covariance Flux Tower Data [details from AmeriFlux] Evapotranspiration (ET) Flask Air Samples Gross Primary Production (GPP) Heterotrophic Respiration (Rh) Lignin phenols Methane (CH4) concentration Methane (CH4) flux Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) Net Primary Production (NPP) Nitrate Nitrite Nitrogen - total Nitrogen - total dissolved Nitrous oxide (N2O) Ozone concentration ([O3]) - mass concentration of ozone in air; (kg m-3) Phosphorus - total Phosphorus - total dissolved Respiration (chamber) Respiration (tower) Silica Soil respiration Sulfate Surface Energy Budget Tall Tower Carbon Species Water Vapor
Hydrology
Bathymetric Survey Freeze/thaw H2 - dissolved (d2H) Hydraulic Conductivity Ice Jam Characteristics Ice Thickness Inundation Inundation Extent (IE) - Areal extent of inundated vegetation; (area) Lake Ice presence/absence Loss on Ignition Open Water Extent (OWE) - Areal extent of open water; (area) Oxygen18 - dissolved (d18O) pH Salinity Soil-water Retention Specific conductance Stream flow Water Surface Elevation (WSE) - Elevation of lake surface above sea level; (distance) Water temperature
Weather
Air temperature Barometric pressure Precipitation amount Precipitation type Radiation (four component) Relative humidity Web Cam Ground View Web Cam Sky View Wind direction Wind speed
Snow
Main Melt Onset Date (MMOD)
Satellite Remote Sensing
SAR: C-band SAR: L-band
Snow
Snow course survey (ground-based) Snow Density Snow Depth Snow depth (aerial-based) Snow Melt Duration (SMD) Snow Percent Cover Snow stratigraphy Snow Water Equivalent Snowpack temperature profile Surface Albedo Surface temperature
Permafrost
Active Layer Thickness (ALT) - Maximum thaw depth at end of summer; (distance) Airborne Lidar Borehole Temperature Profile Climate Mitigation Activities Dielectric Constant (DC) - Bulk dielectric constant of the soil; (unitless) Electromagnetic resistivity (ER) - Resistance of soil to current; (ohms) Gravimetric Water Content (GWC) - Mass of water per mass of soil; (mass per mass) Ground ice content Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Lateral Erosion Rate (LER) - Volume soil removed per time; (volume per time) Radar Reference Points (RRP) - Locations where subsidence is known in order to convert InSAR phase to subsidence; (location) Seasonal Subsidence (Sub_seas) - Seasonal cycle of thaw subsidence and frost heave; (distance) Soil Bulk Density (BD) - Mass of dry soil per volume; (mass per volume) Surface deformation (Sub) - Any change in surface height; (distance) Surface nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Talik Depth (Tdepth) - Depth from surface to permafrost table in a talik zone; (distance) Talik Thickness (Tthick) - Depth to permafrost table minus the active layer thickness; (distance) Thaw subsidence (Sub_thaw) - Subsidence due to summer thaw of active layer; (distance) Thermokarst_location (TKST) - Location and areal extent of thaw-related vegetation and soil disturbance; (location and area) Volumetric Water Content (VWC) - Volume of water per volume of soil; (volume per volume)
Ecosystem Services
Building Location/Age/Status Climate Mitigation Activities Cultural Vitality (e.g., indigenous language use) Drinking Water Sources Economic Indicators (income distribution, labor force participation) Heating and Electricity Sources Historically Important Places Incidence of Disease and Injury Length of Season for Winter Transportation and Exploration Location and Use of Wastewater Treatment Facilities Mineral, Oil, and Gas Exploration and Extraction Activities Quality, Availability, Dynamics, and Use of Natural Resources Road Location/Age/Status (including winter roads) Subsistence Harvest Data Travel access to ecosystem services (river navigability, trail conditions, etc.)
Airborne Remote Sensing
AEM (Airborne Electromagnetic) Airborne Lidar AIRMETH AirSWOT ArcticCAP ASCENDS AVIRIS-NG CFIS SIF - Solar induced fluorescence from CFIS instrument; CFIS VNIR - Visible to Near Infrared Radiance from CFIS instrument; Digital Camera Imagery Digital Color Infrared Airborne Imagery F-SAR - DLR’s airborne multi-frequency and polarimetric SAR sensor; G-LiHT L-Band SAR LVIS P-Band SAR UAV
Other
Daily Photo Site Visit
