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Identifying relations among active layer properties and land cover types in Old Crow Flats, Yukon, Canada
W.
Brent
Thorne, Brock University, bthorne2@brocku.ca
(Presenter)
Ground-based measurements indicate widespread increasing ground temperatures across northern regions during recent decades. There have also been associated changes in land cover and hydrological conditions across lake-rich landscapes, however, additional studies are required to investigate relations among these integrated landscape components. For instance, it is unclear how warming ground conditions or shrub vegetation proliferation are affecting important northern lake-rich environments. Our research investigates these relationships in Old Crow Flats (OCF), Yukon, which is a lake-rich Arctic landscape widely regarded for its cultural and ecological integrity. Here, we use a combination of remote sensing, in-situ soil moisture and active layer thickness (ALT) probe measurements, and vegetation sampling to investigate ground-land cover characteristics among six plots spanning varying land cover types. Plots were initially grouped according to dominant land cover types including tundra/bog, shrub/spruce, and burned. Preliminary results from 2017 show high late thaw-season variability in ALT among tundra/bog (mean = 25.95 cm), shrub/spruce (mean = 35.79 cm), and burned (mean = 49.57 cm) sites. Soil moisture in-situ volumetric water content (VWC) measurements, with 20 cm probe depth, show similar late-thaw season variability among tundra/bog (mean = 58.77%), shrub/spruce (mean = 43.44%), and burned (mean = 47.55%). Ongoing analysis will incorporate use of unmanned aviation vehicle (UAV) acquired high-resolution aerial photography and additional remote sensing products (acquired as part of NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment airborne campaign) to refine maps of lake and river catchments that have been monitored in collaboration with Parks Canada since 2007. Integrated approaches being developed here will enhance our knowledge of the complex relations affecting lake-rich permafrost landscapes as climate continues to change. Presentation: ASTM4_Poster_Thorne_91_67.pdf (3047k) Associated Project(s): Poster Location ID: 91 Session Assigned: Permafrost and Hydrology
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