scholarly journals Remote Sensing-Based Statistical Approach for Defining Drained Lake Basins in a Continuous Permafrost Region, North Slope of Alaska

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2539
Author(s):  
Helena Bergstedt ◽  
Benjamin M. Jones ◽  
Kenneth Hinkel ◽  
Louise Farquharson ◽  
Benjamin V. Gaglioti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
The North ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
Permafrost Regions ◽  
Lake Basins

Lake formation and drainage are pervasive phenomena in permafrost regions. Drained lake basins (DLBs) are often the most common landforms in lowland permafrost regions in the Arctic (50% to 75% of the landscape). However, detailed assessments of DLB distribution and abundance are limited. In this study, we present a novel and scalable remote sensing-based approach to identifying DLBs in lowland permafrost regions, using the North Slope of Alaska as a case study. We validated this first North Slope-wide DLB data product against several previously published sub-regional scale datasets and manually classified points. The study area covered >71,000 km2, including a >39,000 km2 area not previously covered in existing DLB datasets. Our approach used Landsat-8 multispectral imagery and ArcticDEM data to derive a pixel-by-pixel statistical assessment of likelihood of DLB occurrence in sub-regions with different permafrost and periglacial landscape conditions, as well as to quantify aerial coverage of DLBs on the North Slope of Alaska. The results were consistent with previously published regional DLB datasets (up to 87% agreement) and showed high agreement with manually classified random points (64.4–95.5% for DLB and 83.2–95.4% for non-DLB areas). Validation of the remote sensing-based statistical approach on the North Slope of Alaska indicated that it may be possible to extend this methodology to conduct a comprehensive assessment of DLBs in pan-Arctic lowland permafrost regions. Better resolution of the spatial distribution of DLBs in lowland permafrost regions is important for quantitative studies on landscape diversity, wildlife habitat, permafrost, hydrology, geotechnical conditions, and high-latitude carbon cycling.

Mapping lake drainage and drained lake basins around Point Lay, Alaska using multi-source remote sensing data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Bergstedt ◽  
Benjamin Jones ◽  
Donald Walker ◽  
Louise Farquharson ◽  
Amy Breen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
The North ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Lake Drainage ◽  
The Village ◽  
Lake Basins

<p>The North Slope of Alaska is a permafrost affected landscape dominated by lakes and drained lake basins of different sizes, depths and ages. Local communities across the North Slope region rely on lakes as a fresh water source and as locations for subsistence fishing, while industry relies on lakes as a source of water for winter transportation. Lake drainage events are often disruptive to both communities and industry that rely on being in close proximity to surface water sources in a region underlain by continuous permafrost. Drained lake basins of different ages can provide information on the past effects of climate change in the region. Studying past drainage events gives insight about the causes and mechanisms of these complex systems and benefits our understanding of lake evolution on the Arctic Coastal Plain in Alaska and the circumpolar Arctic as a whole.</p><p>Lakes and drained lake basins can be identified using high to medium resolution multispectral imagery from a range of satellite-based sensors. We explore the history of lake drainage in the region around Point Lay, a community located on the northern Chukchi Coast of Alaska, using a multi-source remote sensing approach. We study the evolution of lake basins before and after drainage events, their transformation from fishing grounds and water sources to grazing grounds and the geomorphological changes in the surrounding permafrost-dominated landscapes associated with these transitions.  </p><p>We build a dense and long time series of satellite imagery of past lake drainage events by including a multitude of remote sensing acquisitions from different sources into our analysis. Incorporating imagery from different sensors that have different temporal and spatial resolutions allows us to assess past drainage events and current geomorphological states of lakes and drained lake basins at different temporal and spatial scales. Point Lay is known to be an area where drainage events occur frequently and are of high relevance to the community. In August of 2016, the village drinking water source drained during a period of intense rainfall causing the village to seek alternative sources for a freshwater supply. Our results from the analysis of the remotely sensed imagery were shared directly with the community as part of a public seminar series in the Spring of 2020. We hope that results from our study near Point Lay, Alaska can contribute towards the selection of a new freshwater source lake for the village.</p>

scholarly journals The influence of local oil exploration and regional wildfires on summer 2015 aerosol over the North Slope of Alaska

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie M. Creamean ◽  
Maximilian Maahn ◽  
Gijs de Boer ◽  
Allison McComiskey ◽  
Arthur J. Sedlacek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
The North ◽  
The Us ◽  
Range Transport ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement ◽  
Arctic Atmosphere

Abstract. The Arctic is warming at an alarming rate, yet the processes that contribute to the enhanced warming are not well understood. Arctic aerosols have been targeted in studies for decades due to their consequential impacts on the energy budget, both directly and indirectly through their ability to modulate cloud microphysics. Even with the breadth of knowledge afforded from these previous studies, aerosols and their effects remain poorly quantified, especially in the rapidly changing Arctic. Additionally, many previous studies involved use of ground-based measurements, and due to the frequent stratified nature of the Arctic atmosphere, brings into question the representativeness of these datasets aloft. Here, we report on airborne observations from the US Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program's Fifth Airborne Carbon Measurements (ACME-V) field campaign along the North Slope of Alaska during the summer of 2015. Contrary to previous evidence that the Alaskan Arctic summertime air is relatively pristine, we show how local oil extraction activities, 2015's central Alaskan wildfires, and, to a lesser extent, long-range transport introduce aerosols and trace gases higher in concentration than previously reported in Arctic haze measurements to the North Slope. Although these sources were either episodic or localized, they serve as abundant aerosol sources that have the potential to impact a larger spatial scale after emission.

Outreach and disseminations activities in North Slope of Alaska: how to build trust between local communities and arctic researchers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaare Sikuaq Erickson ◽  
Donatella Zona ◽  
Marco Montemayor ◽  
Walter Oechel ◽  
Terenzio Zenone
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Science Fair ◽  
Methane Cycle ◽  
The North ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
The University

<p>The Alaskan Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) is promoting and financilally supporting, with the contribution of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and local organizations, outreach and dissemination events, in the form of science fair for the local communities in North Slope of Alaska. The science fair is part of a larger effort by UIC Science to bring coordination and collaboration to science outreach and engagement efforts across Arctic Alaska. The purpose is to provide a positive space for Arctic researchers and Arctic residents to meet, eat with each other, spend time, and to inspire the youth of the Arctic by providing fun and educational activities that are based in science and traditional knowledge. The Science Fair 2019 hosted by the Barrow Arctic Research Center (BARC) included three days of youth and family-friendly activities related to “Inupiat Knowledge about Plants” led by the College Inupiat Studies Department, “Eco-chains Activity” hosted by the North Slope Borough Office of Emergency Management, “Big Little World: Bugs Plants, and Microscopes” hosted by the National Ecological Observatory Network, “Microplastics in the Arctic” hosted by the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, “BARC Scavenger Hunt” hosted by UIC Science, “Our Role in the Carbon and Methane Cycle” hosted by the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) and San Diego State University, and “How Permafrost Works” hosted by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute. Each day hundreds of students, from both the local community and the science community came together to take part in mutually beneficial engagement: students from Utqiaġvik were excited about science and now know of the realistic and fulfilling careers in research that takes place in their backyard. The Utqiaġvik community members and elders now have a better idea of the breadth of research that takes place in and near their home. The locals, especially the elders, are very concerned about the drastic changes in our environment: scientists share these concerns, and the discussions during the fair was a chance to recognize this common ground. Breaking the ice between Arctic researchers and residents can lead to endless opportunities for collaboration, sharing ideas, and even lifelong friendships.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Response of ice cover on shallow lakes of the North Slope of Alaska to contemporary climate conditions (1950–2011): radar remote-sensing and numerical modeling data analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Surdu ◽  
C. R. Duguay ◽  
L. C. Brown ◽  
D. Fernández Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Shallow Lakes ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Lake Ice ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The North ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
Sar Data ◽  
Ice Model

Abstract. Air temperature and winter precipitation changes over the last five decades have impacted the timing, duration, and thickness of the ice cover on Arctic lakes as shown by recent studies. In the case of shallow tundra lakes, many of which are less than 3 m deep, warmer climate conditions could result in thinner ice covers and consequently, in a smaller fraction of lakes freezing to their bed in winter. However, these changes have not yet been comprehensively documented. The analysis of a 20 yr time series of European remote sensing satellite ERS-1/2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and a numerical lake ice model were employed to determine the response of ice cover (thickness, freezing to the bed, and phenology) on shallow lakes of the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) to climate conditions over the last six decades. Given the large area covered by these lakes, changes in the regional climate and weather are related to regime shifts in the ice cover of the lakes. Analysis of available SAR data from 1991 to 2011, from a sub-region of the NSA near Barrow, shows a reduction in the fraction of lakes that freeze to the bed in late winter. This finding is in good agreement with the decrease in ice thickness simulated with the Canadian Lake Ice Model (CLIMo), a lower fraction of lakes frozen to the bed corresponding to a thinner ice cover. Observed changes of the ice cover show a trend toward increasing floating ice fractions from 1991 to 2011, with the greatest change occurring in April, when the grounded ice fraction declined by 22% (α = 0.01). Model results indicate a trend toward thinner ice covers by 18–22 cm (no-snow and 53% snow depth scenarios, α = 0.01) during the 1991–2011 period and by 21–38 cm (α = 0.001) from 1950 to 2011. The longer trend analysis (1950–2011) also shows a decrease in the ice cover duration by ~24 days consequent to later freeze-up dates by 5.9 days (α = 0.1) and earlier break-up dates by 17.7–18.6 days (α = 0.001).

scholarly journals Policing the Arctic: The North Slope of Alaska

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-108
Author(s):  
Lawrence C. Trostle ◽  
John E. Angell
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
The North ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska

scholarly journals The influence of local oil exploration, regional wildfires, and long range transport on summer 2015 aerosol over the North Slope of Alaska

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie M. Creamean ◽  
Maximilian Maahn ◽  
Gijs de Boer ◽  
Allison McComiskey ◽  
Arthur J. Sedlacek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Long Range ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Long Range Transport ◽  
The North ◽  
Range Transport ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
Arctic Atmosphere

Abstract. The Arctic is warming at an alarming rate, yet the processes that contribute to enhanced warming are not well understood. Arctic aerosols have been targeted in studies for decades due to their consequential impacts on the energy budget directly and indirectly through their ability to modulate cloud microphysics. Even with the breadth of knowledge afforded from these previous studies, aerosols and their effects remain poorly quantified, especially in the rapidly-changing Arctic. Additionally, many previous studies involved use of ground-based measurements, and due to the frequent stratified nature of the Arctic atmosphere, brings into question the representativeness of these datasets aloft. Here, we report on airborne observations from the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program's Fifth Airborne Carbon Measurements (ACME-V) campaign along the North Slope of Alaska during the summer of 2015. Contrary to previous evidence that the Alaskan Arctic summertime air is relatively pristine, we show how local oil extraction activities, 2015’s central Alaskan wildfires, and to a lesser extent, long-range transport introduce aerosols and trace gases higher in concentration than previously reported in Arctic haze measurements to the North Slope. Although these sources were either episodic or localized, they serve as abundant aerosol sources that have the potential to impact a larger spatial scale after emission.

scholarly journals The Future of Hydrocarbon Development in Greenland: Perspectives from Residents of the North Slope of Alaska

ARCTIC ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-374
Author(s):  
Anne Merrild Hansen ◽  
Ross A. Virginia
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Subsistence Hunting ◽  
The North ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
Hydrocarbon Development

 Although Greenland has pursued hydrocarbon development over the last four decades, no viable reserves have been found to date. Therefore, local Greenland communities have little experience or knowledge of how such development might affect their way of life or how to influence project development and outcomes should a significant reserve be found. On the North Slope of Alaska, in contrast, hydrocarbon extraction was commercialized in the 1970s, and the industry is now highly developed. North Slope residents have experienced dramatic influences on their everyday lives and well-being as a result of large-scale hydrocarbon projects. Some consequences have been welcomed, such as economic development and higher employment rates; however, other impacts are harmful, such as reduced ability of local peoples to maintain subsistence hunting practices. The villages on Alaska’s North Slope share many features in common with settlements in Greenland, such as small size, isolation, and limited political influence. In this study, we explore how Greenlanders might learn from the Alaska experience by examining the comments of North Slope residents. We propose that increased local-to-local recommendation-sharing across the Arctic would better guide sustainable development practices and benefits into potential future projects in Greenland. We conclude that an Arctic “Community Guide” and the process to create one could improve planning and implementation of hydrocarbon projects across the Arctic and promote locally appropriate sustainable development in the affected communities.

scholarly journals Laurentian origin for the North Slope of Alaska: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Arctic

Lithosphere ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin V. Strauss ◽  
Francis A. Macdonald ◽  
John F. Taylor ◽  
John E. Repetski ◽  
William C. McClelland
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
The North ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska
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