Research

Remote Sensing of Biophysical Variables

Remote Sensing of Vegetation Types, Productivity and Change in the Canadian High Arctic

NSERC Discovery Grant. PI: Treitz

The focus of my NSERC Discovery Grant is on modelling biophysical variables at multiple scales across a latitudinal gradient (~63°-75°N) for the Canadian Arctic; serving as a temperature gradient of approximate 10°C for mean-July temperatures - a surrogate for a warming climate.

This research is being conducted at Sabine Peninsula (77ºN) and Cape Bounty (75ºN), Melville Island; Boothia Peninsula (71ºN); and Apex River, Baffin Island (63ºN), Nunavut. Although there have been studies examining biophysical variables at these latitudes, they have largely been limited to broad spatial scales (i.e., 1-8 km2).

There has been very little research conducted in Canada's North on relating biophysical variables to high spatial resolution remote sensing data (<10 m); nor how these variables are linked to ecosystem processes (i.e., carbon flux/net ecosystem exchange).

My research will:

1. quantify the relationships between biophysical variables and spectral reflectance/indices at high spatial resolutions
2. model the relationships between biophysical variables and ecosystem processes; and
3. model biophysical variables, including carbon exchange, at multiple scales in order to project changes in these variables over space and time.

High Arctic Responses to Climate Change

High Arctic Hydrological, Landscape and Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change: Integrated Watershed Research at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory, Melville Island (ArcticNet)

Co-PIs: Lamoureux and Lafreniere, Co-I: Treitz and others

Water is crucial for northern communities and ecosystems and plays a vital role, in conjunction with climate and permafrost, in the morphology and stability of arctic landscapes.

To determine the impacts of climate change on freshwater quality and availability in the High Arctic, we created a watershed and landscape ecosystem observatory. The research is conducted primarily at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO) on Melville Island, near the Nunavut/NWT border, with additional work at Polar Bear Pass on Bathurst Island.

Research will investigate how climate change will affect rivers, permafrost, soils, vegetation, greenhouse gas emissions and the release of contaminants into High Arctic rivers, lakes and ponds. Our integrated watershed network will provide an unprecedented understanding of the sensitivity and anticipated future effects of climate change to the High Arctic water, permafrost and ecosystem.

By closely integrating related water and ecosystem process studies, this project will identify key environmental and societal vulnerabilities. Our goal is to develop impact models to assess linkages between anticipated environmental change and possible adaptations by communities and government agencies (clean water supply; ecological integrity) and industry (resource extraction, infrastructure protection).