| NSF Org: |
OIA OIA-Office of Integrative Activities |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | November 27, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | November 27, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1929170 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Lisa C. Cliggett
lcligget@nsf.gov (703)292-2759 OIA OIA-Office of Integrative Activities O/D Office Of The Director |
| Start Date: | December 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | November 30, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $295,256.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $295,256.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2145 N TANANA LOOP FAIRBANKS AK US 99775-0001 (907)474-7301 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
438 Whitney Road Ext., Unit 1133 Storrs CT US 06269-1133 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | EPSCoR Research Infrastructure |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.083 |
ABSTRACT
Permafrost underlies around 25% of the Northern Hemisphere terrestrial landscape. Its degradation is impacting northern landscapes and societies. With an increase in the number of remote sensing platforms since the early 2000s, the ability to detect and measure permafrost-region disturbances over large areas has become more feasible. This research, a project we call PermaSense, will provide funding to increase the research capacity of a non-tenure track Research Assistant Faculty member and an early career post-doctoral researcher through extended visits, training, and collaboration at the University of Connecticut (UConn) Department of Natural Resources & the Environment (DNRE). PermaSense will allow the PI and postdoc to build upon their permafrost-region field and remote sensing research program by acquiring new data fusion and machine learning techniques. PermaSense products are directly relevant to the State of Alaska and the nation. The skills and knowledge transfer gained during this project will increase the capacity of permafrost research and remote sensing at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The research addresses several of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) performance elements related to permafrost, terrestrial ecosystems, coastal resilience, and environmental intelligence as specified in the FY2017-2021 Arctic Research Plan.
Permafrost is defined as ground that remains at or below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years. Disturbance and warming of near-surface permafrost may lead to widespread terrain instability in ice-rich permafrost regions, impacting ecosystems, hydrology, infrastructure, society, and soil-carbon dynamics. Remote sensing is an important resource for observing, documenting, and better understanding landscape change from local to pan-Arctic scales. However, no one remote sensing tool is particularly suited for detecting and observing the suite of landscape change scenarios associated with transitioning permafrost. PermaSense will investigate myriad land surface changes occurring in permafrost regions using multidimensional remote sensing, data fusion, and machine learning techniques. PermaSense will enhance methodological developments and adaptations to unseal faster, deeper and more accurately analyze large volumes of multidimensional remote-sensing data to address the guiding research question: How extensive is contemporary permafrost degradation in the Arctic and Subarctic? We will conduct an analysis of multidimensional remote sensing observations at four representative permafrost-region study areas that capture the variability in the lateral extent of permafrost. The inherent differences in ecology, climate, landscape history, and their role in transitioning permafrost regions will be tested using common approaches across all sites as well as value-added products available for particular regions. PermaSense will develop an online resource and toolset that will provide spatially and temporally scalable information on permafrost region disturbances and a tool for local planning activities, the scientific community, and regional decision-makers tasked with responding to permafrost regions in transition.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Overview
Permafrost is a major component of the cryosphere in the Northern Hemisphere. Permafrost is defined as ground that remains at or below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years. Its presence is determined by a complex interaction of climatic, topographic, and ecological conditions and disturbance regimes operating over multiple spatial and temporal scales. Disturbance and warming of near-surface permafrost may lead to widespread terrain instability in ice-rich permafrost regions.
Remote sensing is an important resource for observing, documenting, and better understanding landscape change from local, to regional, to Pan-Arctic scales. It has emerged as one of the primary tools for advancing the field of thermokarst research, which is focused on the processes and landforms that involve collapse of the land surface from ground ice melt. The spatial and temporal rate at which permafrost degradation manifests itself; the spectral response of the land surface to thaw-induced perturbations; and the observationally limiting conditions caused by cloud-cover, short northern latitude summers, and variable ecological conditions requires the use of multiple remote-sensing platforms and novel techniques.
Intellectual Merit
This project focused on conducting multidimensional remote sensing observations at select permafrost region study sites that captured the variability in the lateral extent of permafrost (continuous to discontinuous regions) as well as regional differences in climate, ecology, and human development. Ongoing research programs at the select study locations provided ground-truth, in situ observations, and remote sensing data that were integrated into the data fusion and machine learning protocols. The findings of this research focused on several aspects related to remotely sensing permafrost region dynamics that included: (1) tundra fire disturbance, (2) retrogressive thaw slump detection, (3) ice wedge network mapping, (4) tracking ice wedge degradation over time, (5) riverbank erosion, (6) thermokarst lake drainage, (7) tundra beaver disturbances, (8) tundra landforms, (9) drained lake basins, (10) a collapsing pingo, and (11) the degradation of permafrost plateaus in the discontinuous permafrost region. In the section above, Publications Produced as a Result of this Research, you will find links to the more than 15 peer-reviewed journal articles that were produced under this award. The datasets produced under this collaborative award are available at the NSF-funded Arctic Data Center by searching award number 1929170.
Broader Impacts
This project provided an opportunity for a non-tenure track Research Assistant, now Associate, Faculty member to build upon his permafrost region field and remote sensing research program by enhancing his remote sensing portfolio and acquiring new research capacity. This activity also provided experience for a post-doctoral researcher. Together, the PI and post-doctoral researcher received training at the forefront of contemporary remote sensing and image analysis techniques during two extended research visits with Dr. Chandi Witharana at the University of Connecticut, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. The PI and post-doctoral researcher attended weekly lab meetings during the extended research visits and they both gave a departmental seminar. The skills and knowledge transfer gained during this project have bolstered the capacity of permafrost research and remote sensing at UAF. The fundamental research associated with this project as well as the results and tools produced are directly relevant to the State of Alaska and the nation. This research also provided information related to several of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) performance elements focused on permafrost, terrestrial ecosystems, coastal resilience, and environmental intelligence as specified in the current Arctic Research Plan. This project also provided information to intergovernmental agencies that will better inform science-based decisions and policies for adapting to permafrost landscapes in transition.
Last Modified: 02/23/2024
Modified by: Benjamin M Jones
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