Monitoring permafrost degradation rates due to climate change : developing a practical GIS-based method
Subject
air photo monitoring; climate change; collapse scars; landscape diversity indices; peatlands; permafrost degradationAbstract
Peatlands in the Alberta boreal forest are predicted to experience early and severe climate change impacts through permafrost degradation (melting). Permafrost loss and the subsequent release of greenhouse gases are predicted to have significant global climate change implications. This study provides visual and quantifiable evidence that climate change is impacting Canada by developing an objective, cost-effective method to monitor peatland permafrost degradation in the Alberta boreal forest. Peatland landscape pattern shifts resulting from permafrost melting over time were correlated to changes in local ClimateWNA climate variables using GIS. Landscape diversity indices of these shifts were calculated from grey-scale pixel tones of historical Alberta air photos and correlated with climate and geographical variables, using the SPSS Linear Mixed Model with repeated measures. Resulting models that combine date, temperature, precipitation and latitude variables were determined to be most appropriate for communicating climate change impacts in Alberta permafrost peatlands to decision makers.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
[Post-print] Photosensitized degradation kinetics of trace halogenated contaminants in natural waters using membrane introduction mass spectrometry as an in-situ reaction monitor
Letourneau, Dane R.; Gill, Chris G.; Krogh, Erik T. (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015-11)The photochemically mediated dechlorination of polyhalogenated compounds represents a potential decontamination strategy and a relevant environmental process in chemically reducing media. We report the UV irradiation of ... -
Climate change and the BEC zones: A study of climate change effects on the CDFmm and CWHxm BEC subzones
Deland, Jean Pierre; Roy, Simon; Strom, Jeremy (Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2018-04-12)The aim of this research was to conduct various surveys and collect data at multiple locations on South Eastern Vancouver Island. The study tested the gathered data against several statistical methods and explored if ... -
Best practices in a changing climate: Investigating the role of local government planners in climate change mitigation
Gill-Maher, Kira (Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2021-04)In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified that the global target for climate change mitigation must be a limit of 1.5 ºC warming – a target that requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas ...