Satellite-based decadal change assessments of pan-Arctic environments

• DOI: 10.1007/s13280-019-01249-z
• Publication Date: 2019-11-04T17:03:17Z
• Authors: Liza K. Jenkins; Tom Barry; Karl R. Bosse; William S. Currie; Tom Christensen; Sara Longan; Robert A. Shuchman; Danielle Tanzer; Jason J. Taylor
• Keywords: Time series; Public Administration; 550; Environmental Studies; 0207 environmental engineering; 02 engineering and technology; 551; 01 natural sciences; Arctic; Snow; Public Affairs; Natural Resource Economics; Nature and Society Relations; 14. Life underwater; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences; Ecology; Natural Resources Management and Policy; Temperature; Biodiversity; Remote sensing; 15. Life on land; Environmental Policy; Parks and Tourism Administration; Public Policy and Public Administration; MODIS; Satellite; 13. Climate action; Environmental Education; Physical and Environmental Geography; Leisure Studies; Recreation; Seasons; Other Environmental Sciences; Environmental Sciences; Fire Science and Firefighting

Remote sensing can advance the work of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program through monitoring of satellite-derived terrestrial and marine physical and ecological variables. Standardized data facilitate an unbiased comparison across variables and environments. Using MODIS standard products of land surface temperature, percent snow covered area, NDVI, EVI, phenology, burned area, marine chlorophyll, CDOM, sea surface temperature, and marine primary productivity, significant trends were observed in almost all variables between 2000 and 2017. Analysis of seasonal data revealed significant breakpoints in temporal trends. Within the terrestrial environment, data showed significant increasing trends in land surface temperature and NDVI. In the marine environment, significant increasing trends were detected in primary productivity. Significantly earlier onset of green up date was observed in bioclimate subzones C&E and longer end of growing season in B&E. Terrestrial and marine parameters showed similar rates of change with unidirectional change in terrestrial and significant directional and magnitude shifts in marine.