Remote Sensing and Modeling of Permafrost and Hydrology [1. Overview]

Scientific Personnel
V. E. Romanovsky, S. S. Marchenko, R.R. Muskett
Partner Organizations: 
Alaska Ecoscience, USA
Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany
Centre d'etudes Nordiques, Department de Geographie, Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada
Danish Meteorological Institute, Denmark
Institute of Earth Cryosphere, Russia
Institute of Northern Engineering, UAF
Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change and Department
of Geography & Environmental Management, University of
Waterloo, Canada
International Arctic Research Center, UAF
International Permafrost Association, USA
Melinkov Permafrost Institute, Russia
Moscow Institute of Geography, Russia Academy of Sciences
National Center for Atmospheric Research, USA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA
Scenarios Network for Alaska Planning (SNAP), UAF
Stokholm University, Sweden
University of Delaware, USA
University of New Hampshire, USA
Water Environment Research Center, UAF
Local Collaborators: 
Jorgenson, M.T., Alaska Ecoscience, AK
Kholodov, A.L., Geophysical Institute, UAF
Daanen, R., Institute of Northern Engineering, UAF
Kanevskiy M., Institute of Northern Engineering, UAF
Shur, Y., Institute of Northern Engineering, UAF
Walsh, J., International Arctic Research Center, UAF
Fresco, N., Scenarios Network for Alaska Planning, School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences, UAF
Rupp, S., Scenarios Network for Alaska Planning, School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences, UAF
Walter-Anthony, K., Water Environmental Research Center, UAF
International Collaborators: 
Christensen, J., Danish Meteorological Institute, Denmark
Comiso, J., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Oceans and Ice Branch, USA
Duguay, C. R., University of Waterloo, Canada
Frolking, S., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, USA
Georgiadi, A., Moscow Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
Groisman, P., National Climatic Data Center, USA
Hachem, S., Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Hubberten, H.-W., Alfred Wegener Institute, Potsdam, Germany
Harden Jennifer, US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA
Kattsov, V., Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory, Russia
Kuhry, P., Stockholm University, Sweden
Lawrence, D., National Center for Atmospheric Research, USA
Malkova, G., Institute of Earth Cryosphere, Russia
Pavlova, T., Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory, Russia
Rawlins, M., University of New Hampshire, USA
Rinke, A., Alfred Wegener Institute, Potsdam, Germany
Romanovskii, N., Moscow State University, Russia
Saito, K., Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology, Japan
Shiklomanov, N., University of Delaware, USA
Shiklomanov, A., University of New Hampshire, USA
Shkolnik, I.M., Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory, Russia
Schirrmeister L, Alfred Wegener Institute, Potsdam, Germany
Schuur A.G. Edward, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Stendel, M., Danish Meteorological Institute, Denmark
Wisser, D., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, USA
Zheleznyak, M., Melnikov Permafrost Institute, Russia
Funding: 
NSF Grants OPP ARC-0652838 [ARC-0520578 and ARC-0632400]
NASA (NNOG6M48G), Alaska EPSCoR (NSF)
The State of Alaska
Study Sites
Permafrost Freshwater Interactions
Alaska, Canada, Russia
Permafrost Observatories?Thermal state of permafrost in Russia and Central Asia
Permafrost Freshwater Interactions Project continues investigations began during the Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP) Project with renewed and expanded collaboration. Our efforts focus and expand on permafrost and hydrology changes through geophysical modeling and remote sensing (satellite geodesy).
During TSP in cooperation with above mentioned Russian partners a large number of existing boreholes have been identified for possible measurements (candidate sites). Many of these have metadata files on the IPA coordinated GTN-P website. Additional sites will be added to the web site. New boreholes over the next several years are planned. A total of 320 boreholes, located in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia were considered from the point of view of possibility for continuous geothermal observations (see Figure). Boreholes cover all types of permafrost, from continuous to sporadic, both on the plains and in the mountains. Active (sites where regular observations were carried out recently and are intended to continue in the future), candidate (where equipment for long-term observations can be installed soon), potential (equipment for long-term observation is planned to be installed during the project) and historical (there are some existing data but now these sites are unavailable for observations for different reasons) boreholes were selected.
In order to standardize all investigations within the framework of the Project the “Manual for monitoring and reporting temperature data in permafrost boreholes” was developed. It allows better standardized collection, handling and interpretation of obtained data. In the Protocol two types of observation strategies are proposed:
Type 1: Long-term high-frequency (hourly to daily) continuous observations in the limited number of key boreholes, which are representative of a given regions (note: these more frequent observations are desirable to depths of 15-20 meters);
Type 2: Occasional or periodical measurements in the other available and deeper boreholes (if possible annual or more frequently).
As a minimum, and based primarily on cost considerations for the IPY-TSP program, the use of HOBO U12 4-External Channel Data Loggerswith temperature sensors TMC-HD are proposed. At the same time, individual participants can employ other types of loggers and/or thermal cables (chains) with similar sensor characteristics.
Research Goals
The goal of our research is to obtain a deeper understanding of the temporal (interannual and decadal time scales) and spatial (north to south and west to east) variability and trends in the permafrost temperatures and physical changes (such as talik and the active layer) in the North of Eurasia and Alaska to develop more reliable predictive capabilities for the projection of these changes into the 21st century. We are employing ground datasets from the global permafrost temperature networks, global positioning system sites of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame organization, together with satellite-derived datasets of physical parameters such as land-surface temperature, gravity field changes, river runoff and snow water equivalent to name a few. Our modeling efforts employ the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Models (GIPL) and Geophysical Inverse Potential Field Theory.