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International Polar Year
IPY 2007-2008
 
 
Updated on 05/01/2009
 
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Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

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PROPOSAL INFORMATION

(ID No: 1096)

SOIL, VEGETATION AND PERMAFROST IN A CHANGING HIGH ARCTIC: MONITORING AND PREDICTIVE MODELLING  (SOLVEPMO)

Outline
Background Information: Long-term systematic studies provide reliable data for the response of Arctic environments to changes resulting from climate warming. In 1990 nine permanent transects were established in Quttinirpaaq National Park on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Five of these transects were located in the Tanquary Fiord area and four in the Lake Hazen area. Detailed systematic soil, vegetation and permafrost data were collected when these transects were established and again in 1994 and 2000. Since 2000, no data has been collected on these transects. A climate station was set up on the Lake Hazen site to collect soil and air temperatures every six hours. Climate data, collected by the park’s staff, is also available from a climate station at the Tanquary Base Camp. In addition, detailed mapping of the soils, vegetation, surficial geology and permafrost was carried out at a scale of 1:50,000. The database associated with these maps provides the possibility of scaling up the information collected on these transects and determining the sensitivity of various terrain types to climate change. This information allows for further developing and verifying a process-based ecosystem model, which was recently enhanced by a permafrost module providing the capability to predict the future evolution of Arctic soil carbon pools and to determine underlying mechanisms. Proposed Activities: 1. Revisit the study area in 2007 and collect detailed data on the soils, vegetation and permafrost along the nine transects. 2. Evaluate the data collected on these transects and the climate data (soil and air temperatures and surface subsidence) from the two climate stations to determine the changes that have occurred from 1990 to 2007. 3. Using process-oriented models and the spatial database, determine the effect of climate change on terrain stability (due to thaw), soil thermal properties, soil organic carbon, and vegetation composition at the Tanquary Fiord and Lake Hazen areas from 1990 to 2007. 4. Compare the climate data for this period (1990–2007) with climate data collected during the 1950s climate normals or other sources to determine the longer-term changes in climate. 5. Define up-scaling tools and establish links to climate- and ecosystem-modelling efforts. 6. Determine the carbon pools and dynamics in High Arctic soils in the two areas studied and provide process-model based estimates of the effect of climate change on structure and carbon pools in these soils.

Theme(s)   Major Target
The current state of the polar environment
Change in the polar regions
Polar-global linkages and teleconnections
The polar regions as vantage points
  Natural or social sciences research
Education/Outreach and Communication
Data Management

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Significant Advances: 1. Determination of both shorter- and longer-term climate changes in a High Arctic environment by comparing: a) climate data collected from 1990 to 2007, and b) climate data collected in 1990–2007 with that collected in the 1950s. 2. Determination of the potential impact of climate change on these High Arctic environments, based on the monitoring data and model-generated predictions. 3. Determination of the changes occurring in the soils, vegetation and permafrost in these High Arctic environments 4. Determination of the carbon pools and carbon dynamics in these High Arctic soils. 5. Provide process-model based estimates of future soil carbon pool changes, estimates that are constrained by data 6. Provide process-model based identification of the responsibility of mechanisms for the ecosystem response on climate change in the High Arctic

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
This project (SOLVEPMO) is part of one of the two Canadian transects proposed for the Carbon Pools in Permafrost Regions Project (CAPP) of the International Permafrost Association (IPA) and the Permafrost and Carbon Emission-Global Carbon Project (PEACE-GCP), providing information for High Arctic environments. SOLVEPMO is an international initiative with participants from Europe and Canada.


FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The study area is located on the northern part of Ellesmere Island, Canada. The locations of the Tanquary Fiord and Lake Hazen study areas are shown on the map below.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 2007 – 2008            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Fixed-wing transport aircraft

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The project will ensure the continuation of soil, vegetation, permafrost and climate monitoring at two locations on Ellesmere Island.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
Own national polar operator
Another national polar operator
National agency

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Yes- This project is part of one of the two proposed Canadian CAPP transect areas. It was accepted by CAPP, which was endorsed by the Global Carbon Project (GCP) and IPA.


PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes
This project is closely related to the CAPP project, TSP cluster, Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring project (CALM) and PEACE project, with close links to the Greening of the Arctic (GOA) project.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The scientists involved with this project work together in the field and meet at dedicated workshops in both Europe and Canada and at larger international conferences. Each scientist is responsible for their own area of expertise and the leader is responsible for integrating the information into a coherent whole.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Website Popular scientific publications Report in IPA Frozen Ground

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
Data collected since 1990 are stored and managed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The plan is that this data will be transferred to ICSU World Data Centres

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The project will be funded from national and international sources.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
This project is unique since it will provide information, based on systematically-collected data, on the changes that have occurred since 1990 in a High Arctic environment. It will also provide the data needed to verify model-generated predictions on the effect of climate change.


PROPOSER DETAILS

Professor Gabriele Broll
University of Vechta
P.O. Box 1553
Vechta
49364
Germany

Tel: +49-4441-15-334
Mobile:
Fax: +49-4441-15-445
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Name   Affiliation
Charles Tarnocai   Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa ON Canada, K1A 0C6, Canada 613-759-1857 (Tel) tarnocaict@agr.gc.ca
J. Gould   Alberta Department of Environment, Canada
M. Reichstein   Max Planck Institute, Jena, Germany
P. Achuff   Parks Canada
A. Ohmura   ETH Zürich, Switzerland
     

Other Information


 
   
   
 
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