Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Development of a Land Ice Earth Observation, Change Detection and Water Resource Modeling Strategy for Nordic Canada  (Development of a Land Ice Earth Observation, Change Detection and Water Resource Modeling Strategy for Nordic Canada)

Outline
The role of Canada's land ice in sea level rise and freshwater resource issues are clear.Furthering our understanding of the changing extent and nature of land ice and its impact will require Earth Observations over strategic regions in Canada where land ice and freshwater are ubiquitous. The objective of this project is to improve and more broadly utilize EO change detection and EO-based hydrological modeling strategies so as to reduce the uncertainty in the information used to design and implement strategies that minimize Canada's vulnerability to climate change – particularly for Canada's Nordic Regions.Project deliverables and outputs:1. An operational EO glacier monitoring framework that conducts change detection and scales-up/regionalizes reference in-situ observations:a. Complete glacier masks for the systematic extraction of SW albedo from available and incoming EO data describing the disposition of glaciers in the Cordillera.b. Expanded network documenting glacier velocity regime using SAR speckle tracking interferometry and related methods for the Arctic Archipelago.c. Validation of and systematic acquisition plan for Level 2 CryoSat SAR Interferometric Radar Altimeter data over Canada’s large ice caps and icefields.d. Strategic ALTM surveys of Arctic ice cap elevation transects to continue quinquennial thickness change time series (1995, 2000,…) 2. A digital geospatial resource able to ingest existing and new data from in-situ and EO programmes for strategic portions (e.g., water resource related) of the Canadian Glacier Inventory and related legacy media/data: a. Interface to ingest existing digital glacier inventory data (e.g., GLADYS) into an ArcInfo/Oracle-based geospatial database.b. Interface to ingest new EO data (e.g., GLIMS-ASTER) into the ArcInfo/Oracle-based geospatial database.c. An expandable server infrastructure that will house Canadian Glacier Inventory and related data for strategic water resource regions of the Cordillera.3. Improved coupled regional climate – hydrological – water resource models through a better understanding of snow/ice ablation processes and the scaling of these processes to RCM functionality utilizing modeling and EO data:a. Frequency analysis for climate synoptics associated with the occurrence and severity of Foehn (Chinook) events and related sublimation.b. Boundary layer glacier-climate scaling algorithm for alpine environments.c. Glacier melt model sub-routine for WATFLOOD that makes use of available and new information on EO-derived surface radiation balance (e.g., short-wave albedo).

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Theme 1. Improved process understanding as it concerns the vulnerability of alpine snow and ice water resources.Theme 2. Regional land ice change detection using EO-based up-scaling. The production of regional perspectives used by OGDs, municipalities and the private setting to develop climate change adaptation options, assist priority setting and strategic planning.Broader efforts estimating the costs of climate change.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
NASA-GSFC

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Canada's Nordic RegionsCordillera, Arctic Archipelago

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

Significant facilities will be required for this project:

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
National agency

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The project is funded by the Government Related Initiative program (GRIP)

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?


The project is funded by the Government Related Initiative program (GRIP)

How will the project be organised and managed?
The proposed work will build on the current programme of land ice observation, assessment and glacier hydrology work conducted in concert by NGP and NHRC with its network of university and CRYSYS partners, provincial government agencies and the private sector. The work will also build on the successes of Action Plan 2000 – Systematic Climate Observation Programme – Cryosphere – Glacier. This programme (funding cycle ends 2004/05) enabled the establishment of new in-situ reference monitoring sites). This renewed in-situ network (formally called the Canadian Reference Glacier-Climate Observing System) will provide the pinning points for an EO-based regional change detection/impacts assessment up-scaling. The AP2000 programme has produced encouraging results towards developing regional change detection strategies (e.g., land ice thickness change using airborne altimetry, velocity regime change through orbital SAR speckle tracking).

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?

How is it proposed to fund the project?

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

GRIP Officer Paul Briand
6767 rue de l'Aéroport, Saint-Hubert, Québec


J3Y 8Y9
Canada

Tel: (450) 926-6737
Mobile: no
Fax: no
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation