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Polar Landscape & Remote Sensing Group research projects

Members of the Polar Landscape & Remote Sensing Group research group are currently engaged in the following research projects.

The list below may also include a small number of archived projects. In due course, these will be listed separately.

Air pollution and ground disturbance in the Russian Arctic
The Polar Landscapes and Remote Sensing Group is engaged in a long-term programme of research into the potential for satellite and airborne remote sensing to study the phenomena of Arctic surface and airborne pollution effects, in collaboration with the Geography Faculty of Moscow State University.
BALANCE: Global Change Vulnerabilities in the Barents Region: Linking Arctic Natural Resources, Climate Change and Economies.
The major goal of this international, EU-funded project is to assess the vulnerabilities of the Barents Sea Region to climate change based on a common modelling framework for major environmental and societal components as well as on the quantification of linkages between these components through an integrated assessment model.
Development of a phenological correction algorithm for remote sensing of industrial impact on high-latitude vegetation. Case study: Noril'sk, Northern Siberia
The aim of this project was to correct maps of vegetation dynamics using a model of phenological changes based on images of low spatial and high temporal resolution.
Environmental Risk Assessment in the Arctic
This project considers issues associated with the management of environmental risk in the Alaskan Arctic. The focus of the research is the decision whether to support an oil production pad in the terrestrial Arctic by the construction of a gravel road, or to support it by other forms of communication. The study examines the problem from the risk perspectives of all of the stakeholder groups involved in the decision process, each of which has a contrasting perception of the environmental risks involved.
Geometry and scale-dependence of an Arctic glacier
Glaciers and ice caps outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets comprise approximately 4% of the area and around 0.5% of the volume of land ice. If they were to melt completely, they would raise global sea levels by approximately 0.5 m. It is particularly important to develop detailed and accurate characterisations of the surface geometry of glaciers over a wide range of spatial scales. This presents a considerable technical challenge. Recently, changes in surface elevation of glaciers have begun to be made by comparing digital elevation models (DEMs) compiled at different times. Suitable DEMs can be constructed from a number of types of data, including GPS survey, stereophotography, radar interferometry, spaceborne radar altimetry and laser profiling or LiDAR. In particular, recent technological improvements in airborne LiDAR technology have substantially enhanced the available precision, horizontal resolution and data rate. We have been working with airborne LiDAR data from the glacier Midre Lovénbreen on Svalbard since 2003, supported by detailed field data, to develop these ideas.
Northern Hemisphere snow cover
The environmental importance of high-latitude snow cover is well established. As well as its role in albedo feedback it is an indicator of the global climate, though a complex one since a warming climate can have both positive effect through increased precipitation and a negative effect through increased melting. It also has a major impact on terrestrial vegetation through thermal insulation, modification of hydrological fluxes and limiting the availability of photosynthetically active radiation. This in turn provides a link to the global carbon cycle. This is a complex set of interactions, which dictates a need for long-term monitoring of snow cover in conjunction with other climatological variables. The aim of this project is to analyse estimates of northern hemisphere snowcover data from around 1970 to the present day to identify key trends and to relate them to other climatological variables.
Peasant Response to Development and Reform in Iceland 1700-1870
The project takes its leave in the attempts of the Danish and Icelandic authorities to reform and alter the way of living of ordinary people in Iceland 1700-1870.
Snow Lab
We have created an on-line snow laboratory and you are invited to be a vital part of it. We need your help because every little bit of accurate information you collect about snow cover helps us understand more about snow and the more information we can bring together, the better our understanding will be.
Study of the mudflow hazard and glaciation decrease in Central Caucasus
A summary of this project will be online shortly.
The Tundra-taiga interface
The interface between the boreal forest and the arctic tundra is the Earth's greatest vegetation transition. It is over 13,000 km long, occupies around 5% of the vegetated surface of the Northern Hemisphere and represents major gradients in key climatological parameters such as carbon flux, water flux and albedo. The position of this interface region, and the species composition of the northern boreal forest, have undergone major shifts since the last glacial maximum. Modelling predicts northward shifts in boreal vegetation distributions in response to global warming, with roughly half to two thirds of the present tundra being displaced by forest by the end of the 21st century. Such changes would have major climatological implications through the probable increase in CO2 absorption and decrease in CH4 emission, decrease in regional albedo and alteration of the hydrological cycle. The processes that determine the northern limit of trees are, however, complex and not fully understood. Systematic monitoring data are scarce, and provide scant evidence for the northward shift predicted by models.
Vulnerability of European reindeer husbandry to global change
The management of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) is practiced widely throughout, and beyond, the Eurasian north. Within the European north it represents the major land use of the tundra regions, and also extends southwards into the boreal forest. A number of studies have already suggested that reindeer husbandry has at least the potential to be adversely affected by climate change. The aim of this work is to consider the likely response of the practice of reindeer husbandry to climate change and to changes in the socioeconomic and political setting.