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Lliverse 1.Pdf Multi‐Scale Detection and Characterization of Physical and Ecological Change in the Arctic Using Satellite Remote Sensing by Liza Kay Jenkins A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Environment and Sustainability) in The University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee: Professor William S. Currie, Chair Adjunct Professor Nancy H.F. French, Michigan Technological University Professor Guy A. Meadows Adjunct Professor Robert A. Shuchman, Michigan Technological University Professor Michael J. Wiley Liza Kay Jenkins [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000‐0002‐8309‐5396 © Liza Kay Jenkins 2019 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the next generation – especially my children Mackenzie Kay Jenkins and Calder Michael Jenkins. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported in party by NASA Terrestrial Ecology Grants # NNX15AT79A, #NNX10AF41G, and #NNX13AK44G and the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), Biodiversity Working Group of the Arctic Council, Advancement of the Arctic Land Cover Initiative through Applied Remote Sensing Award No: CAFF PROJECT NO. 000060. I would like to acknowledge my dissertation committee for all their help guiding the research design, implementation, analysis, and writing of this dissertation. I would especially like to thank my Committee Chair, Dr. Currie, for believing in me and pushing me to be a better scholar and scientist. I would also like to thank my co‐authors of the published version of Chapter II: Laura Bourgeau‐Chavez, Nancy French, Tatiana Loboda, and Brian Thelen; and the in‐press version of Chapter III: Tom Barry, Karl Bosse, William Currie, Tom Christensen, Sara Longan, Robert Shuchman, Danielle Tanzer, and Jason Taylor. The work in Chapter IV wouldn’t have been possible without the tough humans that worked as the field crews for the NASA ABoVE Tundra Fire Project: Tatiana Loboda, Dong (Tony) Chen, Andrew Poley, Jiaying He, Garrett Jones, and Jon Hirsh. Thank you for the endless weeks of adventure and teamwork in the soggy tundra tripping over tussocks. Thank you to Laura Bourgeau‐Chavez, Karl Bosse, and Andew Poley for their help in developing tundra‐specific soil iii moisture calibration coefficients and post‐field work processing of soil samples. Thank you to the previous NASA tundra fire projects and scientists, and the NASA ABoVE Science Team, that helped developed field protocols that were modified for the project. Thank you to my employer, Michigan Technological University. A special thank you to my department, the Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), and MTRI Co‐Director, Bob Shuchman. Thank you for your flexibility in allowing me to continue my education while working and for providing resources to make the process easier. Thank you to my lifelong teammate, Chris Jenkins, and our beautiful children, Mackenzie and Calder, that push me to do more to make the world better. Thank you to my entire family and especially my mom, Jackie Liversedge, and sister, Lacy Muhich, for their lifelong support. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................ iii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................. ix ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................... x Chapter I: Introduction: Arctic Change and the Need for Advanced Analysis Methods .............................. 1 Climate Change and the Arctic Environment ............................................................................................ 1 Arctic Tundra Fire and Effects on Carbon Stocks and Ecosystem Functioning ......................................... 6 The Impact of Climate Change on Arctic Disturbance Regimes ................................................................ 9 Dissertation Summary ............................................................................................................................. 10 References .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter II: Satellite‐based Decadal Change Assessments of Pan‐Arctic Environments ............................. 18 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 18 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 19 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................................................... 25 Results ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 Discussion................................................................................................................................................ 40 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 44 References .............................................................................................................................................. 46 Chapter III: Development of Methods for Detection and Monitoring of Fire Disturbance in the Alaskan Tundra Using a Two‐decade Long Record of Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite Images .......................... 51 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 51 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 52 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................................................... 56 Study Area ........................................................................................................................................... 56 Ancillary and Remote Sensing Data .................................................................................................... 58 Image Processing and Analysis ........................................................................................................... 61 v Results ..................................................................................................................................................... 64 Discussion................................................................................................................................................ 70 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 73 References .............................................................................................................................................. 76 Chapter IV: Determination of Synthetic Aperture Radar Backscatter in the Tundra as a Function of Fire and Biophysical Parameters ........................................................................................................................ 80 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 80 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................................................... 84 Field Data ............................................................................................................................................ 84 Remote Sensing Data .......................................................................................................................... 93 Statistical Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 95 Results ..................................................................................................................................................... 96 Discussion................................................................................................................................................ 98 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 99 References ............................................................................................................................................ 101 Chapter V: Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 104 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2‐1. In addition to the entire pan‐Arctic extent, several geographic analysis areas were used to parse data and report findings,
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