Name
Detecting forest-wetland changes in northwestern Canada's discontinuous permafrost region using Landsat trend analysis
Date & Time
Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM
Description
Rapid circumpolar warming has led to accelerated permafrost thaw, which has induced extensive landscape change in northwestern Canada. Here, forest-dominated peatland landscapes, which were initially largely underlain by permafrost, are transitioning to treeless, wetland-dominated landscapes that are permafrost-free. This study explores permafrost thaw-induced landscape transition in boreal peatlands across northwestern Canada�s discontinuous permafrost zone. Previous studies that have focused on changes to boreal peatlands over time have largely used aerial photographs and/or high-resolution satellite images acquired only at end nodes or decadal intervals across each study�s time frame. This study uses a dense near-annual resolution of mosaicked Landsat imagery to detect changes to peatland landscapes across a 37-year timeframe for 10 study sites across a latitudinal transect through the southern Northwest Territories and northern British Columbia, Canada. Specifically, Tasseled Cap transformations (brightness, greenness, and wetness) are applied to the Landsat imagery, to visually assess the impacts of both permafrost thaw and long-term landscape succession. Tasseled Cap pixel trends as well as time series are analyzed for peat plateaus, collapse scar wetlands, and channel fens. This study demonstrates that individual landcovers within peatlands have differing brightness, greenness, and wetness trajectories.
Location Name
Maple
Full Address
Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel & Conference Centre
201 Lynx St
Banff AB T1L 1K5
Canada
Abstract
Rapid circumpolar warming has led to accelerated permafrost thaw, which has induced extensive landscape change in northwestern Canada. Here, forest-dominated peatland landscapes, which were initially largely underlain by permafrost, are transitioning to treeless, wetland-dominated landscapes that are permafrost-free. This study explores permafrost thaw-induced landscape transition in boreal peatlands across northwestern Canada�s discontinuous permafrost zone. Previous studies that have focused on changes to boreal peatlands over time have largely used aerial photographs and/or high-resolution satellite images acquired only at end nodes or decadal intervals across each study�s time frame. This study uses a dense near-annual resolution of mosaicked Landsat imagery to detect changes to peatland landscapes across a 37-year timeframe for 10 study sites across a latitudinal transect through the southern Northwest Territories and northern British Columbia, Canada. Specifically, Tasseled Cap transformations (brightness, greenness, and wetness) are applied to the Landsat imagery, to visually assess the impacts of both permafrost thaw and long-term landscape succession. Tasseled Cap pixel trends as well as time series are analyzed for peat plateaus, collapse scar wetlands, and channel fens. This study demonstrates that individual landcovers within peatlands have differing brightness, greenness, and wetness trajectories.
Session Type
Breakout Session