G - I
type: Concept

GOA
type: Concept
definition: Short Title: Greening of the Arctic (GOA) Project URL: http://naat.geobotany.org/index.shtml Proposal URL: http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=139 One of the key goals of IPY will be to document the rapid and dramatic changes to terrestrial vegetation that are expected to occur across the circumpolar Arctic as a result of climate change. Changes in the biomass of terrestrial ecosystems will likely affect the permafrost, active layer, carbon reserves, trace-gas fluxes, hydrological systems, biodiversity, wildlife populations and the habitability of the Arctic. Changes in green biomass can be expected across the entire bioclimate gradient from treeline to the coldest parts of the Arctic. The Greening of the Arctic (GOA) initiative consists of a group of scientists who are part of four major components. The first component will examine in detail the 24-year record of greenness across the entire circumpolar Arctic as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using satellite imagery (AVHRR and MODIS). The study will examine historical trends in NDVI and document areas of major increases or decreases in the NDVI and link these trends to changes in sea-ice distribution, land-surface-temperatures, snow-cover, bioclimate subzones, vegetation type, glacial history, and other variables in a circumpolar GIS database that is part of the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM). Modeling studies will use the past trends in NDVI to predict future distribution of arctic vegetation using the BIOME4 model. Transient dynamics of the vegetation will be examined using the ArcVeg model. The project will focus along a North American Arctic Transect (NAAT) where extensive ground data are available. This component is already funded by NSF. The second component will examine NDVI-ecosystem relationships along transects in North America and Eurasia at zonal sites in all 5 arctic bioclimate subzones. This portion of the study will take advantage of…
in scheme: projects