VuRSAL Scoping Study

Background

NASA’s 2008 ROSES Solicitation (NNH08ZDA001N-TE) called for proposals to carry out

“Scoping studies to identify the scientific questions and develop the initial study design and implementation concept for a new NASA Terrestrial Ecology field campaign or related team project.”

In response to NNH08ZDA001N-TE, a group developed a proposal titled

Vulnerability and Resiliency of Arctic and Sub-Arctic Landscapes (VuRSAL) - the Role of Interactions between Climate, Permafrost, Hydrology, and Disturbance in Driving Ecosystem Processes

NASA selected this proposal for funding in February 2009, with one year of support beginning in June 2009

Initial VuRSAL Team

Co-Principal Investigators• Eric S. Kasischke – Univ. of Maryland• Scott J. Goetz – Woods Hole Res. Center• John S. Kimball – Univ. of Montana• Michelle C. Mack – Univ. of Florida

Collaborators• Jennifer Harden – USGS (YRB Project)• Larry Hinzman – Int. Arctic Res. Center• Masami Fukuda – Int. Arctic Res. Center• Roger Ruess – Univ. of Alaska (LTER)• Scott Rupp – Univ. of Alaska (SNAP)

U.S. Climate Change Science Program

NASA is sponsoring this scoping study as part of it’s involvement in the US CCSP, which has a number of Inter-agency Working Groups focused on specific topic

For example, the IWG on Carbon Cycle Science currently involves planning and coordination of research involving the following agencies – DOE, DOI (USGS), NSF, NOAA, USDA, USFS, and NASA

Examples of this planning/coordination is the US Carbon Cycle Science Plan, the NA Carbon Program, and the CarboNA Program

NASA desires that the scoping study consider study sites located across a broad geographic region that

includes Alaska and northwestern Canada and involves the international scientific community

Previous NASA Terrestrial Ecology Field Campaigns

• FIFE: First ISLSCP Field Campaign (1985-1995)– Field campaigns in 1987 and 1989

• BOREAS: Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (1992 – 2000)– Field campaigns in 1994 and 1996

• LBA: Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (1998 – present)

BOREAS

• Goal: Improve the understanding of the exchanges of radiative energy, sensible heat, water, CO2 and trace gases between the boreal forest and the lower atmosphere.

A key element of the BOREAS Project was the installation and continuous operation of nine (9) eddy covariance towers to measure fluxes of water, energy, and trace gases between the land surface and atmosphere

Scoping Study Goals

Goal 1 - Identify scientific issues and questions and underlying rationale in three specific areas:

A. Interactions between climate and the permafrost, hydrologic, and disturbance regimes that control the vulnerability and resiliency of arctic and sub-arctic ecosystems (i.e., what processes are driving ecosystem changes?); and

B. The role these interactions have in forcing the surface environment and ecosystem processes

C. The feedbacks from variations in ecosystems and surface conditions to the climate and the forcing processes

VARIATIONS IN SOIL DRAINAGE

VARIATIONS IN PERMAFROST

CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY

1. Direct Impacts

Peatlands/ wetlands

Lakes/Rivers

Forests Shrub-lands

Wet/DryTundra

3. Ecosystem Processes and Responses Fire regime

Insects-disease

Changes tosurface hydrology

Permafrost warming

2. Indirect Impacts

2. ForcingProcesses

4. Feedbacks

Sub-Arctic and Arctic Landscapes

Surface organic layer

VARIATIONS IN TOPOGRAPHY

Scoping Study Goals

Goal 2 - To develop a plan for a research program to address these questions and issues that includes a field experiment/campaign

• The VuRSAL scoping study is not intended to supersede or supplant existing research programs

• The VuRSAL team views ongoing and planned programs as the foundation upon which a large-scale field campaign should be built

• The VuRSAL scoping study can be viewed as an opportunity for coordination between and across the large number of activities that already exist

Steps in the Scoping Study

Feb – Jul 2009: Recruit Study Participants Mar – Jul 2009: Solicit themes, issues, questions

from the broader scientific communityAug 2009: Convene Workshop to make

recommendations to address project goalsSep – Nov 2009: Prepare Draft PlanDec 2009 – Jan 2010: Community Review of PlanFeb – Mar 2010: Revision of PlanApril 2010: Final Review of PlanMay 2010: Final Revisions and Submission of Plan

Participation in the Scoping Study

1. Provide suggestions for the major science issues and questions to be addressed

2. Participate in the August Workshop

3. Assist writing portions of the scoping study report

4. Review the scoping study report