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U.S. Department of the Interior
The National Park Service (NPS) has a substantial investment in and a long history of using aerial and spaceborne remote sensing and global positioning system (GPS) technologies. The NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program conducts baseline inventories for more than 270 parks across the Nation. Remote sensing data are a critical source of information regarding geology, soils, vegetation, and infrastructure. Aerial photography and satellite imagery have been utilized to compile vegetation maps; a monumental task given the agency has responsibility for over 30 million acres. These data are particularly critical for NPS activities in Alaska, because of its remote and vast expanses of public land and the fact that the Arctic is warming rapidly in response to climate change. The NPS takes advantage of the open and freely available Landsat archive to quantify decadal changes in glacier ice cover and document land cover change in national park units. The NPS has been the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) sponsoring agency to map all large wildland and prescribed fires as part of the DOI Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity project, using the Landsat archive. GPS supports field data collection, navigation, and search and rescue operations conducted by the agency.
Glaciers are an iconic part of the landscape in south-central Alaska and cover approximately half of Kenai Fjords National Park. Glaciers play a role in local terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems and are one of the highlights for local tours. Like most glaciers in Alaska, the glaciers in Kenai Fjords have been shrinking.
The Northeast Archeological Resources Program (NARP) supports archeological resource planning, research, and baseline inventory and evaluation of archeological resources in the Interior Region 1 North Atlantic-Appalachian (formerly Northeast Region). NARP uses a suite of tools in their work with archeological resources including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS), with an integrated program of remote sensing to contribute to the enhancement of arc
Glaciers are important sentinels of a changing climate, crucial components of the global cryosphere, and integral to ecosystem functioning in the surrounding landscape. Until now, commonly used methods for mapping glacier change were labor intensive and thus limited in temporal and spatial scope. This work addressed some of those limitations by developing a novel deep learning–based method called GlacierCoverNet, a deep neural network that relies on an extensive, customized training dataset.
Ice wedges are a common feature of permafrost regions that form when cracks in frozen ground are filled by ice. Because they are located near the ground surface and have little covering insulation, they are susceptible to thaw and can be an early warning sign of permafrost loss. Ice wedges are also responsible for much of the unique polygonal patterned ground in the Arctic.
National Park Service (NPS) scientists had been monitoring water quality in a small lake in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve since 2005 when they noticed a sudden and persistent increase in the ionic concentration in 2019. The specific conductance of the lake water increased over time.
Remotely sensed data and derived information contribute significantly to mission-critical work across the Department of the Interior (DOI). This report from the DOI Remote Sensing Working Group (DOIRSWG) highlights a sample of DOI remote sensing applications and illustrates the many types of technology, platforms, and specialized sensors employed.* DOI personnel use remote sensing technology to evaluate and monitor changing land-surface and natural resource conditions over the vast areas for which DOI has responsibility.
The Yukon River basin encompasses 832,000 square-kilometers and is one of Earth's largest boreal-Arctic rivers. Characterized by a long, frozen winter season, the river demonstrates an abrupt ice breakup and spring snowmelt-driven flood pulse.
Twenty years ago, ecological studies were often limited by the number of times biologists could find (relocate) their study animals. With the advent and now widespread use of Global Positioning System (GPS)collars, tracking the animals is no longer a primary concern.
The snow season has become shorter and the growing season longer over the past 20 years in Alaska's Arctic National Parks. The NPS Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network (ARCN) uses MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite images and remote automated cameras to monitor the timing of the growing season and the snow cover in five large national parks in northern Alaska.
Remotely sensed data and derived information contribute significantly to mission-critical work across the Department of the Interior (DOI). This report from the DOI Remote Sensing Working Group (DOIRSWG) highlights a sample of DOI remote sensing applications and illustrates the many types of technology, platforms, and specialized sensors employed.* DOI personnel use remote sensing technology to evaluate and monitor changing land-surface and natural resource conditions over the vast areas for which DOI has responsibility.
