Arctic Field Projects
Project Title: Fire In the Arctic Landscape: Impacts, Interactions And Links To Global and Regional Environmental Change (Award# 0856853)
PI: Shaver, Gaius R (gshaver@mbl.edu)
Phone: (508) 289.7492
Institute/Department: Marine Biological Laboratory, The Ecosystems Center
IPY Project? NO
Funding Agency: US\Federal\NSF\OD\OPP\ARC\AON
Program Manager: Dr. Erica Key (ekey@nsf.gov )
Discipline(s): | Biology\Biogeochemistry | Biology\Climate Change | Biology\Ecosystems |
Science Summary:
The 2007 Anaktuvuk River (AR) fire created a unique opportunity to observe the response of a pristine tundra landscape to a major disturbance. The area burned is large enough (>1000 km2) that its impacts can be measured directly at multiple scales, from small plots, to small (1st-order) catchments and hill slopes, to large (3rd-order) catchments, to the atmospheric boundary layer above the entire burn. As the burned area recovers over time, observations of changes in key ecosystem processes and in terrestrial and aquatic communities will afford insights into controls and interactions among system components that would not be possible from long-term observation of an undisturbed tundra landscape. The AR fire also serves as a harbinger of future change in the arctic landscape and its interactions with the atmosphere, aquatic systems, and oceans as global climate continues to warm. It provides a standard of comparison with predictions of long-term response to disturbance and climate change, based on finer-scale, shorter-term experimental studies. Finally, because the area burned is so large, it provides an opportunity for measuring change at a scale that is directly relevant to large-area, PanArctic modeling and prediction. For all of these reasons, it is imperative that a long-term, multi-scale, multi-dimensional program of observation, comparison, and analysis be established on the Anaktuvuk River fire. This should be done as soon as possible so as not to miss the early period of most rapid change. This program should be established in a way that facilitates future, detailed process studies and long-term modeling and synthesis. The program should be broadly-based, so that it involves participation by a wide range of arctic researchers and contributes to advancing the goals of multidisciplinary research programs like SEARCH, ISAC, IPY, LTER, and NEON. This grant funds research to establish such a program on the AR fire and nearby unburned tundra, starting in spring 2009. The observations, comparisons, and analysis would build upon work begun in 2008 (the first summer following the fire) with SGER funds from the NSF Arctic Systems Science and NEON programs. Key components of the research include measurement of (1) surface C, water, and energy exchanges, (2) terrestrial organic matter, C, and element stocks, (3) terrestrial vegetation composition and structure, (4) lake and stream chemistry and water flow, (5) lake and stream community composition, and (6) evaluation of spectral reflectance measures of production, biomass, community composition, and burn impacts for use in scaling up to larger areas and for comparison with satellite- and airplane based measures of reflectance. Data will be made available via the Arctic LTER data base, which currently hosts a wide range of relevant, comparative data sets.
Logistics Summary:
With this project, the PI continues work on the Anaktuvuk River, Alaska, burn site begun under grant 0808789 in 2008. Field work is planned for 2009 – 2011. During each of these seasons, field teams will visit the site of a 2007 massive fire along the Anaktuvuk River, about 24 miles northwest of Toolik Field Station, for a variety of sampling activities. In 2009, the team of about 18 will base from Toolik from mid-June to mid-August and make day trips via helicopter to the site. In 2010, researchers will spend several days working at Toolik in May; they will return for the summer season, and then will make a late-September visit as well. In addition to the suite of sampling activities, the team will conduct its major harvest of plant material during the summer. In addition, a team will reconnoiter two older burn sites to assess suitability as comparison study sites travelling in mid-August to Atqasuk and then spending several days helicoptering to two 1993 burn sites about 50 miles away (DCKN178 and DCKN190). In 2011, researchers will return to Toolik Field Station for summer sampling; depending on findings from the 2010 visits to the older burn sites, the PI may also request a more extended visit to the 1977 and 1993 burn sites.
For all years, CPS will provide Toolik Field Station user days, camping gear and helicopter support for access to field sites near Toolik Lake. IAB will provide access to infrastructure and services at TFS. For 2010 work at the older burn sites, CPS will provide commercial travel from Barrow to Atqasuk, lodging and per diem in Barrow and Atqasuk; helicopter support and fuel cache; and permitting assistance. For the Barrow-area support including permitting assistance and transit through Barrow en route to/from ATQ, CPS will provide access to services and infrastructure via subcontracts with on-the-ground logistics providers.
| Season | Field Site | Date In | Date Out | #People |
| 2009 | Alaska - Toolik | 06 / 11 / 2009 | 08 / 15 / 2009 | 18 |
| 2010 | Alaska - Atqasuk | 08 / 11 / 2010 | 08 / 14 / 2010 | 2 |
| 2010 | Alaska - Barrow | 08 / 10 / 2010 | 08 / 15 / 2010 | 2 |
| 2010 | Alaska - DCKN178 | 08 / 11 / 2010 | 08 / 14 / 2010 | 2 |
| 2010 | Alaska - DCKN190 | 08 / 11 / 2010 | 08 / 14 / 2010 | 2 |
| 2010 | Alaska - Toolik | 12 | ||
| 2011 | Alaska - Toolik | 7 |
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