Collaborative Research: IPY: Observation and Modeling of Tundra Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change

American Museum Natural History, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Researchers from the Woods Hole Research Center and the American Museum of Natural History will investigate the "greening"of the Alaskan Arctic tundra and its relationship to climate change. Using satellite imagery, field validation, and modeling, the project seeks to (1) improve the spatial and temporal resolution of changes in tundra vegetation and its productivity, (2) investigate the causes of those changes, and (3) predict the likely future course of change. The implications of future trends for carbon and energy fluxes and their effects on the climate system also will be examined. The project will provide new data sets, model predictions of changes in shrub productivity and predicted range distributions, classroom materials and learning tools (GoNorth! Adventure learning program), and interpretive exhibits and videos that will be displayed at the American Museum of Natural History.