Collaborative Research on Carbon, Water, and Energy Balance of the Arctic Landscape at Flagship Observatories in Alaska and Siberia

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Collaborative Research on Carbon, Water, and Energy Balance of the Arctic Landscape at Flagship Observatories in Alaska and Siberia ABSTRACT The arctic landscape interacts with the global and regional climate by exchanging carbon dioxide, methane, water, and energy with the atmosphere. Understanding how these exchanges are regulated and how they change is a key goal of the US Study of Environmental Arctic Change and the NSF Arctic Observatory Network. The first goal of this work is year round monitoring of carbon, water, and energy balance at two arctic sites, Imnavait Creek in Alaska and Cherskii in Siberia. The work will be a collaboration among researchers from the Marine Biological Laboratory, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Northeast Science Station, Russia, and the University of Michigan. The second goal is the development of these two sites as ?Flagship? observatories for research on arctic lands and freshwaters. The main task here is to integrate the new carbon, water, and energy balance data with the already large, diverse, and growing data bases from other research done at these sites. A third aim is to promote PanArctic comparisons and development of PanArctic data bases. Broader impacts include contributions to education, including underrepresented groups, through participation in the Logan Science Journalism program, the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research Schoolyard program, and outreach to Native Alaskan communities. Research and education infrastructure will be enhanced by making the data bases available online. Benefits to society include improved understanding of the impacts of climate change, especially in Alaska where the local residents are closely tied to the land through traditional, subsistence lifestyles.