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Open-File Report 2014–1140

USGS Science to Support the USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative

Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska

By Ken D. Tape, John M. Pearce, Dennis Walworth, Brandt W. Meixell, Tom F. Fondell, David D. Gustine, Paul L. Flint, Jerry W. Hupp, Joel A. Schmutz, and David H. Ward

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (3.2 MB)Abstract

The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska is a complex landscape of lakes, streams, and wetlands scattered across low-relief tundra that is underlain by permafrost. This region of the Arctic has experienced a warming trend over the past three decades leading to thawing of on-shore permafrost and the disappearance of sea ice at unprecedented rates. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Changing Arctic Ecosystems (CAE) research initiative was developed to investigate and forecast these rapid changes in the physical environment of the Arctic, and the associated changes to wildlife populations, in order to inform key management decisions by the U.S. Department of the Interior and other agencies. Forecasting future wildlife responses to changes in the Arctic can benefit greatly from historical records that inform what changes have already occurred. Several Arctic wildlife and plant species have already responded to climatic and physical changes to the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska. Thus, we located historical aerial imagery to improve our understanding of recent habitat changes and the associated response to such changes by wildlife populations.

In this report, we describe and make available a set of 61 georectified aerial images of the Arctic Coastal Plain (taken from 1948 to 2010) that were obtained by the USGS to inform research objectives of the USGS CAE Initiative. Here, we describe the origins, metadata, and public availability of these images that were obtained within four main study areas on the Arctic Coastal Plain: Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, Chipp River, the Colville River Delta, and locations along the Dalton Highway Corridor between the Brooks Range and Deadhorse. We also provide general descriptions of observable changes to the geomorphology of landscapes that are apparent by comparing historical and contemporary images. These landscape changes include altered river corridors, lake drying, coastal erosion, and new vegetation communities. All original and georectified images and metadata are available through the USGS Alaska Science Center Portal (search under ‘Project Name’ using title of this report) or by contacting ascweb@usgs.gov.

First posted July 11, 2014

Revised June 2, 2015

For additional information, contact:
Director, Alaska Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
4210 University Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508-4560
http://alaska.usgs.gov

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Suggested citation:

Tape, K.D., Pearce, J.M., Walworth, Dennis, Meixell, B.W., Fondell, T.F., Gustine, D.D., Flint, P.L., Hupp, J.W., Schmutz, J.A., and Ward, D.H., 2014, Historical and contemporary imagery to assess ecosystem change on the Arctic coastal plain of northern Alaska (ver. 1.1, June 2015): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014-1140, 22 p., https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141140.

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)



Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Study Areas, Scientific Objectives, and Associated Imagery

Data Archive and Access

Acknowledgments

References Cited

Appendix 1. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem Change on the TLSA Coast Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska

Appendix 2. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Chipp River Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska

Appendix 3. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Colville River Delta Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska

Appendix 4. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Dalton Highway Corridor Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska


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