In response to increasing environmental and social changes in the past few decades, some Inuit hunters have been turning to scientific tools to help evaluate sea ice conditions. Simultaneously, there has been more scientific interest in understanding local scale processes through Inuit knowledge in order to develop a broader comprehension of dynamic sea ice conditions and implications of long‐term change. Building on several years of collaborative research with Inuit sea ice experts in Cape Dorset, Igloolik, and Pangnirtung, Nunavut, and local expressions of interest in increased access and availability of satellite imagery of sea ice, the Polar View Floe Edge Service was expanded to each community in the spring of 2007. Follow‐up workshops in November 2007 helped to evaluate and improve the service by considering previous local uses of satellite imagery and tailoring Floe Edge Service regions of interest to local areas of sea ice use. Through workshop discussions, several opportunities for the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery emerged, including: seeing what is on (or within/under) the ice; monitoring seasonal and long‐term sea ice changes; hazards assessment; planning travel routes; and facilitating search and rescue operations. A number of challenges were also identified, such as: SAR image interpretation; image spatial resolution; frequency of image acquisition; SAR image representation capabilities; and technological limitations. The workshops also provided some insights into intercultural and intergenerational exchanges and led to a number of recommendations to continue expanding and improving the Floe Edge Service. This case study shows how remote sensing can be incorporated into the suite of traditional indicators and technological tools that hunters draw upon in their evaluations of complex human‐animal‐environment assessments. In the face of declining and unpredictable sea ice conditions, bridging scales and knowledge systems will be essential in developing integrated monitoring systems to respond to increased political and economic pressures as well as safety concerns for travelling on or within ice‐covered oceans.
Industrial activity in Canada's north is increasing, placing demands on the use of water from lakes to build ice roads. Winter water withdrawal from these lakes has the potential to impact overwintering fish. Removal of water from small lakes can decrease oxygen and habitat available to fish. To address this issue, a protocol has been developed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans outlining water withdrawal thresholds. Bathymetric surveys are the traditional method to determine lake depth, but are costly given the remoteness of northern lakes. This paper investigates the use of satellite C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing technology as a potential alternative or complement to traditional survey methods. Previous research has shown that a SAR can detect the transition from grounded to floating ice on lakes, or if a lake is completely frozen. Grounded ice has a dark signature while floating ice appears very bright in contrast. Similar results were observed for the datasets acquired in the study area. This suggests that lakes that freeze completely to the bottom can be identified using SAR. Such water bodies would not be viable fish overwintering habitat and can therefore be used as water sources without thresholds necessary. However, attempts to accurately calculate the depth of the ice at the grounded-floating ice boundary using bathymetric profiles acquired in the summer and lake ice thickness measurements from a reference lake near Inuvik proved to be unreliable.
Soil moisture is a key factor in the reclamation of wetland habitats. Understanding the distribution and relative amount of water can be critical in reintroducing trees and grasses to disturbed soils. Soil moisture is also one of the main factors affecting microwave radar backscatter from the ground; while there are other factors determining backscatter levels (for instance, surface roughness, vegetation and incident angle) relative variations in soil moisture can be estimated using spacebased, high resolution, multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In this work, relative soil moisture indicators are derived from a time series of Sentinel-1 SAR data over previously mined oil sands in Alberta, Canada. The algorithm provides a relative assessment of soil moisture and requires calibration over wet and dry periods. An evaluation of the soil moisture product is validated using in situ measurements at multiple sites with observations showing agreement from May to August. Comparisons with precipitation records show that SAR derived surface soil moisture is influenced by discreet precipitation events; that is, rainfall that is coincident with the satellite observation reduces the effectiveness of the measurement. The resulting algorithm controls for rain events by including local weather records to adjust estimates based on the known precipitation.
Die geologische CO 2 -Speicherung (CCS, Carbon Capture and Sequestration) ist eine jener Maßnahmen, die vom Wissenschaftergremium IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) zur Eindämmung des Anstiegs der globalen CO 2 -Konzentration in der Atmosphäre vorgeschlagen worden ist. Die EU hat bereits in einem Richtlinienvorschlag, der am 23. Januar 2008 vorgestellt wurde, ihre Vorstellungen zur Integration dieser Technologie im Rahmen des Klimaschutzes präsentiert. Unter anderem strebt die EU den Bau von bis zu 12 Anlagen mit CCS-Technologie an sowie die Planung der Integration dieser Technologie beim Neubau von Kraftwerken. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden die Themen absolute und spezifische Kosten für die Umsetzung von CCS-Projekten, Parameter für die Machbarkeit und Folgerungen für die Betroffenen in Österreich diskutiert. Geological Carbon Sequestration -Costs, Feasibility and European Perspective. Carbon Capture and Sequestration(CCS) is one of the measures which is proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) for the reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The EU has drafted a proposal for a directive on 23rd of January 2008 which includes the integration of CCS within climate change policy in the EU. Amongst others, the EU wishes to construct up to 12 CCS plants in the power sector within the next years. This article focuses on the costs of CCS, parameters for the feasibility of those projects and implications in the groups concerned in Austria.
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