Energy and Trace Gas Fluxes

Changes in the terrestrial Arctic system affect trace gas fluxes, freshwater input into the Arctic Ocean and local to regional energy and vapour transfer. A thorough understanding of energy and trace gas exchange processes and budgets in the Arctic is crucial for a realistic assessment and modeling of climate-induced changes.

This study will concentrate on the meso-scale (0.001-10 km), spatially extending existing plot-scale (0.01-1 m) measurements. The importance of fine-scale states and processes to larger-scale phenomenon are evaluated through bridging the plot, meso and regional scales. 
Already established instrumentation on soil thermal and hydrologic dynamics will be augmented with spatially distributed measurements (automated and manual) at characteristic sites (for example, TDR and temperature arrays, ground water level). Micrometeorological eddy covariance towers are used to assess energy and trace gas fluxes fluxes. Manual measurements of surface moisture and temperature, active layer thaw depth, surface characteristics and trace gas fluxes are carried out for specified landscape units (identified on aerial pictures) and in the eddy foot print area. Because of the high spatial variability of surface characteristics (vegetation, water, temperature) and temporal physical parameters (soil and atmosphere) it is essential to acquire data with high resolution.