The ORNL DAAC recently released the following Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) dataset by Shimada, J.G., et al. (2021):
ABoVE: Methane Ebullition Hotspots in Frozen Lakes near Fairbanks, Alaska, Oct 2014
This dataset includes locations and number of methane ebullition hotspots in 15 frozen lakes in the southern portion of the Goldstream Valley and the surrounding landscape just north of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. Hotspots were identified from early winter high resolution aerial photographs acquired three days after lake-ice formation in October 2014. Hotspot ebullition seeps are defined as point-sources of high ebullition that release methane from lake sediments year-round. High rates of bubbling impede ice formation and in early winter bubbling leads to dark, round open holes in lake ice which were visible in the aerial photos. This project investigated the role of theromkarst lakes in thawing of permafrost and mobilization of organic carbon in frozen soils.
The ABoVE is a NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program field campaign being conducted in Alaska and western Canada, for 8 to 10 years, starting in 2015. Research for ABoVE links field-based, process-level studies with geospatial data products derived from airborne and satellite sensors, providing a foundation for improving the analysis, and modeling capabilities needed to understand and predict ecosystem responses to, and societal implications of, climate change in the Arctic and Boreal regions.
Additional data from ABoVE and other relevant links can be found on the ORNL DAAC's ABoVE Project Page.
Citation: Anthony, K.W., P. Hanke, and P. Lindgren. 2021. ABoVE: Methane Ebullition Hotspots in Frozen Lakes near Fairbanks, Alaska, Oct 2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1861