Landsat TM and ETM data were used to calculate NDVI for the study area (823 km^2). This image shows the results of a slope of linear regression of NDVI for 1985, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2007. Only pixels with significant trends (p < 0.05) area shown. The research was funded by NSF grants for studying the Greening of the Arctic and Seasonality: NSF grants OPP-0120736, ARC-0531180, and ARC-0902175.
NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) calculated from coarse-resolution sensors has shown strong increases since the 1980s on Alaska’s North Slope. This study showed that the homogeneous greening at coarser scales was very heterogeneous at 30-m pixel resolution, with a strong influence due to glacial history.
Back to Upper Kuparuk River Region Vegetation (Walker & Maier 2008)
Go to Website Link :: Toolik Arctic Geobotanical Atlas below for details on legend units, photos of map units and plant species, glossary, bibliography and links to ground data.
Map Themes:
Elevation, Glacial Geology, Hydrology, Landform, Landsat NDVI trend 1985-2007, SPOT CIR, SPOT NDVI, Surficial Geology, Surficial Geomorphology
References
Raynolds, M. K., D. A. Walker, D. Verbyla, and C. A. Munger. 2013. Patterns of change within a tundra landscape: 22-year Landsat NDVI trends in an area of the northern foothills of the Brooks Range, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research 45:249–260.
