Project 18:
Climate change in the Arctic and Boreal region is unfolding faster than anywhere else on our planet. Recent warming is intensifying the wildfire activity that shapes the structure and function of Earth’s northernmost forests. Join our highly collaborative team on the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE), a large-scale NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program study, as we use satellite remote sensing to deepen our understanding of how changes in the wildfire regime will impact these forests. The position will focus on mapping broad scale ecosystem change using imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites and the NASA/USGS Landsat Program. One potential project for the selected candidate is to determine if a recent wildfire deters subsequent fires for a given forest, though there is considerable opportunity to pursue other questions based on career goals and interests.
Throughout the two semesters, up to 10 hours a week of work is possible. For the first phase, this includes acquiring, processing, and integrating satellite remote sensing imagery to map and monitor changes in forest structure, biomass, and fire impact across the Arctic-Boreal Zone. After the satellite imagery is acquired and compiled, the work will shift to analyzing the data, in R or Python, and testing the hypothesis that a previous fire inhibits future burning. The last phase of the project is writing and editing a manuscript with the team to be submitted for publication in a scientific journal. There will be regular meetings and workshops designed to strengthen the selected candidate’s skill set (i.e. computer programming, statistics, mapping software, scientific communication) and provide new opportunities for growth.
The selected candidate will have the opportunity to help write a manuscript for publication and present their work at NAU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. Additional opportunities may be available for traveling to an academic conference such as the annual NASA ABoVE Science Team Meeting or the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting.