Synchrony discovered in arctic and boreal lake growing season phenologies as detected with CubeSats

Abstract:

Satellite remote sensing is a key technique that has transformed our understanding of the earth and its processes. One component of the earth system where large uncertainties remain are inland lakes. Numerous and dynamic, these lake systems can rapidly cycle, store and also emit carbon in the form of greenhouse gases. A major impediment to an improved understanding of lake carbon cycling has been distributed field measurements, in large part due to the complexity and expense of conducting scientific research in high northern latitudes. This project seeks to overcome that hurdle by using a new set of ‘eyes in the sky’ i.e. the Planet Labs CubeSat fleet. We couple observation data and other satellite imagery (Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2) to develop individual annual phenological signatures to explore the importance of climate and landscape heterogeneity on the biogeochemical processes in lake ecosystems. Results reveal insights into the timing and magnitude of ice-off and green-up which is further confirmed with field measurements. These findings reveal spatial patterns in ice-out and green-up that provide insights into terrestrial influences on arctic and boreal lake ecosystems.