How NASA Decodes the Secrets of the Arctic

How NASA Decodes the Secrets of the Arctic

Narration: Katie Jepson

Transcript:

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Narration: There is one place where we're seeing

climate change unfold faster

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than anywhere else on Earth.

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Here.

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In fact, temperatures

in the Arctic and boreal regions

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are rising nearly four times

as fast as those in the mid-latitudes.

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That's why NASA has teamed up

with local partners to better understand

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the vulnerability

and resilience of these ecosystems,

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while also gathering valuable data

that will help future Earth-observing

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satellites.

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From space, air

and on the ground,

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we'll see how scientists are piecing

together the story of the Arctic -

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from how it is changing to what that means

for our planet.

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Because, as they say,

what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in

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the Arctic.

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Radio Chatter: PPA is engaged

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Radio Chatter: And we're radiating.

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Narration: One of the best ways to track

how an environment is changing

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is to observe it from above.

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But where weather

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and vegetation can make it difficult

to see the ground with the naked eye,

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specialized radar can pierce the clouds

to give us a crystal clear

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look at the landscape.

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This special device - weighing nearly

1,000 lbs -

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collects data about soil moisture,

vegetation, permafrost

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and other environmental processes

on the ground below.

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In fact, it's so precise

that NASA developed a special system

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for pilots to fly the exact same

flight path year after year

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to get an accurate reading as to

how a landscape is changing over time.

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Dr. Hoy: So with the airborne data,

we can target exactly where we want to go

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and exactly when we want to go there.

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And we get very high resolution data

so we can have a really clear picture

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of what's on the ground.

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Narration: That's Dr. Liz Hoy,

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Senior Scientist for NASA's

ABoVE Mission.

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ABoVE has spent the last seven years

studying environmental changes

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in the Arctic and boreal regions.

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The mission

uses satellite, airborne and ground data

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to get a complete picture

of what is unfolding in these ecosystems.

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Dr. Hoy: So our satellite data gives us

a very broad picture of what's happening

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all over the landscape.

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And then with our airborne data,

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we can target specific locations and times

when we want to get imagery.

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And then we can compare both our satellite

and our airborne data

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with what's happening on the ground.

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And we have teams actually

out on the ground making measurements.

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And putting all that together

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is really where we get a lot of the power

of what we're able to study.

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Narration: And it all gets put together in Alaska.

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On the ground,

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These large dishes are used to communicate

with NASA's Earth-observing satellites.

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Here, the data is downloaded

and made public, which helps

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scientists connect the dots between what

we see from space to on the ground.

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But why are these dishes in Alaska?

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Dr. Meyer: So the reason why these stations,

like ASF, are built in Alaska

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is because Earth-observing satellites,

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if you think of their orbits,

they converge in the polar regions.

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So in Alaska, we can see the same

satellite more often than in the lower 48.

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Narration: In fact,

this facility is in the perfect position

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to receive data from one of NASA's

latest Earth-observing missions.

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NISAR is an upcoming satellite

that will be launched by NASA

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in collaboration with the Indian Space

Research Organization.

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It will use radar similar to

what is flown on NASA's airborne missions,

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like for ABoVE, to measure fine, centimeter-

scale, changes in Earth's surface.

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Dr. Meyer: What's interesting and unique about NISAR

is that it's going to cover the globe

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regularly every 12 days,

and it's going to do it at a

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a wavelength or a frequency range,

so-called L-band frequencies,

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that are very useful for doing Earth

observations.

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L-band will allow us to study ecosystem

changes

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and deformations of the Earth's surface

with higher accuracy

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and better spatial coverage

than we can with current systems in space.

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Narration: And in the Arctic,

some of the most pronounced environmental

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changes satellites can observe

are happening right down the road.

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And it all starts with this stuff.

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Permafrost is

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frozen Earth, be it ice, soil

or even organic material

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that has been frozen for two

or more years.

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Most of Alaska

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and northern Canada has permafrost beneath

a thin, active layer of soil.

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Problem is, when permafrost does

thaw, it can wreak havoc

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on infrastructure and upend ecosystems.

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Dr. Walter Anthony: Not all permafrost contains ice,

but here in interior

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Alaska, we have frozen soils

with massive amounts of ice.

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There are very large

ice wedges - ice wedges as big as garages.

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And so when that ice melts,

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the ground surface collapses

and the sinkholes can fill with water.

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When that happens, new little ponds

form- thermokarst ponds.

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And as thermokarst ponds form, microbes

in the soil feast

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on the newly thawed organic material,

releasing methane into the atmosphere -

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an extremely potent,

and flammable greenhouse gas.

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These newly formed thermokarst ponds

give us an insight

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as to what is going to happen in the future.

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Dr. Walter Anthony: What we're seeing at this lake

is that the emissions are ten times

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higher than the rest of the lakes

and wetlands in the Arctic,

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and it's being fueled by thawing

permafrost.

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Narration: Scientists are working with ABoVE

and NASA's UAVSAR to study

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how these lakes are evolving

as the climate continues to warm.

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But it's not just thawing permafrost

that is reshaping the Arctic.

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It is also wildfire.

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In higher

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latitudes, forests are adapted to burn

about once every century.

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But with warmer temperatures

comes more fires.

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And why is this?

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Partially because of this stuff,

called duff, forest debris

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that slowly builds up on the forest floor,

about one inch every 17 years.

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And because of the cold winters,

it doesn't decompose.

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Alison: It doesn't have roots.

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So it's completely dependent

on relative humidity for moisture.

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So it actually dries very rapidly in warm,

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dry conditions

like we often have here in the summer.

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Narration: Which means of warmer temperatures, duff

becomes a potent fuel for fires.

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Alison: Most Alaskans are vulnerable

to wildland fire.

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And with climate change,

it seems that the imprint on

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the landscape is growing, and so more

and more communities are vulnerable.

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Dr. Hoy: When a wildfire comes through,

what we're really seeing is it's actually

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it's not just the trees that are burning,

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but it's the soil layer that's burning as well.

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And so when that fire comes through

and it burns that soil layer, it's

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like you're taking off the lid of a cooler

where everything is frozen below.

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And so as that soil comes off,

then we start to see the ground

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start to thaw and permafrost is thawing there.

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And so as we see those changes happening,

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we're actually creating

more climate change over time.

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So wildfires are releasing

carbon gases into the atmosphere.

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And then as permafrost thaws,

it too is releasing carbon

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gases into the air,

which then can create warmer conditions

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which can allow for more wildfire

and more thaw.

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So you really see this cycle

that continues up in boreal forest

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and Arctic areas over time.

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Narration: So the bad news is that as human-caused

climate

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change continues to impact the Arctic

and boreal landscapes,

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those living both near

and far will continue to feel its effects.

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But the good news is that there is a team

of dedicated scientists,

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across a variety of disciplines,

that are working together to give us

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a complete picture of these ecosystems

and how they are changing.

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Because this collective knowledge is key to understanding

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how we can lessen our impact.