RII Track-4: PermaSense: Investigating Permafrost Landscapes in Transition Using Multidimensional Remote Sensing, Data Fusion, and Machine Learning Techniques

永久冻土覆盖了北方约25%的陆地景观。其退化正在影响北方的景观和社会。2000年代初以来，随着遥感平台数量的增加，探测和测量大面积永久冻土区扰动的能力变得更加可行。这项研究，我们称之为PermaSense的项目，将提供资金，以提高非终身制研究助理教师和早期职业博士后研究员的研究能力，通过在康涅狄格大学（UConn）自然资源环境部（DNRE）的长期访问，培训和合作。PermaSense将允许PI和博士后通过获取新的数据融合和机器学习技术来建立他们的永久冻土区领域和遥感研究计划。PermaSense产品与阿拉斯加州和国家直接相关。在该项目期间获得的技能和知识转让将提高阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯的永久冻土研究和遥感能力。该研究解决了2017 -2021财年北极研究计划中规定的与永久冻土、陆地生态系统、海岸恢复力和环境情报相关的几个机构间北极研究政策委员会（IARPC）性能要素。永久冻土的定义是至少连续两年保持在0摄氏度或以下的地面。近地表永久冻土的扰动和变暖可能导致富含冰的永久冻土地区广泛的地形不稳定，影响生态系统，水文，基础设施，社会和土壤碳动态。遥感是观测、记录和更好地了解从地方到泛北极尺度景观变化的重要资源。然而，没有一个遥感工具是特别适合于检测和观察的景观变化的情况下，与过渡永久冻土套件。PermaSense将利用多维遥感、数据融合和机器学习技术调查永久冻土区发生的无数地表变化。PermaSense将加强方法的发展和适应，以更快，更深入，更准确地分析大量的多维遥感数据，以解决指导性的研究问题：北极和亚北极地区当代永久冻土退化的范围有多大？我们将在四个代表性的永久冻土区研究领域，捕捉永久冻土的横向范围的变化进行多维遥感观测分析。生态，气候，景观历史的固有差异及其在永久冻土区过渡中的作用将使用所有地点的通用方法以及特定地区可用的增值产品进行测试。PermaSense将开发一个在线资源和工具集，提供有关永久冻土区扰动的空间和时间可扩展信息，并为当地规划活动、科学界、区域决策--该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估来支持审查标准。

Permafrost underlies around 25% of the Northern Hemisphere terrestrial landscape. Its degradation is impacting northern landscapes and societies. With an increase in the number of remote sensing platforms since the early 2000s, the ability to detect and measure permafrost-region disturbances over large areas has become more feasible. This research, a project we call PermaSense, will provide funding to increase the research capacity of a non-tenure track Research Assistant Faculty member and an early career post-doctoral researcher through extended visits, training, and collaboration at the University of Connecticut (UConn) Department of Natural Resources & the Environment (DNRE). PermaSense will allow the PI and postdoc to build upon their permafrost-region field and remote sensing research program by acquiring new data fusion and machine learning techniques. PermaSense products are directly relevant to the State of Alaska and the nation. The skills and knowledge transfer gained during this project will increase the capacity of permafrost research and remote sensing at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The research addresses several of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) performance elements related to permafrost, terrestrial ecosystems, coastal resilience, and environmental intelligence as specified in the FY2017-2021 Arctic Research Plan.Permafrost is defined as ground that remains at or below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years. Disturbance and warming of near-surface permafrost may lead to widespread terrain instability in ice-rich permafrost regions, impacting ecosystems, hydrology, infrastructure, society, and soil-carbon dynamics. Remote sensing is an important resource for observing, documenting, and better understanding landscape change from local to pan-Arctic scales. However, no one remote sensing tool is particularly suited for detecting and observing the suite of landscape change scenarios associated with transitioning permafrost. PermaSense will investigate myriad land surface changes occurring in permafrost regions using multidimensional remote sensing, data fusion, and machine learning techniques. PermaSense will enhance methodological developments and adaptations to unseal faster, deeper and more accurately analyze large volumes of multidimensional remote-sensing data to address the guiding research question: How extensive is contemporary permafrost degradation in the Arctic and Subarctic? We will conduct an analysis of multidimensional remote sensing observations at four representative permafrost-region study areas that capture the variability in the lateral extent of permafrost. The inherent differences in ecology, climate, landscape history, and their role in transitioning permafrost regions will be tested using common approaches across all sites as well as value-added products available for particular regions. PermaSense will develop an online resource and toolset that will provide spatially and temporally scalable information on permafrost region disturbances and a tool for local planning activities, the scientific community, and regional decision-makers tasked with responding to permafrost regions in transition.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.