Watching a warming Arctic from space

Abstract

In recent decades, the Arctic warmed three to four times faster than the rest of the planet. To understand the impacts of rapid climate change on Arctic ecosystems, it is necessary to draw on many types of observations including long-term satellite records. This presentation will focus on satellite observations that show widespread greening of Arctic ecosystems over the past four decades. Arctic greening is related to higher temperatures increasing plant growth and enabling shrubs and trees to expand their footprint across these northern landscapes. Arctic greening is not only a signal of global environmental change, but also has important implications for climate feedbacks, wildlife, and northern communities. Dr. Logan Berner was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the UAS Environmental Science program in 2007. Dr. Berner went on to earn a PhD from the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. He was previously a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellow and is a co-author of the Arctic Report Card released each year by NOAA. He is currently an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems at Northern Arizona University, though recently moved back to Juneau after his wife was hired as a whale biologist with NOAA.