Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Logo
Menu
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Organizational Charts
    • Virtual Tours
    • EESA Strategic Vision
  • Our People
    • A-Z People
    • Alumni Network
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • IDEA Working Group
    • Paul A. Witherspoon
    • Postdocs & Early Careers
    • Search by Expertise
  • Careers & Opportunities
    • Careers
    • Intern Pilot w/CSUEB
    • Mentorship Program
    • Recognition & Funding Opps
    • EESA Mini Grants
    • S&E Metrics for Performance and Promotion
    • Student Opportunities
    • Supervisor EnRichment (SupER) Program
    • Promotion Metrics (Scientific)
  • Research
    • Area-Wide Program Domain
      • Earth AI & Data
    • Our Divisions
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
      • Environmental & Biological Systems Science
        • Programs
        • Environmental Remediation & Water Resources
        • Ecosystems Biology Program
        • Bioenergy
      • Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
        • Terrestrial Ecosystem Science
      • Climate & Atmosphere Processes
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
      • Earth Systems & Society
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
    • Energy Geosciences Division
      • Discovery Geosciences
        • Programs
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geophysics
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geochemistry
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Isotope
      • Energy Resources and Carbon Management
        • Programs
        • Carbon Removal & Mineralization Program
        • Carbon Storage Program
        • Geothermal Systems
        • Hydrocarbon Science
        • Nuclear Energy & Waste
      • Resilient Energy, Water & Infrastructure
        • Programs
        • Water-Energy
        • Critical Infrastructure
        • Environmental Resilience
        • Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage
        • National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI)
    • Projects
    • Research at a Glance
    • Publication Lists
    • Centers and Resources
    • Technologies & National User Programs
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
    • Operations
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Earth & Environment Newsletter
  • Intranet
  • Safety
    • EESA Safety
  • FoW
  • Search

  • all
  • people
  • events
  • posts
  • pages
  • projects
  • publications

Novel Monitoring Strategy Uncovers New Insights to Arctic Ecosystems3 min read

by Kristine Wong on June 16, 2017

Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division Environmental Remediation & Water Resources Program Publication Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program

Earth & Environmental Sciences Area/Lawrence Berkeley Lab researchers make soil moisture measurements in Barrow, Alaska.

Earth & Environmental Sciences Area/Lawrence Berkeley Lab’s Baptiste Dafflon (right) and Craig Ulrich (left) make soil moisture measurements with a TDR and active layer depths with a tile probe. [Photo credit: Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA)/Berkeley Lab]

Scientists studying Arctic ecosystems have long relied on established—yet limited—methods to help them understand how elements within an ecosystem interact with each other.

Now, researchers at Berkeley Lab’s Environmental & Earth Sciences Area (EESA) have led the development of a new approach for monitoring terrestrial ecosystems, and have used the system to discover new insights about how processes in different compartments of an Arctic Tundra ecosystem interact over space and time.

The research team developed a new strategy for autonomous monitoring of soil properties (using geophysical imaging), as well as land surface and vegetation processes (using a range of sensors). The strategy, which was deployed above and below the ground in an Arctic ecosystem, enabled rapid sampling over time at high resolution. It was used in research being conducted in Alaska as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiment-Arctic project.

Baptiste Dafflon collects monitoring data of an Arctic ecosystem using a UAV.

UAV used by Baptiste Dafflon (at a different study site) to collect monitoring data of an Arctic ecosystem . (Photo credit: EESA/Berkeley Lab)

“We needed a better approach to sense and quantify interactions between the subsurface, land, and vegetation, particularly in complex ecosystems like the Arctic that are subject to extreme perturbations—which includes annual freeze-thaw cycles—over short timescales,” said Baptiste Dafflon, EESA research scientist and the first author on a paper (published earlier this month in the Journal of Geophysical Research) that reported the study results. “For the first time, this strategy enabled a virtual window for visualizing how different compartments of an ecosystem interact and respond to environmental changes.”

In particular, the researchers’ analysis revealed seasonal interactions between soil water content and vegetation growth, and a variable relationship with permafrost conditions. In addition, the research team showed that these results can be applied to larger regions that they surveyed using an unmanned aerial system (UAS) and geophysical techniques.

The top photo shows the area monitored using above- and below-ground imaging, while the bottom figure gives an aerial view of the monitoring line.

The top photo shows the area monitored using above- and below-ground imaging, while the bottom figure gives an aerial view of the monitoring line. (Credit: EESA/Berkeley Lab)

“The study also suggests that it should be possible to use soil measurements to infer plant responses, and to use airborne vegetation imagery to estimate soil properties—over large scales and in a way that’s not invasive,” said Susan Hubbard, Berkeley Lab’s Associate Lab Director for EESA and the senior author on the paper.

The new monitoring approach is expected to be useful for addressing a range of questions at different sites. As part of its Watershed Scientific Focus Area, EESA is deploying a similar system in Colorado to explore how mountainous watersheds respond to hydrological perturbations, such as droughts, floods, and early snowmelt.

“The rapid advance of drone-based imagery, coupled with autonomous geophysics, land-based imagery, and telemetry, offers a whole new way to interrogate terrestrial ecosystems,” Hubbard said. “I believe the approach documented in this paper will become a new standard in years to come.”

News & Events

Former Intern Emily Nagamoto Wins AGU Award1 min read

March 27, 2023

Former Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern (SULI) Emily Nagamoto received an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Outstanding Presentation Award, which honors exceptional presentations given during AGU’s 2022 Fall meeting. She was mentored by Staff Scientist Charuleka Varadharajan and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Mohammed Ombadi during her Summer 2022 SULI term. Currently an undergraduate student in Duke University’s Nicholas…

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts2 min read

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

  • Our People
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • Organizational Charts
    • Postdocs
    • Staff Only
    • Search by Expertise
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
  • Research
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
    • Energy Geosciences Division
    • Program Domains
      • Programs
    • Projects
  • Contact
    • 510 486 6455
    • eesawebmaster@lbl.gov
    • Our Identity

Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo DOE Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo UC

A U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory Managed by the University of California

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · Earth and Environmental Sciences Area · Privacy & Security Notice