Land-Cover Land-Use Change on the Yamal Peninsula. A project of the Alaska Geobotany Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks with funding from NASA.

Preliminary Agenda

7 March

Arrival and check into hotel

8 March

Project Overview and the big picture

• 8:30 Skip Walker - Welcome, goals of the workshop, overview of the project
• 8:50 Bruce Forbes - Arctic Centre Welcome
• 9:00 Keynote Address, Florian Stammler: Humans and animals on northern Yamal: uncovering the last unknown patterns of movement and settlement. Abstract.
• 10:00 Break

Morning session: The Yamal Peninsula: general description and previous information (Chairs: Marina Leibman and Nataliya Moskalenko)

• 10:30 Keynote Address, Dmitri Drozdov: Yamal Peninsula map and GIS information, and update on ECI activities and permafrost research on the Yamal. Abstract.
• 11:00 Pavel Orekhov and Marina Leibman: General description of the Yamal Peninsula and the Yamal Transect study locations: Physiography, climate, geology, vegetation, etc. Abstract.
• 11:30 Olga Khitun and Nataliya Moskalenko: Summary of Yamal vegetation and flora. Abstract.
• 12:00 Lunch

Afternoon session: The Big Picture: Yamal in relationship to circumpolar changes in sea ice, land temperature, permafrost, and NDVI (Chairs: Jiong Jia and Martha Raynolds)

• 1:00 Uma Bhatt, Skip Walker, Martha Raynolds: Climatology and Seasonality of the ice-ocean-atmosphere-terrestrial system on the Yamal (delivered from Fairbanks, AK, USA). Abstract.
• 1:30 Keynote address, Joey Comiso: The changing Arctic as observed from space. Abstract.
• 2:00 Keynote address, Jorge Pinzon: GIMMS 3g NDVI set and global NDVI trends. Abstract.
• 2:30 Break
• 3:00 Martha Raynolds: NDVI and SWI trends 1981-2008 in the circumpolar Arctic and Yamal. Abstract.
• 3:30 Jiong Jia: Satellite view of changing phenological patterns over Arctic tundra biome. Abstract.
• 4:00 Dmitri Streletskiy: Spatial and temporal variability of active-layer thickness under changing climate conditions in Northwest Siberia. Abstract.
• 4:30 Birgit Heim: DUE Permafrost: a spaceborne permafrost monitoring and information system. Abstract.
• 5:00 Plenary: How does the Yamal fit in the circumpolar greening, sea-ice and temperature, and permafrost trends? (Chairs: Joey Comiso and Jorge Pinzon)
• 5:30 Poster session, catered sandwiches and refreshments

9 March

Morning session: The Yamal transect (Chairs: Howie Epstein and Pavel Orekhov)

• 8:30 Skip Walker: The Yamal Transect: Vegetation analysis and mapping (a plant to planet approach). Abstract.
• 9:00 Marina Leibman: Active layer measurements and permafrost boreholes along the transect. Abstract.
• 9:30 Howard Epstein: Vegetation biomass, leaf area index, and NDVI patterns and relationships along two latitudinal transects in arctic tundra. Abstract.

Afternoon session: Human dimensions (Chairs: Bruce Forbes and Florian Stammler)

• 1:30 Anatoly Gubarkov: Issues of Yamal Peninsula gas fields development. Abstract.
• 2:00 Timo Kumpula: Land-use and land-cover changes on the Yamal Peninsula. Abstract.
• 2:30 Artem Khomutov: Landscape pattern and cryogenic landsliding hazard analysis at Vaskiny Dachi, Central Yamal. Abstract.
• 3:00 Bruce Forbes: High Resilience in the Yamal-Nenets Social-Ecological System, West Siberian Arctic, Russia. Abstract.
• 3:30 Break
• 4:00 Nataliya Ukraintseva: High willow shrubs in Yamal: Reasons for their wide expansion and methods of biomass assessment. Abstract.
• 4:30 Bruce Forbes: Deciduous shrub growth and the greening of the Arctic in Western Siberia. Abstract.
• 5:00 Qin Yu and Howard Epstein: Controls on arctic tundra vegetation dynamics on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia – an integrative study using ArcVeg and multi-temporal Landsat imagery. Abstract.
• 5:30 Plenary: Where to go with future Yamal socio-ecological research and comparison with Prudhoe Bay? (Chairs: Bruce Forbes and Florian Stammler)
• Evening: Pizza and refreshments at Bruce's house

10 March

Morning discussion groups: Future directions of Remote Sensing, Human Dimensions, Permafrost, Greening of the Arctic (1 hour each)

• 8:30 Remote sensing: Discussion of application and needs for GIMMS 3g data, Quickbird, GLS 2005 (Landsat), MODIS, Corona, SPOT, etc. (Chairs: Jiong Jia and Timo Kumpula)
• 9:30 Human dimensions: Cumulative effects comparison between North Slope Alaska and Yamal; future human dimensions projects on the Yamal Peninsula (Chairs: Bruce Forbes and Florian Stammler)
• 10:30 Break
• 11:00 Permafrost and active layer research on the Yamal: How do we enhance coordination and interaction between permafrost research and the GOA initiative? (Chairs: Marina Liebman and Dmitri Streletskiy)
• 12:00 Greening of the Arctic: Define longer term direction and linkages with other IPY efforts (Seasonality, TSP, CALM, ENSINOR, Rangifer, NAAT and Yamal transects, linkages to ocean and climate dynamics, terrestrial modeling efforts) (Chairs: Skip Walker and Howie Epstein)
• 1:00 Lunch

Afternoon discussion groups: Summer logistics, future meetings, plans for synthesis and publications, wrap-up:

• 2:00 Discussion of summer options, logistics, budgets (Chairs: Marina Liebman and Pasha Orekhov).
• 3:00 Miscellaneous items and wrap-up (Chair: Skip Walker)

I. Upcoming meetings

1. State of the Arctic Meeting, Miami, Mar 16-19
2. LCLUC meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, April 20-22
3. Possible Yamal session at Spring 2011 EGU meeting, May 2-7
4. Third European Conference on Permafrost, UNIS, Svalbard, May 10
5. Oslo IPY meeting, Jun 8-12
6. NASA LCLUC Joint Science Team Meeting, Tartu, Estonia, Aug 25-28
7. Possible Greening of the Arctic session at Fall 2011 AGU meeting

II. Proposed publications

1. Walker et al. Journal of Vegetation Applications synthesis article for NAAT and Yamal relevé data (Sept 30 Deadline)
2. Frost et al. Ecology (?) Yamal vegetation and NDVI analysis
3. Others…

III. Posting of talks and posters on the Yamal web site (this may have to go into the evening.)

• Evening: Reservations at local restaurant

11 March

Departure