The Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) is an interdisciplinary research program designed to improve scientific understanding of climate change impacts on the boreal and arctic regions. The goal of this project is to provide a better understanding of how environmental changes in these regions affect ecosystems, the services they provide, and their ability to respond to future changes.
ABoVE was jointly funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation and launched in 2015 with a mission to investigate the vulnerability of social-ecological systems in response to changing climate conditions over Alaska, western Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia. To do so, ABoVE researchers have assembled comprehensive datasets from field observations as well as remote sensing measurements taken from aircrafts, satellites and ground stations across multiple scales. Additionally ABoVE scientists employ modeling approaches that can help simulate large-scale processes under different scenarios for various components such as fire regimes or land cover change.
So far ABoVE has collected data pertaining to vegetation composition; species distribution; permafrost dynamics; carbon storage; air quality characteristics; soil moisture content ; hydrological patterns including surface water availability at catchment scale; Carbon dioxide uptake by vegetation ; energy balance estimates at regional scales ; wildfire occurrence ; biogeochemical cycling among many other parameters . These datasets are then used for analysis aimed at predicting long term consequences of global warming on terrestrial ecosystems , studying changes in weather patterns , observing responses from local communities living within these areas towards climatic shifts etc . Recent results suggest that there will be increased frequency and intensity of extreme events like heat waves due to projected rapid rates of warming which could further worsen existing socio – economic problems arising out of climate – induced ecosystem degradation . Furthermore it has been observed that certain areas may experience an overall decrease in productivity while others may exhibit greater resilience depending upon their exposure levels towards varying environmental conditions .
In summary , through its extensive network platform consisting of advanced methods related both observational studies & model predictions , ABoVE provides a unique opportunity for researchers all around the world working towards understanding & assessing vulnerabilities associated with our rapidly changing environment . By using integrative approach involving combinations between ground based studies & remote sensing technologies along with modern day computational models , this experiment promises great insights into interactions between physicalenvironmental & social systems thereby enabling us devise more reliable ways for adaptation planning & management decisions required when faced with increasingly unpredictable climatescapes !