Use of NOAA-AVHRR data to monitor snow cover and spring meltoff in the wildlife habitats in Jameson Land, East Greenland

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Abstract
NOAA-AVHRR satellite data have been used for a multi-year analysis of the seasonal variation of snow cover on the peninsula of Jameson Land located from 70°30?N to 72°N on the eastern coast of Greenland. Monitoring programmes for muskoxen and geese populations in Jameson Land wert started in the early 1980s to assess the impact of oil exploration in the area. This study was conducted to provide snow cover data to the wildlife monitoring programmes because snow cover is an important factor which can affect the numbers and distribution of muskoxen and other wildlife in the area. Snow cover mapping is based on the geometric correction and radiometric calibration of each satellite scene before the visual bands are corrected for the terrain-effects and high solar zenith angle by using a simple radiation model. The atmospheric effect on the thermal infrared bands is corrected by using the “split-window” method. An automatic filtering routine with empirically determined thresholds is used to determine cloud-and haze-covered areas before the snow cover is computed from a linear expression using albedos of bare ground and full snow cover. By combining the satellite information with ground measurements and a digital terrain model, both the spatial distribution of snow cover and the total snow cover depletion can be obtained. The method makes it possible to analyse the variation in regional and seasonal snow cover in wildlife habitats. The variation in snow cover depletion has been analysed in five subareas in the muskox area, and the results indicate that the snow cover pattern is an important factor which influences muskox calf crop and regional distribution of the muskox population. The method has proved useful for monitoring the duration of snow cover, and its application ought to facilitate the future study of wildlife habitats in extensive alpine and arctic areas.