Investigation and Quantification of Water Track Networks in Boreal Regions Using Remote Sensing and Geophysical Data

Abstract:

Water tracks are the most prominent drainage pathways that route water through the soil over permafrost in the polar environment and thus play a major role in hydrology, geomorphology, and geochemistry of the polar ecosystem. Existing literature on water tracks is limited and is largely confined to tundra areas devoid of vegetation. The objective of this study is to initiate the investigation of water tracks in thickly vegetated boreal regions, many of which contain predominant engineered infrastructures. The ancillary objectives include the development of methods for mapping the distribution of water tracks in boreal regions and a preliminary analysis of the geotechnical impacts of water track interception on infrastructures. The study area is Goldstream Road in Fairbanks, Alaska. This road experiences high amounts of damage, possibly due to interception of prominent water tracks. To investigate the road damage, the Alaska Department of Transportation has collected geophysical data in 2012. We plan to create a water track distribution map around the Goldstream Road using high-spatial-and-spectral-resolution remote sensing imagery and correlate it with the geophysical data from 2012. We have collected ground data from two water tracks: one in a residence in Fairbanks and the other besides the Goldstream Road. The two tracks vary greatly in size and features. Both water tracks revealed different yet quite promising characteristics. These findings will be used to extract other water tracks from remotely sensed images of the Goldstream Road area. So far, a 2010 SPOT 5 image (2.5m x 2.5 m), an aerial orthophoto (14 cm x 14 cm) and a DEM (57 cm x 57 cm) from September 2014 have been acquired. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) processing was performed on the 2010 SPOT 5 image. A detailed water track database was created and water tracks are being manually digitized from the available imagery and Web Mapping Services (WMS). As a test, using FLIR, handheld thermal infrared camera, we have successfully characterized water track on the residential property. Our research will provide essential insight into water tracks in boreal regions, engineering solutions and mitigation of damages from water track interception as vital considerations for future engineering designs.