CARMA’s Climate database J. Fox L. Witter S. Thorisson
Why a CARMA climate database CARMA’s goal to monitor and assess impacts of global change on caribou Major approach is cross-herd comparisons Need to compare (how are herd habitats similar) and contrast (how are herd habitats different) Climate plays a central role in controlling caribou abundance and distribution Ideal to have one source for the data – climate data
1979 – 2010 daily data available for over 100 variables across the circumpolar north
…a few words about MERRA data Universal coverage for over the last 30 years Brings together all climate data within the satellite era Ensures that different satellite provide a consistent measure of the environment Data at least daily and, for example temperature, every 3 hours 72 variables offered Grid size ½ degree latitude by 2/3 degree longitude Data is available to download within months Estimate for CARMA to provide annual updates is ~ 18 hours – of which 15 hours is for MERRA data download
STEP 1. DEFINE SEASONAL RANGES
8 polygons per herd for example – Bluenose West Herd calving summer spring winter fall taiga tundra whole herd
calving summer fall 2 types of tables created calving summer fall Seasonal range tablesCaribou movement tables winter 104 grids PCH winter 219 grids Taimyr winter
Caribou-relevant climate derivatives winter spring/calving summer autumn
… a few examples: comparing years for a herd (summer temperature)
… a few examples: comparing herds (summer temperature)
… a few examples: snow depth comparing herds
… a few examples: snow depth comparing years
… a few examples: some caribou-specific variables
How much data? MERRA raw data 21.5 Gbytes Polygon focused tables 2.1 Gbytes Caribou focused tables 138 Mbytes TOTAL ~ 25 GBytes
Some questions for the breakout Data quality? – Greenness Index, Leaf Area Index – validation Documentation needs? Access? Additional caribou related variables? Are there basic summaries needed? Trend analysis? Tele-connections? Update schedule – annual, timing?