Permafrost Processes

Much of my graduate research has been devoted towards studying permafrost processes in the Alaskan and Canadian arctic, with a particular emphasis on quantifying seasonal active layer dynamics, and understanding the effects of wildfire and time-variable surface soil moisture on the active layer.

I have worked with satellite and airborne InSAR data in conjunction with the NASA ABoVE project to study permafrost processes and active layer dynamics in the North American arctic. In particular, I have used InSAR to demonstrate the long-term impacts of wildfires on active layer dynamics and permafrost thickness.

Related Publications

R. Michaelides, K. Schaefer, H. Zebker, A. Parsekian, L. Liu, J. Chen, S. M. Natali, S. Ludwig, and S. Schaefer, “Inference of the impact of wildfire on permafrost and active layer thickness in a discontinuous permafrost region using the remotely sensed active layer thickness (ReSALT) algorithm,” Environmental Research Letters, 2018. https:// doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaf932