Abstract

The melting of the tundra in Alaska has allowed the growth of vegetation in the Arctic to increase and alter the landscape. By using Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 satellite reflectance data; we can track the growth of high latitude vegetation in areas of increased tundra melt by using a normalized difference vegetation index trend to analyze the land area in the peak summer month of July from 1999-2016. From the satellite data, we can apply change detection techniques to help us identify the change area and rate, the spatial pattern of change, and the change trajectory. By observing data collected from 1999-2016, we can identify the trends that are taking place in the region so that we can adequately predict how much greening will occur in the next decade if current environmental factors stay the same.