Dr. Paul Treitz

Arctic ecosystems account for a large proportion of Canada’s land surface and are important systems within the context of global climate change and environmental change research. Northern tundra ecosystems are thought to be particularly sensitive to changes in climate, yet it remains unclear as to how they will respond. The focus of my Arctic research is on modeling biogeophysical variables at multiple scales across a latitudinal gradient (~63°-75°N) for the Canadian Arctic; serving as a temperature gradient of approximate 10°C for mean-July temperatures – a surrogate for a warming climate. This research is being conducted at Sabine Peninsula (77ºN) and Cape Bounty (75ºN), Melville Island; Boothia Peninsula (71ºN); and Apex River, Baffin Island (63ºN), Nunavut. Although there have been studies examining biogeophysical variables at these latitudes, they have largely been limited to broad spatial scales (i.e., 1-8 km²). There has been very little research conducted in Canada’s North on relating biogeophysical variables to high spatial resolution remote sensing data

More information on my lab can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/geographyandplanning/larsees/home