Polar 5 flying at low lever over Arctic permafrost. Photo credit: J. Hartmann, AWI. 

Green house gas accumulation in the atmosphere contributes to the warming effects that are being reported worldwide. In the Arctic, which is warming rapidly, vast amounts of organic carbon and other greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are stored in the permafrost and could potentially be released as temperatures rise. 

INTAROS researchers aim to estimate the rates of release of these gases, as well as the drivers of changes in emission patterns. Via airborne surveys, Airborne Measurements of Methane Fluxes (AIRMETH), researchers can access areas of the Arctic that would be in accessible at ground level, which allows them to gather information on regional patterns and changes in gas emissions.

The 4th annual AIRMETH campaign took place during the summer of 2018 on the North Slope of Alaska and in the Mackenzie Delta, Canada. A team of scientists and engineers from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) conducted an airborne campaign using the Polar 5 research aircraft of AWI. GFZ focused on the collection of airborne measurements of greenhouse gas (methane and carbon dioxide) and heat fluxes.

To find out more about INTAROS and the summer sampling campaign, visit our Recent News section.

You can check out all the observing sites assessed by INTAROS in this interactive map.