A permafrost thaw slump in the Noatak National Preserve, Alaska

Swanson, David

Video with field interview at a permafrost thaw slump plus computer animations of 3D model. This video combines 1) a field interview shot by Ken Hill (NPS physical sicentist) of Dave Swanson (NPS ecologist) in the summer of 2010 in Noatak National Preserve at a permafrost thaw slump, and 2) computer animations (pan and zoom) of a three-dimensional model of the same thaw slump, constructed using aerial photos and field survey from the field visit. The slump, known at "NOAT039", is described in the reports: Swanson, D. K. and K. Hill. 2010. Monitoring of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Arctic Network, 2010 baseline data: Three-dimensional modeling with small-format aerial photographs. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/ARCN/NRDS—2010/123. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. Swanson, D.K.. 2012. Monitoring of Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Arctic Network, 2011: Three-dimensional modeling of landform change. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/ARCN/NRDS—2012/XXX. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. These are available through NPS IRMA (https://irma.nps.gov/App/Portal) and the NPS Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network website under the "permafrost" vital sign (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/arcn/index.cfm?rq=12&vsid=9) These reports also describe the methods used to produce the 3D models from aerial photographs. The animation pans and zooms to a person standing near the slump for scale, then on to a view that mimics the view of the slump in the interview footage. The image overlay is clicked on-and-off to portray the underlying topography. In the interview, Swanson briefly describes what a slumps is and the field activities. Abundant mosquitos add an element of humor to the interview. People involved in the video production (all NPS employees in Alaska) include Ken Hill, who shot the field footage, Dave Swanson, who was interviewed and produced the 3D model animations, Stacia Backensto, who added the music, and Brooke Carney, who cut and pieced it all togther and added the captions, text, NPS logo, etc.