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Boreal forest in Canada
vegetation index in the arctic
arctic boreal forest

BOREAS

Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study

The Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) was a large-scale, international, interdisciplinary experiment in the boreal forests of central Canada. Its focus was improving our understanding of the exchanges of radiative energy, sensible heat, water, CO2, and trace gases between the boreal forest and the lower atmosphere. 

A primary objective of BOREAS was to collect the data needed to improve computer simulation models of the important processes controlling these exchanges so that scientists can anticipate the effects of global change on the biome. A BOREAS follow-on project extended and built upon the original BOREAS goal.

Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) graphic identifier.
Study DatesFebruary 2, 1994 - October 21, 1996
Season of StudyYear round
RegionBoreal forests of central Canada
Spatial Bounds

N: 60°N

S: 50°N

W: 112°W

E: 97°W

Focus Areas

Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems

Climate Variability and Change

Geophysical Concepts

Atmospheric Chemicals and Trace Gasses

Ecosystems/Biogeochemical Interactions

Carbon Storage and Processes

Earth/Climate Interactions

Ice and Glacial Properties and Processes

Land Characteristics

Radiation and Energy Budget

Soil Properties

Scientific Topics

Radiative Energy

Sensible Heat

Water

CO2

Trace Gases

Boreal Forests

Biochemistry

Ecosystems

Carbon Cycle

Forest Science

Carbon Dioxide

Trace Gases/Trace Species

Animals/Vertebrates

Plants

Atmospheric Radiation

Climate Indicators

PlatformInstrument(s)
Douglas DC-8Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR)
Piper Navajo ChieftainCompact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI)
Rockwell Aero CommanderGeneric-Gamma Ray Sensors (Gen-Gamma)
Convair-580Canada Center for Remote Sensing Synthetic Aperture Radar (CCRS-SAR)
Lockheed L-188C Electra

Rosemount Temperature Probes

Rosemount Pressure Probes 

LI-COR Gas Analyzer

NCAR Reverse Flow Temperature Probe

Passive-Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe (PCASP)

Aethalometer

Pyranometer

Lyman-alpha Hygrometer

Thermo Scientific Gas Analyzer

Precision Radiation Thermometer (PRT-5)

Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL)

Condensation Nuclei Counter (CNC)

Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP)

King (CSIRO) Liquid Water Probe

Chemiluminescence Instrument (NOx/NOxy)

Nephelometer

UH-1 Huey

Video camera

Spectron Engineering-590 Spectroradiometer (SE-590)

Modular Multiband Radiometer (MMR)

POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER)

Airborne Tracking Sun Photometer (ATSP)

C-Band Scatterometer

Beechcraft B-200 King Air

Rosemount Temperature Probes

Pyranometer

LI-COR Gas Analyzer

Rosemount Pressure Probes

Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState)

King (CSIRO) Liquid Water Probe

Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP)

C-130 Hercules

Advanced Solid-state Array Spectroradiometer (ASAS)

MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS)

POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER)

Airborne Tracking Sun Photometer (ATSP)

Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS)

Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS)

Scanning Lidar Imager of Canopies by Echo Recovery (SLICER)

Rutan Long-EZ

Generic-Radiometers

LI-COR Gas Analyzer

Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState)

DeHavilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter

Rosemount Temperature Probes 

Pyranometer

Generic-Radiometers

LI-COR Gas Analyzer

Rosemount Pressure Probes

Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState)

Precision Radiation Thermometer (PRT-5)

Thermo Scientific Gas Analyzer 

NASA Earth Resources-2 Aircraft

Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer - Classic (AVIRIS-C)

MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS)

Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS)

Campaign Balloons

Ozonesonde 

Radiosonde 

Campaign Field Sites

NOAA/ETL Scanning Ka-Band Cloud Radar (NOAA/K)

Soil Temperature Sensor

Stream Gauge 

Pyrgeometer 

Sunphotometer 

Multiband Vegetation Imager (MVI)

C-Band Radar

Soil Moisture Probe

Generic-Chemistry Related Sensors 

Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState)

Generic-Radiometers 

LI-COR Plant Canopy Analyzer 

Digital Camera 

LI-COR Quantum Sensor 

LI-COR Gas Analyzer 

Pyranometer 

Spectron Engineering-590 Spectroradiometer (SE-590)

Snow Pole & Camera 

Snow Water Equivalent Probe 

Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectrometer (TDLAS)

Portable Apparatus for Rapid Acquisition of Bidirectional Observation of the Land and Atmosphere (PARABOLA)

Rain Gauge 

High-Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC)

Chemiluminescence Instrument (NOx/NOxy)

Ceilometer 

Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS)

Piper PA-34 SenecaGeneric-Chemistry Related Sensors 

The following resources provide additional information about the BOREAS campaign.