Advances in Mapping and Modeling Salmon Habitat Using Prism, Palsar, and Terrasar-x Data

Freshwater habitat quality and quantity are key abiotic variables driving the abundance and distribution of anadromous salmonids. Knowledge is minimal about the condition of freshwater habitats and how habitat condition affects salmon over large, remote areas on both sides of the Arctic and northern Pacific Oceans [1]. This hampers abilities to predict effects of habitat change on salmon and to understand the relative importance of freshwater and marine influences on observed declines in salmon abundances. Such abilities are crucial to restoring and sustainably managing salmon, a commercially, culturally, and ecologically important resource. Modeling is a practical option for estimating habitat suitability and salmon abundances over broad areas with available high-resolution digital geospatial data (e.g., stream, terrain, and vegetation) [e.g., 2, 3, 4]. However, such data are lacking for many areas, particularly in Russia and northwestern Alaska. The recent advent of ALOS and TerraSAR-X products may enhance prospects for modeling freshwater habitats, ultimately contributing spatially extensive information needed by decision makers to conserve salmon. Our research objectives are to investigate the feasibility of 1) modeling high-resolution hydro-geomorphic attributes, as descriptors of freshwater habitats, using digital elevation models (DEM) produced from ALOS data, and 2) characterizing ice conditions on small streams (10 to 100 m wide) from TerraSAR-X data to indicate overwintering habitat suitability.