Grant Gunn

Assistant Professor

Gunn
EV1-307, ext. 40576
g2gunn@uwaterloo.ca

Key Areas of Graduate Supervision

Remote sensing and target interactions with permafrost and lakes in Arctic, sub-Arctic and Temperate regions.

Research Interests

My main research interests aim to improve the retrievals of physical components of the Cryosphere, including permafrost (active layer thickness, timing of thaw/refreeze) and ice parameters in sub-Arctic and Arctic environments. My research applies emerging technologies including: airborne/spaceborne synthetic aperture radar, high-performance cloud computing (ex. Google Earth Engine), interferometry, polarimetric decomposition, thermodynamic modeling, and the collection of field variables to validate these remote observations. 

I am currently interested in the application of these methods in tundra and boreal regions where small lakes and ponds are numerous providing significant ecosystem services to local communities through fishery/game habitat and winter transportation corridors. I approach  research questions incorporating field observations and modeling efforts to improve the understanding of the interaction of microwaves with physical features of the lake system, thereby providing the ability to retrieve and monitor permafrost and ice properties, furthering the ability to assess how the frozen regime will change in the future.

Current Courses Taught

GEOG 318: Spatial Analysis
GEOG 387: Spatial Databases
GEOG 381: Advanced Geographic Information Systems
GEOG 481: Geographic Information Systems Project

Selected Publications

  • Nyland, K. E., Gunn, G. E., Shiklomanov, N. I., Engstrom, R. N., Streletskiy, D. A. (2018). Land Cover Change in the Lower Yenisei River Using Dense Stacking of Landsat Imagery in Google Earth Engine. Remote Sensing (Impact Factor: 3.75)
  • Ji, J., Wang, S., Gunn, G. E., Joosse, P., Russell H. A. (2018). A model for downscaling SMOS soil moisture using Sentinel-1 SAR data. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 72, 109-121. (Impact Factor: 4.43)
  • Gunn, G. E., Duguay, C. R., Atwood, D.. King, J., Toose, P. (2018). Observing Scattering Mechanisms of Bubbled Freshwater Lake Ice using Polarimetric RADARSAT-2 (C-band) and UW-Scat (X-, Ku-band). IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (Impact Factor: 4.94).
  • Gunn, G. E., Duguay, C. R., Derksen, C., Clausi, D. A., Toose, P. (2017). Investigating the Influence of Variable Freshwater Ice Types on Passive and Active Microwave Observations. Remote Sensing, 9 (12), 1242. (Impact Factor: 3.75).
  • Nandan, V., Scharien, R., Geldsetzer, T., Mahmud, M., Yackel, J. J., Islam, T., Gill, J. P. S., Fuller, M. C., Gunn, G. E. (2017). Geophysical and atmospheric controls on Ku-, X-and C-band backscatter evolution from a saline snow cover on first-year sea ice from late-winter to pre-early melt. Remote Sensing of Environment, 198. 425-441. (Impact Factor: 7.65)
  • Nandan, V., Geldsetzer, T., Islam, T., Yackel, J. J., Gill, J. P. S., Fuller, M. C., Gunn, G. E. (2016). Ku-, X-and C-band measured and modeled microwave backscatter from a highly saline snow cover on first-year sea ice. Remote Sensing of Environment, 187. 62-75. (Impact Factor: 7.65)
  • Gunn, G. E., Duguay, C. R., Brown, L., Atwood, D., King, J., Kasurak, A. (2015). Freshwater Ice Thickness Derived using X- and Ku-band FMCW Scatterometers in the Hudson Bay Lowlands near Churchill, Manitoba. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 120. 115-126. (Impact Factor: 2.10)
  • Gunn. G. E., Brogioni, M., Duguay, C. R., Macelloni, G., Kasurak, A., & J. King. (2015). Observation and Modeling of X- and Ku-and backscatter of snow-covered freshwater lake ice. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 8(7), 3629-3642. (Impact Factor: 2.91)
  • Atwood, D., Gunn, G. E., Roussi, C., Wu, J., Duguay, C., & K. Sarabandi (2015). Microwave backscatter from Arctic lake ice and polarimetric implications. Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 53(11), 5972-5982. (Impact Factor: 4.94)
  • King, J. M. L., Kelly, R., Kasurak, A., Duguay, C., Gunn, G. E., Rutter, N., Watts, T., & Derksen, C. (2015). Spatiotemporal influence of tundra snow properties on Ku-band (17.2 GHz) backscatter. Journal of Glaciology, 61(226), 267-279. (Impact Factor: 3.64)
  • King, J. M. L., Kelly, R., Kasurak, A., Duguay, C., Gunn, G. E., & Mead, J. B. (2013). UW-Scat: A Ground-Based Dual-Frequency Scatterometer for Observation of Snow Properties. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 99, 1-5. (Impact Factor: 2.76),
  • Gunn, G. E., Duguay, C.R., Derksen, C., & Lemmetyinen, J. (2011) Validation of the Helsinki University of Technology's Modified Snow Emission Model Over Lake Ice Using Airborne Passive Microwave Measurements. Remote Sensing of Environment, 115(1), 233-244. (Impact Factor: 7.65)