Global Soil Gas Flux Database for Rewetting and Thawing Events

338 field and laboratory observations detail soil gas fluxes following rewetting or thawing events. The database compiles fluxes for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxide, and ammonia from studies conducted between 1956 and 2010. It includes parameters like experiment type, location, soil properties, and peak flux properties.

Use Cases

• Analyze peak soil gas flux properties across different site types and climates to understand emission drivers.
• Model carbon dioxide and methane flux rates after rewetting events using soil moisture and rainfall data.
• Compare nitrogen oxide and ammonia fluxes from agricultural irrigation sites versus natural rainfall events.
• Study the temporal patterns of gas fluxes from thawing of frozen soils in temperate and high latitude regions.

Strengths

• Contains 338 total observations (222 for rewetting, 116 for thawing), providing a substantial basis for analysis.
• Compiles data from a 54-year time range (1956-2010), offering a long-term perspective.
• Reports fluxes for five key greenhouse and reactive gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, NO, NH3) normalized for comparison.
• Includes diverse parameters like soil properties, vegetation, and climate for contextual analysis.

Limitations

• Data collection ended in 2010, making the dataset over a decade old and potentially not reflecting current conditions.
• The sample size of 338 observations may be insufficient for highly granular geographic or temporal subgroup analyses.
• Relies on compiled literature which may introduce heterogeneity in measurement methodologies across original studies.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Collection Method

Compiled from published studies on gas flux from soil following rewetting or thawing.

Time Range

1956 to 2010.

Freshness

Last platform update was in 2026, but the underlying data covers studies only up to 2010.

Geography

Global, with observations from various ecosystems and latitudes.