Arctic Permafrost and Active Layer Properties in Barrow, Alaska, 1962-1993

Soil temperature, moisture, thaw depth, and snow depth data collected near Barrow, Alaska, from 1962 to 1993. The dataset was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is part of the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) Program. It focuses on characterizing the active soil layer and relationships between physical properties at Arctic permafrost sites.

Use Cases

• Modeling active layer thickness based on soil temperature and thaw depth data.
• Analyzing seasonal and interannual soil moisture variability in permafrost regions.
• Correlating snow depth with soil temperature to study insulation effects.
• Validating remote sensing products for Arctic land surface properties.

Strengths

• Multi-decade temporal coverage from 1962 to 1993 for key variables.
• Data is part of the authoritative Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) Program.
• Includes four interrelated physical properties: soil temperature, moisture, thaw depth, and snow depth.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data collection is discontinuous, with different variables measured in non-overlapping years.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field measurements collected at test sites.

Time Range

1962-1993

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 22:04:16.342173; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Barrow, Alaska, USA (Arctic)