BOREAS HYD-05: Winter Surface Fluxes in Boreal Forest and Lake

BOREAS HYD-05 data characterizes winter energy and water vapor fluxes for forested and non-forested boreal ecosystems. The dataset includes tower flux, surface meteorological, and surface temperature measurements from a mature jack pine forest at Beartrap Creek and a frozen lake at Namekus Lake. Data collection occurred during the winters of 1994 and 1996.

Use Cases

• Modeling winter energy balance based on tower flux and meteorological measurements.
• Analyzing snow properties like density, depth, and melt in forested versus open environments.
• Studying water vapor fluxes in boreal ecosystems during frozen conditions.
• Comparing surface temperature and radiation budgets between lake and forest sites.

Strengths

• Data collection spans two distinct boreal ecosystem types (forested and lake) for comparative analysis.
• Measurements cover multiple winter seasons (1994 and 1996), providing temporal context.
• Dataset is hosted by a major space agency (NASA), indicating a level of curation and authority.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are not specified in any source, hindering precise understanding of variables.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (1996 vs. 2026) create uncertainty about data currency and potential reprocessing.
• Row counts and file sizes are universally listed as 'unknown' or 'None', obscuring dataset scale.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), BOREAS HYD-05 team.

Collection Method

Field collection of tower flux, surface meteorological, and surface temperature data.

Time Range

1994, 1996

Freshness

2026-03-13 (from datagov, though this may be a placeholder or administrative update; substantive data collection ended in 1996).

Geography

Beartrap Creek watershed and Namekus Lake within the BOREAS Southern Study Area (SSA), boreal forest region.