Alaskan Permafrost Depths and Borehole Locations 1950-1989

This dataset contains borehole locations and permafrost depth measurements collected by the U.S. Geological Survey across Alaska. It documents the evolution of subsurface temperature measurement techniques from thermistor strings to automated logging on magnetic tape. The data spans from 1950 to 1989 and was compiled for the CAPS CD-ROM Version 1.0 in June 1998.

Use Cases

• Analyzing permafrost depth distribution across Alaskan borehole locations.
• Studying the thermal disturbance of drilling by comparing repeated logs from the same boreholes.
• Tracking the evolution of measurement technology from Wheatstone bridges to digital multimeters.
• Modeling subsurface temperature gradients using continuous logs with 0.3-meter vertical spacing.

Strengths

• Covers a 40-year time series of measurements from 1950 to 1989.
• Includes repeated logs of the same boreholes to quantify drilling thermal disturbance.
• Documents a shift to continuous logging in 1984, providing high-resolution data with 0.3-meter spacing.

Limitations

• Column names and exact row counts are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (1989 vs. 2026), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• The dataset's age means it does not include modern measurement techniques or recent decades.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), compiled by NSIDCV0.

Collection Method

Measurements made in fluid-filled boreholes using custom thermistor sensors, with logging methods evolving from incremental 'stop-and-go' to automated continuous recording.

Time Range

1950 to 1989

Freshness

2026-03-13 07:46:53.040841

Geography

Alaska, USA