Calibrated Soil Hydrothermal Parameters for Arctic Tundra Models

Three calibrated 1D models provide hydrothermal parameters for moss, peat, and mineral soil, derived from a model-observation-experiment process. The dataset was generated by the NGEE Arctic project, a 10-year Department of Energy research effort, using observational soil temperature data from a site near Barrow, Alaska. These parameters are intended for use in up-scaled simulations with the Advanced Terrestrial Simulator.

Use Cases

• Calibrate thermal properties like conductivity and heat capacity for moss, peat, and sandy loam soil layers in permafrost models.
• Validate simulated active layer thickness (ALT) against field observations from the Barrow Environmental Observatory.
• Initialize soil hydrothermal parameters in the Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) for polygonal tundra coastal regions.
• Improve process representation of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystem feedbacks within the E3SM Land Model (ELM).

Strengths

• Parameters are derived from a coupled calibration using observational soil temperature data, grounding them in field measurements.
• The dataset is a product of the 10-year NGEE Arctic project, a major DOE-funded research initiative aimed at reducing Earth System Model uncertainty.

Limitations

• The specific sample size (row count) and number of calibrated parameters (column count) are not documented.
• Geographic coverage is limited to a specific tundra site near Barrow, Alaska, which may not represent all Arctic permafrost regions.
• The temporal coverage of the underlying calibration data is not specified, though the project ran from 2012-2022.

Provenance

Source

Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research.

Collection Method

Generated via a model-observation-experiment (ModEx) process, calibrating 1D models against observational soil temperature data.

Time Range

Project period was 2012-2022; specific calibration year is 2013.

Geography

Tundra site located near Barrow (Utqiagvik), Alaska, specifically at the Barrow Environmental Observatory (Area C).