Shallow Soil Temperature and Moisture Records in the Noatak River Basin, Alaska

Continuous soil moisture and temperature measurements were taken at four shallow depths across multiple tundra and forested locations in the Agashashok River basin. The data collection began in 2015 and continued until at least summer 2019, or until sensor failure. This dataset was authored by Joshua C. Koch of the United States Geological Survey.

Use Cases

• Modeling permafrost thaw dynamics based on continuous soil temperature records.
• Analyzing soil moisture variability in tundra versus forested ecosystems.
• Validating remote sensing soil moisture products with in-situ sensor data.
• Studying the impact of seasonal changes on shallow soil conditions.

Strengths

• Continuous measurements from 2015 to at least summer 2019 provide a multi-year time series.
• Data collection covers multiple locations across two distinct landscape types: tundra and forest.
• Measurements were taken at four different shallow soil depths, allowing for vertical profile analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data completeness is affected by sensor or logger failures, as noted in the description.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

United States Geological Survey

Collection Method

In-situ sensor measurements from multiple locations.

Time Range

2015 to at least summer 2019

Geography

Agashashok River basin within the Noatak River Basin, Alaska