Arctic Soil Temperature Profiles from a Tussock Tundra Micro-Warming Experiment

Soil temperature profile measurements from a tussock tundra site on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. The dataset contains 3-hour average temperature readings from 24 locations, collected by SCIOPS from September 2017 through August 2019. Measurements were taken as part of the NGEE Arctic project's pre-treatment phase for a soil micro-warming experiment.

Use Cases

• Analyze diurnal and seasonal soil temperature variations at multiple depths using the 3-hour average temperature data.
• Model permafrost thermal stability by correlating surface-level air temperature readings (from upper thermistors) with deeper soil measurements.
• Assess data quality and sensor reliability by examining the provided standard deviation and number of values for each 3-hour average.
• Study the impact of annual frost heaving on near-surface temperature measurements by identifying periods where thermistors were above ground.

Strengths

• Measurements from 24 distinct sensor locations provide spatial replication.
• Data includes 3-hour averages with accompanying standard deviation and sample count for quality assessment.
• Covers a pre-treatment observation period of nearly two years (2017-2019).

Limitations

• Sensor measurement frequency was inconsistent due to variable solar power availability.
• Annual frost heaving caused some upper thermistors to record air temperature instead of soil temperature, introducing noise for surface-level analysis.
• The dataset ends in August 2019 and does not include the subsequent experimental warming phase.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata (NGEE Arctic project), organization SCIOPS.

Collection Method

Sensor measurements from probes with 5 and 6 thermistors, nominally aggregated into 3-hour averages.

Time Range

September 2017 to August 2019.

Geography

Council Road Mile Marker 71 Site (CN_MM71), Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA.