Permafrost and Rock Glacier Temperatures in the Southern Carpathians

Permafrost monitoring and prediction in Southern Carpathians, Romania, Version 1 contains long-term temperature measurements from rock glacier and talus cone springs in the Făgăraș and Retezat Mountains. Summer water temperature measurements have been collected since 1986, and Bottom Temperature of Snow (BTS) measurements have been taken annually in February since 1992. The data were published on the CAPS Version 1.0 CD-ROM in June 1998.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term permafrost temperature trends based on the multi-decade time series.
• Modeling rock glacier stability using summer spring and winter BTS measurements.
• Assessing climate change impacts on alpine cryospheric features in the Carpathian Mountains.

Strengths

• Provides a long-term observational record, with data collection initiated in 1986.
• Includes complementary seasonal measurements: summer spring temperatures and winter BTS data.
• Dataset is hosted by a major space agency (NASA), indicating a level of curation.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided.
• There is a conflict in reported 'last updated' dates between 1994 and 2026, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• The original data is from a 1998 CD-ROM, suggesting the core dataset is static and may not reflect recent conditions.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field monitoring of spring temperatures and Bottom Temperature of Snow (BTS) measurements.

Time Range

1986 to at least 1998, with specific annual BTS measurements from 1992 onward.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:12:51.943452 (from datagov, but conflicts with a 1994 date from nasa_earthdata)

Geography

Făgăraș and Retezat Mountains in the Southern Carpathians, Romania.