ReSALT: Remotely Sensed Active Layer Thickness for Barrow, Alaska

2006-2011 mean active layer thickness and seasonal subsidence data for the Barrow, Alaska region, derived from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). This dataset provides 30-meter gridded estimates of thaw depth and subsidence, with calculated uncertainties, validated against ground-based probing and Ground Penetrating Radar. It was developed in support of NASA's Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) field campaign.

Use Cases

• Modeling permafrost thaw and landscape change based on gridded active layer thickness estimates.
• Validating ground-based permafrost measurements against regional-scale remote sensing data.
• Monitoring seasonal surface subsidence in Arctic coastal plains using InSAR-derived metrics.
• Assessing the effectiveness of InSAR techniques for large-area permafrost monitoring.

Strengths

• Provides validated, 30-meter resolution gridded data for a critical permafrost parameter.
• Covers a six-year time series (2006-2011) for temporal trend analysis.
• Includes calculated uncertainty estimates for both active layer thickness and seasonal subsidence.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is medium; specific column names and row counts are not provided.
• Conflicting last-updated dates exist between platforms (2011 vs. 2026), creating ambiguity about data currency.
• Spatial coverage is limited to the region near Barrow, Alaska.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Produced via an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technique measuring seasonal surface subsidence.

Time Range

2006 to 2011

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:08:23.371539 (most recent update from datagov, though conflicts with nasa_earthdata date)

Geography

Region near Barrow, Alaska, on the Arctic coastal plain.