Greenland Borehole Temperature and Snow Data from 1968-1982

Bi-weekly averaged temperature measurements from 21 shallow borehole thermistors in Ilulissat, Greenland, recorded from November 1968 to June 1982. The dataset also includes concurrent measurements of snow depth, snow extent, and surface air temperature. It is provided by NASA in a tab-delimited ASCII text format.

Use Cases

• Modeling soil temperature profiles and heat transfer using data from 21 specific depths (0.25m to 15m).
• Analyzing the relationship between surface air temperature, snow cover metrics (depth and extent), and subsurface thermal conditions.
• Studying long-term changes in the active layer and permafrost thermal state over a 14-year period.
• Validating and calibrating thermal models for cryosphere and land surface processes.

Strengths

• Provides a 14-year continuous record from November 1968 to June 1982.
• Includes multi-sensor data from 21 distinct depth levels for detailed vertical profile analysis.
• Contains complementary surface variables: air temperature, snow depth, and snow extent.

Limitations

• Data are provided as bi-weekly averages, not the original daily recordings, reducing temporal resolution.
• Conflicting metadata: platform update dates disagree (1982 vs. 2026), casting doubt on provenance maintenance.
• Key technical details like row count, file size, and exact column names are unspecified across all sources.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Recorded from 21 thermistors at fixed depths, with additional sensors for snow and air temperature.

Time Range

1968-11-06 to 1982-06-15

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:47:28.372692

Geography

Ilulissat, west Greenland (69°N, 51°W, 44 m above sea level)