Soil and Meteorological Time Series from Vermont, 1989-1993

Four years of half-hourly measurements from South Royalton, Vermont, spanning October 1989 to September 1993. This NASA dataset records soil temperatures at multiple depths alongside meteorological variables, documenting seasonal freezing and thawing cycles. Data is provided via FTP.

Use Cases

• Analyzing soil temperature profiles and freeze-thaw dynamics at depths from 0 to 60 cm.
• Correlating surface meteorological conditions (air temperature, precipitation, wind) with subsurface thermal regimes.
• Studying the impact of snow depth and solar/longwave radiation on seasonal ground freezing.
• Modeling heat transfer in sandy loam soil under varying atmospheric pressure and humidity.

Strengths

• Provides a detailed four-year time series with a high temporal resolution of half-hourly measurements.
• Includes a co-located suite of soil temperature profiles and multiple meteorological variables for integrated analysis.
• Documents specific phenomena like transient thawed layers, useful for cryosphere research.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and complete column list are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: one lists 1993-09 30, another lists 2026-03-12, suggesting a metadata inconsistency.
• Geographic coverage is limited to a single site in Vermont.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected via instrumentation in sandy loam soil at a field site.

Time Range

October 1989 to September 1993

Freshness

1993-09-30 23:59:59.999000

Geography

South Royalton, Vermont, USA