Arctic Tundra Spectral Reflectance and Soil Data Transect 2000-2022

NASA collected visible-near infrared spectral reflectance and ancillary environmental measurements along a 100-meter transect near Utqiagvik, Alaska. Weekly reflectance data captures the growing seasons from 2000 to 2002, with a single additional measurement in 2022. The dataset includes vegetation cover, surface temperature, permafrost depth, and soil temperature.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spectral reflectance changes during green-up, peak growth, and senescence phases of tundra vegetation.
• Correlating soil temperature at 5 cm depth with permafrost active layer depth measurements.
• Modeling the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) using reflectance and vegetation cover data.
• Studying spatial variability of surface temperature and elevation along a defined east-west transect.

Strengths

• Provides high-temporal-resolution spectral reflectance data collected at nearly weekly intervals over three growing seasons.
• Includes a diverse set of 7 concurrent physical measurements at each meter along a 100-m transect.
• Offers a long-term perspective with data points spanning 22 years from 2000 to 2022.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates curated importance and accessibility.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The fAPAR measurement is noted as available for the 2001 season only, limiting temporal analysis for that variable.
• Ancillary measurements are not consistently available for all years covered by the reflectance data.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In-situ measurements made at every meter along a 100-m transect.

Time Range

2000-2022

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:22:07.313530

Geography

Transect approximately 300 m southeast of the NOAA GML baseline observatory near Utqiagvik, Alaska, North Slope.