Arctic Tundra Plant Physiology and Reflectance Measurements
Updated 1mo ago
7filesBIN
Available on 2 platforms
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Description
2001-2002 growing seasons provide the temporal coverage for this dataset of in-situ tundra plot measurements near Utqiagvik and Atqasuk, Alaska. It includes spectral reflectance, CO2 gas exchange, chlorophyll pigments, surface temperature, and permafrost active layer depth. The data were collected by NASA as part of the International Tundra EXperiment (ITEX).
Use Cases
Calibrating remote sensing models by linking spectral reflectance measurements with ground-truth chlorophyll pigment data.
Analyzing photosynthetic efficiency and carbon assimilation rates using PAM fluorometry and chamber gas exchange CO2 measurements.
Investigating permafrost-thaw and soil temperature interactions with plant physiology via active layer depth and 5 cm soil temperature records.
Comparing vegetation response in experimental warming treatments using data from control and warmed ITEX plots.
Estimating fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) using the custom light bar PAR measurements and visual estimates of dead vegetation cover.
Strengths
Includes multi-method physiological data (spectral, gas exchange, fluorometry) collected during two full growing seasons (2001-2002).
Features experimental design with paired control and warmed plots at two distinct Alaskan tundra sites.
Provides ground measurements like active layer depth and soil temperature that are directly relevant for climate change studies.
Limitations
Exact row count and file size are not specified on any platform, limiting assessment of dataset scale.
Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (2002-08-16 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-03-12 on Data.gov), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
Specific column names are not provided, requiring users to inspect the CSV files to understand the data structure.
Provenance
Source
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Collection Method
Field measurements using portable spectrometers, infrared thermometers, chamber flux collars, PAM fluorometers, and custom PAR light bars.
Time Range
2001-2002
Freshness
2026-03 12 20:35:24.677340
Geography
Tundra plots near Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) and Atqasuk, Alaska, USA.
License is specified as 'other-license-specified'; users must check the specific terms. Dataset includes supplementary photographs (JPEG) alongside the primary CSV files.