Service Interruption

Jobs | Contact Us

Note: This data set was first published on the 1998 CAPS CD.
The text for this document was taken unchanged from that CD.

See also Description of Data Files.

IPA GGD Data Description

Name of GGD data set: Borehole locations and permafrost depths, Alaska, USA, from U.S. Geological Survey

Principal Investigator (pre-1956):

Name: Brewer, Max C
Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Mailing Address: 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508
Telephone: 907-786-7429

Principal Investigator (1956-1989):

Name: Lachenbruch, Arthur H
Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Mailing Address: 345 Middlefield Road, MS 977, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Telephone: 650-329-4879
Email:Internet>> alachenbruch@usgs.gov

Principal Investigator (1989-present):

Name: Clow, Gary D
Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Mailing Address: Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, MS 980, Denver, CO 80225
Telephone: 303-236-5509
Fax: 303-236-5349
Email:Internet>> clow@usgs.gov

Data Compiler/Author:

Name: G.D. Clow and A.H. Lachenbruch
Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Coverage of data set: Study location:

Arctic Alaska

Geographic extent - Describe the corners of the box representing the extent of data coverage:

Northwesternmost latitude: 71o 11' 22" N
Northwesternmost longitude: 165o 46' 00" W
Southeasternmost latitude: 62o 11' 24" N
Southeasternmost longitude: 141o 09' 00" W

Period of investigation:

1950-1988

Summary

The methods utilized by the U.S. Geological Survey to measure subsurface temperatures have evolved considerably over the years. Although some of the early measurements were obtained using thermistor strings frozen into permafrost, the vast majority of the measurements were made in fluid-filled holes using a custom temperature sensor. A typical sensor used in Alaska prior to 1989 consisted of a series-parallel network of 20 thermistors; see Sass et al. [1971] for a more detailed description. During a logging experiment, the resistance of the thermistor network was determined using a Wheatstone bridge prior to 1967. After that time, a 4-wire resistance measurement was made using a commercial 5.5-digit multimeter (DMM). Before 1984, boreholes were logged in the "incremental" or "stop-and-go" modes; the vertical spacing of the measurements was typically 3-15 m. Beginning in 1984, the depth/resistance measurements were automatically stored on magnetic tape, allowing boreholes to be logged in the "continuous" mode; the typical data spacing for the continuous temperature logs was 0.3 m (1 ft). Many of the Alaskan boreholes were re-logged several times to quantify the thermal disturbance caused by drilling the holes (see Lachenbruch and Brewer [1959]). A review of current temperature measuring techniques used by the USGS in the polar regions is given by Clow et al. [1996].

References:

Clow, G.D., R.W. Saltus, and E.D. Waddington (1996): A new high-precision borehole-temperature logging system used at GISP2, Greenland, and Taylor Dome, Antarctica, J. Glaciology, vol. 42, 576-584.

Lachenbruch, A.H. and M.C. Brewer (1959): Dissipation of the temperature effect of drilling a well in Arctic Alaska, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1083-C, 109 pp.

Sass, J.H., A.H. Lachenbruch, R.J. Munroe, G.W. Greene, and T.H. Moses, Jr. (1971): Heat flow in the Western United States, J. Geophys. Res., vol. 76, 6376-6413.

Current storage of data - Mark with "X" as many as are appropriate, or delete those that do not apply:

CD-ROM:  
Paper:
Spreadsheet(s):
Word processor file(s):
Database: X [ASCII files on USGS Climate Team Webserver: climweb.cr.usgs.gov]
Data center:
Are your data at risk of being lost?  No

Bibliography

Brewer, M.C. (1958): Some results of geothermal investigations of permafrost, Am. Geophys. Union Trans., vol. 39, 19-26.

Deming, D., J.H. Sass, A.H. Lachenbruch, and R.F. De Rito (1992): Heat flow and subsurface temperature as evidence for basin-scale groundwater flow, North Slope of Alaska, Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 104, 528-542.

Gold, L.W. and A.H. Lachenbruch (1973): Thermal conditions in permafrost - a review of North American literature. In: Permafrost: The North American Contribution to the Second International Conference, National Academy of Sciences, 3-23.

Lachenbruch, A. H. (1957): Thermal effects of the ocean on permafrost, Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 68, 1515-1530.

Lachenbruch, A. H. (1968): Permafrost, in Fairbridge, R. W., ed., Encyclopedia of Geomorphology, New York, Reinhold Book Corp., Earth Sciences Series, vol. 3, 833-839.

Lachenbruch, A. H. (1994): Permafrost, the active layer, and changing climate, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-694, 43 pp.

Lachenbruch, A.H. and M.C. Brewer (1959): Dissipation of the temperature effect of drilling a well in Arctic Alaska, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1083-C, 109 pp.

Lachenbruch, A.H., M.C. Brewer, G.W. Greene, and B.V. Marshall (1962): Temperatures in permafrost. In: Temperature - Its Measurement and Control in Science and Industry, Reinhold Pub. Co., vol. 3, 791-803.

Lachenbruch, A.H., Cladouhos, T.T., and Saltus, R.W., 1988, Permafrost Temperature and the Changing Climate. In: "Permafrost", vol. 3, Fifth International Conference on Permafrost, Senneset, Kaare (ed.), Tapir Publishers, Trondheim, Norway, 9-17.

Lachenbruch, A.H., S.P. Galanis, Jr., and T.H. Moses, Jr. (1987): A thermal cross section for the permafrost and hydrate stability zones in the Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay oil fields. In: Gallaway, J.P. and T.D. Hamilton, eds., Geological studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey during 1987, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1016, 48-51.

Lachenbruch, A.H., G.W. Greene, and B.V. Marshall (1966): Permafrost and the geothermal regimes. In: Wilimovsky, N.J. and J.N. Wolfe, eds., Environment of the Cape Thompson Region, Alaska, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, USAEC Division of Technical Information, Report PNE-48b, 149-163.

Lachenbruch, A.H., and B.V. Marshall (1969): Heat flow in the Arctic, ARCTIC, vol. 22, 300-311.

Lachenbruch, A.H. and B.V. Marshall (1986): Changing climate: geothermal evidence from permafrost in the Alaskan Arctic, Science, vol. 234, 689-696.

Lachenbruch, A.H., J.H. Sass, L.A. Lawver, M.C. Brewer, G.V. Marshall, R.J. Munroe, J.P. Kennelly, Jr., S.P. Galanis, Jr., and T.H. Moses, Jr. (1982): Temperature and depth of permafrost on the arctic slope of Alaska. In: Gryc, G., ed., Geology and Exploration of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 1974-1982, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1399, 645-656.

Lachenbruch, A.H., J.H. Sass, L.A. Lawver, and M.C. Brewer (1987): Temperature and depth of permafrost on the Alaskan arctic slope. In: Tailleur, I. and P. Weimer, eds., Alaskan North Slope Geology, Bakersfield, Calif., Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Pacific Section, vol. 2, 545-558.

Lachenbruch, A.H., J.H. Sass, B.V. Marshall, and T.H. Moses, Jr. (1982): Thermal regime of permafrost at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 82-535.

Lachenbruch, A.H., J.H. Sass, B.V. Marshall, and T.H. Moses, Jr. (1982): Permafrost, heat flow and the geothermal regime at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, J. Geophys. Res., vol. 87, 9301-9316.

Keywords - List up to ten keywords that describe the content of this data set.

borehole temperature, permafrost temperature

Please cite these data as follows:

Clow, G. and A. Lachenbruch. 1998. Borehole locations and permafrost depths, Alaska, USA. In: International Permafrost Association, Data and Information Working Group, comp. Circumpolar Active-Layer Permafrost System (CAPS), version 1.0. CD-ROM available from National Snow and Ice Data Center, nsidc@kryos.colorado.edu. Boulder, Colorado: NSIDC, University of Colorado at Boulder.

SITE INFORMATION

Table 1: Permafrost depths from wells with multiple temperature logs. Elevations and pf_depth are in meters.

Table 2: Permafrost depths from wells with a single temperature log.