Monthly Summaries of Soil Temperature and Soil Moisture at Sites in Alaska

Summary

This data set contains soil temperature and soil moisture from 17 sites in Alaska. Temporal coverage varies by station; the earliest record is from September 1995, and the latest is from August 2001. Data from individual stations are available in tab-delimited ASCII text files. An Excel spreadsheet contains the same data compiled together in a single file. NSIDC currently provides these summary data via FTP; the full soil temperature and moisture data set is available from Ron Paetzold, USDA.

Citing These Data:

Paetzold, R., ed. 2003. Monthly Summaries of Soil Temperature and Soil Moisture at Sites in Alaska. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital Media.

Overview Table

Category	Description
Data format	Data from individual stations are available in tab-delimited ASCII text files. An Excel spreadsheet contains the same data compiled together in a single file.
Spatial coverage	Data were collected from 17 sites in Alaska. See Station Locations for coordinates of each site.
Temporal coverage	Temporal coverage varies by station. The earliest record is from September 1995, and the latest is from August 2001.
File naming convention	ggd624_*.txt: Data from individual stations ggd624_ak_soiltemp.xls: Excel spreadsheet with data from all stations
File size	File sizes range from 5 KB to 1.3 MB.
Parameter(s)	Soil temperature (°C and °F) and soil moisture (volumetric water content)
Procedures for obtaining data	NSIDC currently provides these summary data via FTP. The full soil temperature and moisture data set is available from Ron Paetzold, USDA.

Table of Contents

1. Contacts and Acknowledgments
2. Detailed Data Description
3. References and Related Publications
4. Document Information

1. Contacts and Acknowledgments:

Investigator(s) Name and Title:

Ron F. Paetzold
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Lincoln, NE  68505

Frederick E. Nelson
Department of Geography
University of Delaware
Newark, DE  19711

Ken M. Hinkel
Department of Geography
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH  45221-0131

Chien-Lu Ping
University of Alaska at Fairbanks
Palmer Research Center
Palmer, AK  99645

Technical Contact:

NSIDC User Services
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0449  USA
phone: +1 303.492.6199
fax: +1 303.492.2468
form: Contact NSIDC User Services
e-mail: nsidc@nsidc.org

2. Detailed Data Description:

A Campbell Scientific CR10X-2M datalogger records day, time, battery (voltage), and internal temperature. A combination of the following below-ground sensors are attached to the datalogger: Vitel Hydra dielectric constant soil moisture and temperature sensors, Campbell 107 soil temperature sensors, and MRC soil temperature probes.

Above-ground sensors at all sites include Licor LI200X pyranometer (solar radiation) sensors and Met One wind speed and direction sensors, which are mounted 3 m above the ground. Vaisala HMP45C air temperature and relative humidity sensors are mounted approximately 1.6 m above the ground.

See Active-Layer Depths for a table of active-layer depths at the three primary stations, and graphs of soil temperatures at all six stations.

See Soil Characteristics for a summary of soils throughout the study area.

Format:

Each of the 17 station files contains average, median, standard deviation, maximum, and minimum values for the following variables:

Column No.	Column Name	Description	Units	Location	Sensor
1	BATT VOLT	Battery voltage	Volts	Datalogger	Campbell CR10X-2M
2	INT TEMP	Datalogger temperature	°C	Datalogger	Campbell CR10X-2M
3	REF TEMP	Calibration reference temperature	°C	Enclosure	Campbell CR10TCR
4	TC	Enclosure temperature	°C	Enclosure	Thermocouple
5	SOIL T	Soil temperature at 5-cm depth, measured with Campbell 107 sensor	°C	Soil 5 cm	Campbell 107
6	SOIL T	Soil temperature at 20-cm depth, measured with Campbell 107 sensor	°C	Soil 20 cm	Campbell 107
7	SOIL T	Soil temperature at 30-cm depth, measured with Campbell 107 sensor	°C	Soil 30 cm	Campbell 107
8	MRC	Surface soil temperature, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Vegetation	MRC
9	MRC	Surface soil temperature, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 0 cm	MRC
10	MRC	Soil temperature at 5-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 5 cm	MRC
11	MRC	Soil temperature at 10-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 10 cm	MRC
12	MRC	Soil temperature at 15-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 15 cm	MRC
13	MRC	Soil temperature at 20-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 20 cm	MRC
14	MRC	Soil temperature at 25-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 25 cm	MRC
15	MRC	Soil temperature at 30-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 30 cm	MRC
16	MRC	Soil temperature at 35-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 35 cm	MRC
17	MRC	Soil temperature at 45-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 45 cm	MRC
18	MRC	Soil temperature at 70-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 70 cm	MRC
19	MRC	Soil temperature at 95-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 95 cm	MRC
20	MRC	Soil temperature at 120-cm depth, measured with MRC sensor	°C	Soil 120 cm	MRC
21	Rep 2	Soil temperature at 36-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 2	°C	Soil 36 cm	Vitel
22	Rep 2	Volumetric water content at 36-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 2	H2O v/v	Soil 36 cm	Vitel
23	Rep 2	Soil temperature at 20-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 2	°C	Soil 20 cm	Vitel
24	Rep 2	Volumetric water content at 20-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 2	H2O v/v	Soil 20 cm	Vitel
25	Rep 2	Soil temperature at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 2	°C	Soil 5 cm	Vitel
26	Rep 2	Volumetric water content at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 2	H2O v/v	Soil 5 cm	Vitel
27	Rep 1	Soil temperature at 30-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 1	°C	Soil 30 cm	Vitel
28	Rep 1	Volumetric water content at 30-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 1	H2O v/v	Soil 30 cm	Vitel
29	Rep 1	Soil temperature at 19-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 1	°C	Soil 19 cm	Vitel
30	Rep 1	Volumetric water content at 19-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 1	H2O v/v	Soil 19 cm	Vitel
31	Rep 1	Soil temperature at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 1	°C	Soil 5 cm	Vitel
32	Rep 1	Volumetric water content at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 1	H2O v/v	Soil 5 cm	Vitel
33	Rep 3	Soil temperature at 28-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 3	°C	Soil 28 cm	Vitel
34	Rep 3	Volumetric water content at 28-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 3	H2O v/v	Soil 28 cm	Vitel
35	Rep 3	Soil temperature at 20-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 3	°C	Soil 20 cm	Vitel
36	Rep 3	Volumetric water content at 20-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 3	H2O v/v	Soil 20 cm	Vitel
37	Rep 3	Soil temperature at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 3	°C	Soil 5 cm	Vitel
38	Rep 3	Volumetric water content at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 3	H2O v/v	Soil 5 cm	Vitel
39	Rep 4	Soil temperature at 28-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 4	°C	Soil 28 cm	Vitel
40	Rep 4	Volumetric water content at 28-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 4	H2O v/v	Soil 28 cm	Vitel
41	Rep 4	Soil temperature at 20-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 4	°C	Soil 20 cm	Vitel
42	Rep 4	Volumetric water content at 20-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 4	H2O v/v	Soil 20 cm	Vitel
43	Rep 4	Soil temperature at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 4	°C	Soil 5 cm	Vitel
44	Rep 4	Volumetric water content at 5-cm depth, measured with Vitel sensor, Stack 4	H2O v/v	Soil 5 cm	Vitel

Sample Data Record:

Following is the first record from "ggd624_barrow1.txt":

Barrow 1																																													
"Barrow, Alaska"																						Rep 2	Rep 2	Rep 2	Rep 2	Rep 2	Rep 2	Rep 1	Rep 1	Rep 1	Rep 1	Rep 1	Rep 1	Rep 3	Rep 3	Rep 3	Rep 3	Rep 3	Rep 3	Rep 4	Rep 4	Rep 4	Rep 4	Rep 4	Rep 4
AK001		BATT	INT	REF	TC	SOIL T	SOIL T	SOIL T	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	MRC	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel	Vitel
[02/04/02]		VOLT	TEMP	TEMP		5 cm	20 cm	30 cm	Veg	0 cm	5 cm	10 cm	15 cm	20 cm	25 cm	30 cm	35 cm	45 cm	70 cm	95 cm	120 cm	36 cm	36 cm	20 cm	20 cm	5 cm	5 cm	30 cm	30 cm	19 cm	19 cm	5 cm	5 cm	28 cm	28 cm	20 cm	20 cm	5 cm	5 cm	28 cm	28 cm	20 cm	20 cm	5 cm	5 cm
			deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg C	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O	deg F	H2O
September 1995																																													
Average		13.50	1.52	1.64	1.85					1.91	1.28	0.98	0.64	0.44	0.19	-0.08	-0.19	-0.49	-1.14	-1.64	-2.26	4.49	0.31	4.35	0.33	4.57	0.24	4.37	0.40	4.50	0.31	4.49	0.23	3.91	0.33	4.11	0.34	4.96	0.31	4.25	0.36	4.38	0.35	4.14	0.33
Median		13.36	0.73	0.84	0.84					0.80	0.36	0.24	0.15	0.09	0.01	-0.12	-0.19	-0.49	-1.14	-1.64	-2.24	4.38	0.31	4.10	0.34	4.18	0.27	4.30	0.40	4.24	0.31	3.98	0.25	3.78	0.32	3.90	0.33	4.52	0.31	4.14	0.37	4.16	0.35	3.70	0.33
Std Dev		0.39	3.14	3.30	3.68					3.68	2.15	1.39	0.96	0.67	0.36	0.08	0.02	0.02	0.02	0.05	0.07	0.26	0.00	0.49	0.01	0.75	0.05	0.20	0.01	0.48	0.01	0.99	0.03	0.27	0.02	0.44	0.01	0.83	0.01	0.26	0.02	0.46	0.00	0.85	0.01
Max		14.15	14.49	15.33	16.66					17.96	10.08	5.61	3.44	2.32	1.18	0.15	-0.14	-0.46	-1.09	-1.55	-2.15	5.38	0.31	5.96	0.35	7.35	0.33	5.14	0.41	6.09	0.33	8.31	0.29	4.91	0.36	5.65	0.35	8.18	0.33	5.14	0.39	5.92	0.35	7.56	0.36
Min		13.03	-2.96	-3.09	-3.36					-2.83	-1.01	-0.17	-0.13	-0.10	-0.11	-0.17	-0.24	-0.53	-1.17	-1.76	-2.41	4.20	0.30	3.90	0.31	3.80	0.12	4.14	0.39	4.04	0.30	3.66	0.16	3.62	0.30	3.72	0.33	4.32	0.28	3.96	0.32	3.94	0.35	3.46	0.31

File Naming Convention:

ggd624_*.txt: Data from individual stations
ggd624_ak_soiltemp.xls: Excel spreadsheet with data from all stations

File Size:

File sizes range from 5 KB to 1.3 MB.

Spatial Coverage:

Data were collected from 17 sites in Alaska. See Station Locations for coordinates of each site.

Temporal Coverage:

The following date ranges have incomplete coverage; some stations have large gaps of data:

Atqasuk: July 1996 to July 2001
Barrow 1: September 1995 to July 2001
Barrow 2: July 1996 to July 2001
Betty Pingo: July 1996 to September 2000
Coldfoot: November 1997 to August 2001
Homer 1: October 1999 to April 2000
Homer 2: October to November 1999
Homer 3: October 1999 to April 2000
Homer 4: October 1999 to April 2000
Mile 170: March 1998 to July 2001
Sagwon 1: July 1996 to February 2001
Sagwon 2: July 1996 to January 2001
Smith Lake 1: October 1996 to June 2000
Smith Lake 2: October 1998 to April 2000
Smith Lake 3: November 1997 to April 2000
Smith Lake 4: January 1999 to June 2000
Toolik: October 1998 to August 2001

3. References:

Anisimov, O.A., N.I. Shiklomanov, and F.E. Nelson. 2002. Variability of seasonal thaw depth in permafrost regions: a stochastic modeling approach. Ecological Modeling 153(3): 217-227.

Bockheim, J.G., D.A. Walker, L.R. Everett, F.E. Nelson, and N.I. Shiklomanov. 1998. Soils and cryoturbation in moist nonacidic and acidic tundra in the Kuparuk River basin, Arctic Alaska, USA. Arctic and Alpine Research 30(2): 166-174.

Hinkel, K. 1997. Estimating seasonal values of thermal diffusivity in thawed and frozen soils using temperature time series. Cold Regions Science and Technology 26(1): 1-15.

Hinkel K.M., and S.I. Outcalt. 1994. Identification of heat-transfer processes during soil cooling, freezing, and thaw in central Alaska. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 5(4): 217-235.

Hinkel, K.M., F. Paetzold, F.E. Nelson, and J.G. Bockheim. 2001. Patterns of soil temperature and moisture in the active layer and upper permafrost at Barrow, Alaska: 1993-1999. Global and Planetary Change 29(3-4): 293-309.

Hinkel, K.M., F.E. Nelson, Y. Shur, J. Brown, and K.R. Everett. 1998. Temporal changes in moisture content of the active layer and near-surface permafrost at Barrow, Alaska, USA: 1962-1994. Arctic and Alpine Research 28(3): 300-310.

Hinkel K.M., S.I. Outcalt, and A.E. Taylor. 1997. Seasonal patterns of coupled flow in the active layer at three sites in northwest North America. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 34(5): 667-678.

Shiklomanov, N.I., and F.E. Nelson. 2002. Active-layer mapping at regional scales: A 13-year spatial time series for the Kuparuk region, north-central Alaska. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 13(3): 219-230.

Shiklomanov, N.I., and F.E. Nelson. 1999. Analytic representation of the active layer thickness field, Kuparuk River Basin, Alaska. Ecological Modeling 123(2-3): 105-125.

Nelson F.E., N.I. Shiklomanov, and G.R. Mueller. 1999. Variability of active-layer thickness at multiple spatial scales, north-central Alaska, USA. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 31(2): 179-186.

Nelson, F.E., K.M. Hinkel, N.I. Shiklomanov, G.R. Mueller, L.L. Miller, and D.A. Walker. 1998. Active-layer thickness in north central Alaska: Systematic sampling, scale, and spatial autocorrelation. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 103(D22): 28963-28973.

Nelson F.E., N.I. Shiklomanov, G.R. Mueller, K.M. Hinkel, D.A. Walker, and J.G. Bockheim. 1997. Estimating active-layer thickness over a large region: Kuparuk River Basin, Alaska, USA. Arctic and Alpine Research 29(4): 367-378.

Ping, C.L, J.G. Bockheim, J.M. Kimble, G.J. Michaelson, and D.A. Walker. 1998. Characteristics of cryogenic soils along a latitudinal transect in Arctic Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 103(D22): 28917-28928.

4. Document Information:

Document Creation Date:

May 2003

Document Revision Date:

May 2003

Document URL:

http://nsidc.org/data/docs/fgdc/ggd624_soiltemp_antarctica/index.html