Active-Layer and Permafrost Temperatures, Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland

Summary

This data set contains active-layer and permafrost temperatures from two stations in Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland. Snow depth and snow extent were also recorded. Thermometers at Station A (67°N, 50.8°W, 50 m asl) recorded temperatures once a day from September 1967 to February 1976. Thermometers at Station B (67°N, 50.8°W, 38 m asl) recorded temperatures once a day from September 1967 to August 1970; however, only bi-weekly averages are given for Station B. Data are in tab-delimited ASCII text format and are available via FTP.

Citing These Data:

Olesen, O.B., H.H. Christiansen, and H. Hauch. 2003. Active-Layer and Permafrost Temperatures, Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland. Copenhagen, Denmark: Greenlandic Geological Survey (GEUS). Distributed by National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital Media.

Overview Table

Category	Description
Data format	Data are in tab-delimited ASCII text format.
Spatial coverage	Data were collected in Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland, at approximately 67°N, 50.8°W.
Temporal coverage	Thermometers at Station A recorded temperatures once a day from September 1967 to February 1976. Thermometers at Station B recorded temperatures once a day from September 1967 to August 1970; however, only bi-weekly averages are given for Station B.
File naming convention	ggd632_sensors_ssb.txt ggd632_sensors_ssmain.txt ggd632_soiltmp_ssb.txt ggd632_soiltmp_ssmain.txt
File size	ggd632_sensors_ssb.txt: 1 KB ggd632_sensors_ssmain.txt:1KB ggd632_soiltmp_ssb.txt: 79 KB ggd632_soiltmp_ssmain.txt: 25 KB
Parameter(s)	Active-layer and permafrost temperatures, snow depth, snow extent, surface air temperature
Procedures for obtaining data	Data are available via FTP.

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:

Ole B. Olesen
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
Øster Voldgade 10
1350 øbenhavn K
Denmark

Hanne H. Christiansen
Institute of Geography, University of Oslo
P.O. Box 1042, Blindern
0316 Oslo
Norway

Hasse Hauch
Institute of Geography
Øster Voldgade 10
1350 København K
Denmark

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

Acknowledgements:

When using these data, please acknowledge that they are the property of the Danish and Greenlandic Geological Survey (GEUS). A cooperative agreement with GEUS was signed before any access was granted to the hardcopy data digitized by Niels Foged and his students at Artek.

2. Detailed Data Description:

In 1967, the Greenlandic Geological Survey (GEUS) started a program to monitor soil temperatures in permafrost and seasonal frost areas in West Greenland as part of the UNESCO International Hydrological Decade program (Olesen 1967a, van Tatenhove and Olesen 1994). That same year, Ole Olesen established two permafrost stations in Søndre Strømfjord: Station A and Station B at 67°N, 50.8°W.

Olesen installed platinum resistance thermometers at Station A at 21 different depths down to 15 m, and backfilled the holes with original material. Thermistors at Station B were installed at 12 different depths. A Wheatstone bridge recorded temperatures (° C) at approximately noon every day. This instrument measures temperatures between -10°C to 10°C. Olesen also recorded snow depth (cm) and snow extent (quartiles). The thermistors were calibrated at 0°C only. Temperatures were measured in fine-grain sediment down to 15 m. Station A ("Mainstation") was located at 50 m asl, and Station B was at 38 m asl. Hasse Hauch transferred the analog data to digital format.

Format:

Data are in tab-delimited ASCII text format. The file "ggd632_soiltmp_ssmain.txt" contains the following columns for Station A data:

• Date: yyyymmdd
• 1 through 21: Bi-weekly averaged raw soil temperatures for 21 different depths ranging from 0.25 m to 15 m
• Max air temp (deg. C)
• Min air temp (deg. C)
• Snow cover index (1-4): Snow extent in quartiles. 1 = 25%, 2 = 50%, 3 = 75%, 4 = 100%, 0 = no data
• Snow depth (cm)

The file "ggd632_soiltmp_ssb.txt" contains the following columns for Station B data:

• Date: yyyymmdd
• 1 through 12: Daily raw soil temperatures for 12 different depths ranging from 0.25 m to 15 m
• Snow cover index (1-4): Snow extent in quartiles. 1 = 25%, 2 = 50%, 3 = 75%, 4 = 100%, 0 = no data
• Snow depth (cm)

The files "ggd632_sensors_ssmain.txt" and "ggd632_sensors_ssb.txt" list the sensors from Stations A and B, respectively, with corresponding depths (m) and calibration factors (°C). Some thermometers stopped working during the period of data collection.

File Naming Convention:

ggd632_sensors_ssb.txt
ggd632_sensors_ssmain.txt
ggd632_soiltmp_ssb.txt
ggd632_soiltmp_ssmain.txt

File Size:

ggd632_sensors_ssb.txt: 1 KB
ggd632_sensors_ssmain.txt:1KB
ggd632_soiltmp_ssb.txt: 79 KB
ggd632_soiltmp_ssmain.txt: 25 KB

Spatial Coverage:

Data were collected in Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland, at approximately 67°N, 50.8°W.

Temporal Coverage:

Thermometers at Station A recorded temperatures once a day from September 1967 to February 1976. Thermometers at Station B recorded temperatures once a day from September 1967 to August 1970; however, only bi-weekly averages are given for Station B.

3. References:

Olesen, O.B. 1967a. Ground temperature measurements in West Greenland. The Geological Survey of Greenland, Report no. 15, 25-26.

Olesen, O.B. 1967b. Oprettelse af stationer til maaling af jordtemperaturer i Holsteinsborg og Soendre Stroemfjord. Report Greenland Geological Survey, 19 p. In Danish.

Van Tatenhove, F.G.M., and O.B. Olesen. 1994. Ground temperature and related permafrost characteristics in West Greenland. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 5:199-215.

4. Document Information:

Document Creation Date:

March 2003

Document Revision Date:

March 2003

Document URL:

http://nsidc.org/data/docs/fgdc/ggd632_activlayer_greenland/index.html