Education Center | Photo Gallery

Data Advanced Data Search More Data Discovery & Access Easy-to-use Data Products Data Collections Data Software & Programming Tools Data Submission Data News Centers & Programs Antarctic Glaciological Data Center Arctic System Science Data (ARCSS) IARC Frozen Ground Data Center International Polar Year Data & Information Service (IPYDIS) NOAA at NSIDC NASA's Distributed Active Archive Center at NSIDC (NSIDC DAAC) U.S. Antarctic Data Coordination Center World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder Science Scientists Research Projects Publications NSIDC Notes Glaciological Data Series Special Reports Posters & Presentations Annual Reports Education Resources News & Events Press Room NSIDC In the News Data News Events About Expertise Data & Services NSIDC Sponsors Contacts Jobs Related Organizations

Circumpolar Active-layer Permafrost System (CAPS)

The Circumpolar Active-Layer Permafrost System Version 2.0 (CAPS 2) is an update to CAPS Version 1.0, and is the second five-year compilation of permafrost and frozen ground-related data and information products with a global perspective. CAPS 2 was compiled by the International Permafrost Association's (IPA) Standing Committee on Data, Information, and Communication (SCDIC) and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in 2003.

CAPS is a major component of the IPA's Global Geocryological Data (GGD) system, an internationally distributed system of linked data centers or nodes. NSIDC and the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) have developed the Frozen Ground Data Center (FGDC) as a central node in the GGD system. CAPS is intended to be a snapshot of FGDC data and metadata holdings as of spring 2003.

CAPS contains over 100 data sets and information products pertaining to permafrost and frozen ground topics. It also contains detailed metadata records describing over 100 additional data sets available at other GGD nodes around the world. Dozens of contributors submitted data collections representing sites around the world. This compilation of data and information products is intended for a broad audience including the scientific and engineering communities, educators, and policy makers.

CAPS 2 expands the scope of CAPS by including data and information for seasonally frozen ground regions from in-situ measurements, satellite remote sensing, and model outputs. CAPS data can be accessed by subject, investigator, or location.

CAPS 2 also includes summary and metadata for several IPA permafrost projects:

• The Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program
• The GTN-P permafrost thermal monitoring program (using boreholes)
• The Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) program
• The Southern Hemisphere Working Group
• The Cryosol Working Group

Volume II of CAPS includes an expanded collection of regional and hemispheric permafrost and soil maps, including the Circum-Arctic Map of Permafrost and Ground-Ice Conditions.

Volume III of CAPS includes the The Permafrost and Frozen Ground Bibliography, several specialized bibliographies, a glossary of permafrost and related ground-ice terms, and a software package designed as an extensive climatic and geocryological database with integrated models of climate-driven periglacial processes.

Citing These Data

International Permafrost Association Standing Committee on Data Information and Communication (comp.). 2003. Circumpolar Active-Layer Permafrost System, Version 2.0. Edited by M. Parsons and T. Zhang. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology. CD-ROM.