Summary: | Seasonal soil moisture measurements were collected during the 2021 growing season at each Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) grid subset plot (30) and at each Mobile Instrumented System Platform (MISP). Both of these grids are located at Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska as well as in Atqasuk, Alaska. For CALM measurements, at each plot one soil moisture measurement was acquired, the date, start and end times, and the people present were also recorded. Soil moisture measurements were taken outside of every plot on the northeastern most corner in order to reduce disturbance of vegetation using digital probing. For MISP measurements, at each grid meter one soil moisture measurement was acquired, the date, start and end times, and the people present were also recorded. Soil moisture measurements were taken on the north side of the grid in order to reduce disturbance of vegetation using digital probing. These measurements are part of the Arctic Observing Network (AON) - International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) initiative and help to document seasonal changes in surface moisture and structure at high spatial scales. Special note on COVID-19 impact: 2021 summer field work was partly restricted due to the COVID-19 ongoing pandemic. Travel to native villages required a 10 to 14-day quarantine period after arrival, prompting field work to start at later dates than usual. Despite missing June sampling dates, we consider the basic field observations a success as we received at least one complete set of field observations from each site.
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