Stable water isotope data from Arctic Alaska snow pits in 2019

• Main Authors: Ala-Aho, Pertti, Højlund Pedersen, Stine, Welker, Jeffrey
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: NSF Arctic Data Center 2021
• Subjects: Stable water isotopes; Hydrology; Snow; Arctic; Pedersen; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18739/a22v2cb44; https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A22V2CB44

Stable water isotope data from snow stratigraphic layers in Arctic Alaska snow pits. The sampling targeted individual stratigraphic layers in the snow profile characterized by hand hardness test, texture, visual appearance, and density. Snow pit physiographical data for the same snow pits available: Stine Højlund Pedersen, Glen Liston, and Jeffrey Welker. 2019. Snow depth and snow density measured in Arctic Alaska for caribou winter applications in 2018 and 2019. Arctic Data Center. doi:10.18739/A2MS3K24P. Depth-integrated stable water isotope samples were taken from each identified layer using a plastic coring tube. Data were collected between 6 March - 2 April 2019 field campaign within the general wintering range of the Central Arctic caribou Herd (CAH). The data were collected as a part of the National Science Foundation project "Nutritional Landscapes of Arctic Caribou: Observations, Experiments, and Models Provide Process-Level Understanding of Forage Traits and Trajectories". The snow water isotope data was used to to understand the winter moisture origin in Arctic Alaska, and study how post depositional processes modify the snowpack and its isotope stratigraphy.