Seasonal Soil Moisture from the Mobile Instrumented System Platform (MISP) and the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) grids in Barrow and Atqasuk, Alaska 2020

• Main Author: A. Vargas, Sergio
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: NSF Arctic Data Center 2020
• Subjects: EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > SOILS > SOIL MOISTURE/WATER CONTENT; GRID; 500 METERS TO 1 KILOMETER; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > PROBES > SOIL MOISTURE PROBE; FIELD SURVEY; MONTHLY TO ANNUAL; ENVIRONMENT; Arctic; Active layer monitoring; Barrow; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18739/a2g44hr6c; https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2G44HR6C

Seasonal soil moisture measurements were collected during 2020 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. 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. 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: 2020 summer field work was restricted due to COVID-19. Travel was halted prompting field work to be coordinated remotely. Field observations were limited and those that occurred were spread across multiple days and had missing data points that reduce their utility. Despite 3 of 7 complete scheduled datasets, we consider the basic field observations a success because we received at least one complete set of field observations from each site.