This dataset measures the temperature of the soil at 4 depths: 1 meter, 5 meters, 10 meters and 14 meters. This permafrost data is collected using Hobodata loggers that collect data at 12 hour intervals throughout the year. Field maintenance and station updates occur annually in late March and early April.
The average temperature in the Arctic has increased at almost twice the rate of the rest of the planet in the past few decades, and the Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe change on Earth. Permafrost, the layer of soil that is frozen for more than two consecutive years, is sensitive to changes in climate. Changes to the permafrost layer due to climate change can impact the growth and composition of vegetation and can cause an increase in the rate of physical processes such as slumping, solifluction and sinkholes. These physical processes greatly impact the biota in and around the areas of occurrence.