Summer soil temperature and moisture at the Anaktuvuk River Severely burned site from 2010 to 2013

Abstract: 

Soil moisture and temperature were recorded at the Anaktuvuk River burn area during the summers from 2010 to 2013. Six sensors were deployed and measured temperature on half-hourly intervals over the summer and into the fall depending on battery function. Sensors were place in a hexagonal shape around a central data logger. Note that over time sensor depths changed due to frost heave and other environmental factors. All data contained should be treated as suspect where sensors may have been at surface. These sensors were removed August 20, 2013, no replacement sensors were installed.

Project Keywords: 

Data set ID: 

10578

EML revision ID: 

2
Published on EDI/LTER Data Portal

Citation: 

Shaver, G., Laundre, J. A. 2014. Summer soil temperature and moisture at the Anaktuvuk River Severely burned site from 2010 to 2013 Environmental Data Initiative. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3094e3e293703580c95e17ddce51af65
People
Dates

Date Range: 

Saturday, July 24, 2010 to Friday, August 23, 2013

Publication Date: 

2014

Methods: 

In the summer of 2010 six Campbell Scientific CS616 soil moisture sensors and 107 soil temperature probes, logged by a CR10 logger, were deployed at each of the Severely, moderately and unburned sites at the Anaktuvuk River fire area. The sensors were placed in a radiating hexagonal pattern approximately 30 meters apart with the data logger in the center to record measurements. At the SEVERELY burned site the sensor array was located 285 meters north east of the flux tower.

In 2012 depths were as follows for the SEVERELY burned site:
Sensor 1: 7 cm
Sensor 2: 7 cm
Sensor 3: 5 cm
Sensor 4: 5.5 cm
Sensor 5: 9 cm
Sensor 6: 4.5 cm

Note that these sensors were not continuously monitored or checked and may have changed depth over time due to frost heave, animal trampling and animals digging. As the sensors were left in the ground in the same location for all years, there are some fall, winter or spring measurements depending on the functionality of the battery operating the logger.
Sensors were removed from all sites in late August 2013.

Data management:
The structure of organic Arctic tundra soil is different from mineral soil and is generally more porous and spongy, therefore has the potential to hold more water. A calibration coefficient was determined by comparing electronic probe measurements to soil sample volumetric water content. The CS 616 probes are supplied with correction coefficients calibrated for a mineral soil. In order to correct for the soil differences the following calibration was performed.

Volumetric water content in soils was measured by core sampling the tundra and determining the weight of water in the samples. This was then compared to two probes, the Campbell HydroSense handheld soil moisture probe, and the Campbell CS616 Water Content Reflectometer. As the two electronic probes were nearly identical, the Campbell HydroSense handheld probe was used for future measurements.
With a 47 point data comparison measure the following calculation was determined to be accurate:

Calculate vwc = CS616_vwc*100*0.60+7.7

vwc = volume of water per volume of soil (expressed as a percentage)

Logger errors and erroneous values have been replaced with "." (ie. -6999, -999, 6999, and temperatures above 30deg.C or below -30deg.C)

Version Changes: 

Version 1: Data organized and cleaned, metadata entered and files ready for online (JD-March2014)

Sites sampled.

Full Metadata and data files (either comma delimited (csv) or Excel) - Environmental Data Initiative repository.

Use of the data requires acceptance of the data use policy --> Arctic LTER Data Use Policy