ARCSS057: Soil Temperatures, Toolik Lake, Alaska, 1995 and 1996
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Steven Oberbauer, Florida International University 

Soil temperatures were collected at the Toolik Lake Field Station 
during the summers of 1995 and 1996 from plots located on the east- 
facing slope above the entrance stream to the lake. Included are 
the following parameters: Julian day, hour of day, control temperature 
(degrees C), extended season temperature (degrees C), and extended 
season plus heating temperature (degrees C) (with a precision of 0.1 oC).
Treatments were control, snow removal, and snow removal plus soil heating. 
Soil heating was done at 10 cm depth using greenhouse cold frame heating 
cables, and plots were heated 2 hours per day. Six replicates of each 
treatment were set up in randomized blocks located 3 m apart. Each 
1.5m x 1.5m plot was analyzed once per minute with one thermocouple 
per plot located intertussock at 5 cm soil depth. The data are stored 
as hourly averages from Julian day 126 to 247 for 1995, and Julian day
129 to 247 for 1996. In 1995, snow was removed from the plots on May 3
and May 12, with subsequent soil heating beginning on May 12. In 1996,
snow was removed from the plots on May 3, and soil heating started on
May 5.

Measurements were made with a Campbell 21X micrologger measuring 24 
gauge copper constantan thermocouples. Measurements were referenced 
against internal panel reference for some of the plots. Most of the 
other plots were measured with a solid state multiplexer with its own 
internal panel reference on the same 21X. Two thermocouples were 
measured with a CR10 micrologger with reference thermistor. Measurements 
were differential, using thermocouples that had been sealed against 
contact with the soil (plastic coated) to eliminate possible ground 
loops.

Data files are in both ASCII (sltemp95.dat, sltemp96.dat) and MS Excel 
(sltemp95.xls, sltemp96.xls) formats.