Air and ground temperature, air humidity and site characterization data from the Canadian Shield taiga near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Abstract
A network of temperature and humidity sensors was deployed near Yellowknife, Canada to establish 28 distinct study sites reflecting landscape variability. The field campaign was designed to measure the spatial variation of near-surface climatic conditions and ground temperature. The sites differ in their vegetation type and abundance, surficial geology, solar aspect, slope, and elevation. The data will be beneficial for understanding the effects of landscape characteristics on ground temperature and for providing data to conduct systematic model evaluation.
Individual study plots measuring 15 m × 15 m were selected to represent different facets of the landscape. For each plot, up to four sub-plots were selected to represent the diversity of surface characteristics within the plot area. Each plot was characterized according to surface features, disturbances and topography. Sub-plot metadata included vegetation type and abundance as well as leaf-area index. At each sub-plot, a single-channel temperature logger was installed approximately 10 cm below the ground surface.
At other sites, air temperature and humidity sensors were installed 2 m above the ground surface. In addition, seven temperature sensors were installed into horizontal and vertical rock surfaces across the study area. Instruments were programmed to record data every 20 minutes. All instruments were set to UTC time. Time series have been aggregated to hourly and daily averages.
Study plot locations were chosen to provide easy access from Yellowknife while at the same time being sufficiently far from town so as to be infrequently disturbed by people. Overall, sites were selected to represent baseline conditions rather than disturbance . However, some areas show signs of human disturbance such as cutlines which almost certainly will have affected the present thermal regime. In addition, some sites are clearly within degrading permafrost.
Data citation
Brown, N., Stewart-Jones, E., Riddick, J., Meier-Legault, O., Kokelj, S., Karunaratne, K., Gruber, S., 2022. Air and ground temperature, air humidity and site characterization data from the Canadian Shield taiga near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, v. 1.0. Nordicana D108, doi: 10.5885/45810XD-C9F549F3E93040BD.
Location map
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Ontario Research Fund (project 32295) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (projects RGPIN-2015-06456, RGPIN-2020-04783, NETGP 523228-18)
Version history
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Version 1.0 (2016–2021)Updated November 30, 2022
You can request an older version by contacting nordicana@cen.ulaval.ca
Measurement sites
| Site | Latitude | Longitude | Altitude (m) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YK16-RH01 | 62.55316283 | -114.0366457 | 214 | More info |
| YK16-RH02 | 62.55494461 | -114.0270683 | 230 | More info |
| YK16-RH03 | 62.505233 | -114.275833 | 202 | More info |
| YK16-RV01 | 62.5376748 | -113.875319 | 210 | More info |
| YK16-RV02 | 62.54051888 | -113.8850664 | 210 | More info |
| YK16-RV03 | 62.5053333 | -114.2767321 | 198 | More info |
| YK16-RV04 | 62.55326947 | -114.0361681 | 205 | More info |
| YK16-SO01 | 62.5389994 | -114.096797 | 174 | More info |
| YK16-SO02 | 62.53914127 | -114.0944037 | 182 | More info |
| YK16-SO05 | 62.50594255 | -114.2769614 | 183 | More info |
| YK16-SO03 | 62.54019126 | -114.0932055 | 174 | More info |
| YK16-SO04 | 62.54829926 | -114.059847 | 165 | More info |
| YK16-SO06 | 62.50759683 | -114.2756641 | 177 | More info |
| YK16-SO07 | 62.55420755 | -114.0160878 | 208 | More info |
| YK16-SO08 | 62.55444261 | -114.0178417 | 212 | More info |
| YK16-SO09 | 62.55477677 | -114.0142927 | 211 | More info |
| YK16-SO10 | 62.57143025 | -114.0337361 | 200 | More info |
| YK16-SO11 | 62.57640159 | -114.0540923 | 186 | More info |
| YK16-SO12 | 62.55537621 | -114.0246924 | 231 | More info |
| YK16-SO13 | 62.54631188 | -114.0698644 | 175 | More info |
| TCG16-047 | 62.6006895 | -114.3119074 | 227 | More info |
| YK17-AIR_dense1 | 62.45719 | -114.53056 | 191 | More info |
| YK17-AIR_dense2 | 62.46025 | -114.53606 | 190 | More info |
| YK17-AIR_open1 | 62.45569 | -114.53058 | 187 | More info |
| YK17-AIR_open2 | 62.45973 | -114.53275 | 190 | More info |
| YK17-AIR_rock1 | 62.45783 | -114.53085 | 197 | More info |
| YK17-AIR_rock2 | 62.45977 | -114.53012 | 198 | More info |
| YK16-AIR-ELYN | 62.456575 | -114.531542 | 196 | More info |
Supplementary material
- Decagon Accupar user manual
- Geoprecision mini datalogger specifications
- Hygroclip HC2-S relative humidity and air temperature sensor specifications
- Geoprecision MLOG5W thermistor string specifications
- Geoprecision MLOG5W-hygroclip specifications
- KMZ of measurement locations
- Young model 41003 multi-plate radiation shield manual
Download
Data available for download are in ZIP format. Please properly cite the data when using it.