Eight Mile Lake Research Watershed, Thaw Gradient: half-hourly soil moisture 2010-2024

In this larger study, we are asking the question: Is old carbon that comprises the bulk of the soil organic matter pool released in response to thawing of permafrost? We are answering this question by using a combination of field and laboratory experiments to measure radiocarbon isotope ratios in soil organic matter, soil respiration, and dissolved organic carbon, in tundra ecosystems. The objective of these proposed measurements is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the SOM sources contributing to C losses following permafrost thawing. We are making these measurements at an established tundra field site near Healy, Alaska in the foothills of the Alaska Range. Field measurements center on a natural experiment where permafrost has been observed to warm and thaw over the past several decades. This area represents a gradient of sites each with a different degree of change due to permafrost thawing. As such, this area is unique for addressing questions at the time and spatial scales relevant for change in arctic ecosystems. This data set includes soil moisture intergrate over a 20cm soil profile at different locations within gradient of sites described.

在本大型研究项目中，我们聚焦核心科学问题：占土壤有机质（Soil Organic Matter, SOM）库主体的古老碳，是否会因永久冻土融化而被释放？为解答该问题，我们结合野外与室内实验，对苔原生态系统中的土壤有机质、土壤呼吸及溶解性有机碳开展放射性碳同位素比值测定。本次拟开展测定工作的目标，是建立对永久冻土融化后贡献碳流失的SOM来源的机制性认知。我们将在阿拉斯加山脉山麓、阿拉斯加州希利镇附近一处已建成的苔原野外样地开展上述测定工作。野外测定工作以一项自然实验为核心——该区域内的永久冻土在过去数十年间持续增温并发生融化。该区域布设了一系列样点梯度，每个样点均对应不同程度的永久冻土融化变化。正因如此，该区域具备独特的研究条件，可在与北极生态系统变化匹配的时间与空间尺度上解答相关科学问题。本数据集包含上述样点梯度内不同点位的20厘米土壤剖面整合土壤湿度数据。