Thaw depth measurements from the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) project for site 'Marsh Creek' (U31), Alaska North Slope, United States (Alaska) from 2002-2016

The primary goal of the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program is to observe the response of the active layer and near-surface permafrost to climate change over long (multi-decadal) time scales. The CALM observational network, established in the 1990s, observes the long-term response of the active layer and near-surface permafrost to changes and variations in climate at more than 200 sites in both hemispheres. CALM currently has participants from 15 countries. Majority of sites measure active-layer thickness on grids ranging from 1 hecatre to 1 square kilometer, and observe soil temperatures. Most sites in the CALM network are located in Arctic and Subarctic lowlands. Southern Hemisphere component (CALM-South) is being organized and currently includes sites in Antarctic and South America. The broader impacts of this project are derived from the hypothesis that widespread, systematic changes in the thickness of the active layer could have profound effects on the flux of greenhouse gases, on the human infrastructure in cold regions, and on landscape processes. It is therefore critical that observational and analytical procedures continue over decadal periods to assess trends and detect cumulative, long-term changes. The CALM program began in 1991. It was initially affiliated with the International Tundra Experiment and has been supported independently and continuously since 1998 through grants from the United States National Science Foundation (NSF). CALM is funded by the NSF Award 1304555 (Polar Programs). This dataset and metadata record was automatically generated from a web crawl of the original project page https://www2.gwu.edu/~calm/data/north.htm at the request of project coordinators. More information about this site and others in the project can be found at https://www2.gwu.edu/~calm/data/north.htm and also http://gtnpdatabase.org/activelayers .

环极活动层监测（Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring, CALM）计划的核心目标，是在多年代际的长期时间尺度上，观测活动层与近地表多年冻土对气候变化的响应。该计划的观测网络始建于20世纪90年代，在南北半球布局超过200个站点，以追踪活动层与近地表多年冻土随气候波动及变化产生的长期响应。目前CALM已有来自15个国家的参与方。多数站点采用1公顷至1平方公里的网格布设方式，开展活动层厚度测量与土壤温度观测。CALM网络的绝大多数站点位于北极与亚北极低地地区。其南半球分支（CALM-South）目前处于筹建阶段，已纳入南极与南美洲的观测站点。本项目的科学意义与应用价值基于下述假说：活动层厚度的大范围系统性变化，可能对温室气体通量、寒冷地区人类基础设施以及地表过程产生深远影响。因此，在十年尺度上持续开展观测与分析工作，以评估变化趋势并识别累积性长期变化，具有至关重要的意义。CALM计划始于1991年，最初隶属于国际苔原实验计划，并自1998年起通过美国国家科学基金会（United States National Science Foundation, NSF）的拨款获得了持续且独立的资助。当前CALM计划由NSF奖项1304555（极地项目）提供资助。本数据集及元数据记录，是应项目协调方的要求，通过对原始项目页面https://www2.gwu.edu/~calm/data/north.htm进行网络爬取而自动生成的。如需获取该站点及项目中其他站点的更多信息，可访问https://www2.gwu.edu/~calm/data/north.htm与http://gtnpdatabase.org/activelayers。