Natural ice-rich permafrost observatory, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska: 2022 field activities

The Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Track 1 project "Landscape evolution and adapting to change in ice-rich permafrost systems (NNA-IRPS)" is investigating how climate change and infrastructure affect ice-rich permafrost systems (IRPS), the roles ecosystems play in the development and degradation of ice-rich permafrost (IRP), and how people and infrastructure can adapt to changes in IRPS. NNA-IRPS research at the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield (PBO), Alaska, is focused on (1) how differences in vegetation, soils, water, and time influence the accumulation and degradation of ground ice in IRP landscapes; and (2) how the loss of ground ice can radically change these landscapes, their components, and the infrastructure built on them. This data report covers data and preliminary analysis from the 2022 field seasons at Prudhoe Bay research sites, including descriptions of the study areas, summaries of research methods and results, and a summary of accomplishments and future directions. Descriptions of the field studies are divided into seven subsections: (1) vegetation studies including aboveground biomass and bryophyte diversity; (2) snow depth survey; (3) soil temperature along the soil moisture gradient; (4) thaw depths, water depths, and vegetation heights; (5) greenhouse gas fluxes; (6) permafrost monitoring and electrical resistivity tomography; and (7) remote-sensing activities. Data tables are grouped into appendices in this portable document format (PDF) volume and are also archived as separate datasets in the Arctic Data Center.