Snow Thickness and Temperature Observation (SnoTATOS) snow depth and surface melt observations from the 2024 Arctic Radiation Cloud Aerosol Surface Interaction Experiment (ARCSIX) campaign, Lincoln Sea

The dataset contains snow depth and surface melt observations made during the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Arctic Radiation Cloud Aerosol Surface Interaction Experiment (ARCSIX) project between April 2024 and January 2025. We deployed four Snow Thickness and Temperature Observation (SnoTATOS) networks in the Lincoln Sea in late April and early May, 2024. Each network consisted of ten observation nodes and a server integrated into a Sea Ice Mass Balance (SIMB3) buoy. We deployed the networks in multiyear ice just before the onset of surface melt. We placed the nodes randomly between 25 and 200 meters (m) from each buoy, with clear line-of-sight to the buoy. We measured initial snow depth at each node, and ice thickness and snow depth at each SIMB3. The data then track change in surface height over time. Data are given as surface height referenced to the initial ice surface position. As of 3 January, 2025, three networks (2024L, 2024O, and 2024R) were no longer reporting. The failure of 2024O is consistent with a communications failure between the server and SIMB3. The steady attrition of nodes and their location in a shear band suggest that networks 2024L and 2024R were destroyed by ice dynamics. 2024P continues to report, with four nodes surviving; the rest were likely destroyed by ice dynamics. Corresponding SIMB3 buoy data can be found at https://www.cryosphereinnovation.com.