Multiscale observation of topsoil temperature below different landcover types on northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (2019-2020)

This dataset contains the ground surface temperature (GST) data of 72 sensors from 39 sites, which were deployed in the southern part of the Headwater Area of the Yellow River (HAYR). The monitoring network of GST was designed to cover various scales:
I) 800-m elevational transect (4331 to 5085 m a. s. l.) along the National Highway G214 with 19 sites at a spatial resolution of 2-3 km;
ii) Landscape scale: 8 sites located within 50 square kilometers;
iii) Local scale: 12 sites located within 2 square kilometers, and;
iv) Fine scale: in each site are placed two sensors (plots) at distances ranging from 2 to 16 m.
The sensors were placed below four different landcover types (bare ground, alpine meadow, alpine swamp meadow, and alpine steppe) at approximately 5 cm in depth to avoid solar heating. The GST was measured using iButton temperature loggers (DS1922L) with a resolution of 0.0625°C and an accuracy of ±0.5° C (Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., 2019). The record covers one hydrological year from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020 in 3 hours resolution. GST data was quality checked and from initially 83 sensors, 11 were excluded from the dataset due to malfunctions or biased data. This dataset complements the sparse observations of GST on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and helps to identify the permafrost thaw patterns and rate of changes at high spatial resolution.