2008-2014 Soil temperature, thermal conductivity, water content, CO2, and pressure at the Manitou Experimental Forest, Colorado during the Bio-hydro-atmosphere interactions of Energy, Aerosols, Carbon, H2O, Organics & Nitrogen (BEACHON) study

This data publication contains continuous soil measurements from the Manitou Experimental Forest, Colorado taken from December 2008 through August 2014. Data files contain soil temperature and water content summarized every 5-minutes and 30-minutes; soil thermal conductivity and carbon dioxide (CO2) summarized every 30-minutes; and soil air pressure summarized every 1-second, 5-minutes, and 30-minutes. Raw data are also provided for the 5-minute soil temperature, water content, and pressure measurements plus 1-Hz temperature and heating curves used to calculate thermal conductivity.
The two principal objectives to this study were to (1) obtain quantitative estimates of the influence that (i) atmospheric pressure pumping and (ii) thermal expansion and contraction of the air in the pore spaces of soil can have in the transport (and fluxes) of trace gases in soils and (2) obtain estimates of surface heat flux for energy balance studies in support of NCAR’s BEACHON project.

From 2008 to 2013, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) led the Bio-hydro-atmosphere interactions of Energy, Aerosols, Carbon, H2O, Organics & Nitrogen (BEACHON) study at the Manitou Experimental Forest, Colorado. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical relationships between biogenic emissions and aerosols, hydrology and cloud formations, and carbon assimilation within water limited ecosystems. As part of this study, the USDA Forest Service investigated the role of soils, and focused on soil temperature, thermal conductivity, water content, CO2, and pressure.