Soil Physical, Chemical, and Thermal Characterization, Council Road Site, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2016

This dataset provides the results of physical, chemical, and thermal characterization of soils at the Council Road Site, Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Soil pits were dug from 11 September 2016 at three locations CPIT1, CPIT3, and CPIT4 at the Council Road MM71 Site (CN_MM71). This dataset includes field observations and descriptions of soil layers or horizons, field measurements of soil volumetric water content, soil temperature, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity. Laboratory measurements (*.csv files) of soil properties include gravimetric water content, bulk density, volumetric water content, and total carbon and nitrogen. A synthesis data file (*.csv), photographs (*.jpg) of the respective soil pits, and a user guide (*.pdf) are also included. The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).