Topsoil temperature data below different vegetation types at Trail Valley Creek, Canada, 2016-2018: metadata overview

The datasets were acquired at the Arctic tundra site of Trail Valley Creek (TVC), Northwest Territories, Canada, which is underlain by continuous permafrost. With the objective to quantify thaw/freeze dynamics of the ground over time, the two study sites (about 50x50 m each) were repeatedly captured in June 2015, August 2015, and August 2016 by terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and by Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements. Additionally, 24 fiberglass poles were anchored deep in the permafrost and, therefore, assumed to be motionless. With these poles, surface displacement was estimated by measuring repeatedly the distance between ground surface and the top of the poles in June 2015, August 2015, July 2016, August 2016 and June 2017. Furthermore, thaw depths were measured around each fiberglass pole. Additionally, one-time GNSS measurements of the ground surface elevation were acquired at a number of points outside of the two study sites.