Measurements and photographs of permafrost cores drilled on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska

As the Arctic physical environment undergoes rapid change, permafrost conditions also are shifting. Thawing of ice-rich permafrost can cause terrain instability and compromise infrastructure as the permafrost excess ice content (EIC) melts – EIC refers to the volume of ground ice that exceeds the soil’s pore space when thawed.
This dataset provides EIC depth measurements from 38 boreholes drilled across a range of terrain units on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska. Permafrost cores (51- and 76-mm diameter) were collected using a SIPRE drilling device (gas-powered hand auger) between October 2023 and September 2024. Permafrost soils and ground ice structures (cryofacies) were described and photographed. Key assemblages of cryofacies (i.e., cryostratigraphic units) were identified, and the frozen cores were subdivided accordingly for laboratory analysis.
For EIC measurement, frozen sample volumes were determined by water displacement. Cores were then allowed to thaw, and the supernatant water above the thawed and settled soils was extracted and quantified (detailed method for EIC measurement is provided in the metadata file).
This data release contains tables of 1) borehole drilling site locations, and 2) borehole EIC depth measurements. Additionally, core photographs are available for download.