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Full catalog/Permafrost_Thaw_Depth_YK_1598
Permafrost_Thaw_Depth_YK_1598·v1·dataset

Permafrost depth across Alaska's Y-K Delta (2016)

ABoVE: Permafrost Measurements and Distribution Across the Y-K Delta, Alaska, 2016
cryosphere NASA ORNL_CLOUD Level 3 multiple
In plain English

What it measures. Where permafrost (permanently frozen ground) is found and how deep the seasonally thawed layer reaches across part of Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, plus maps of elevation and dominant vegetation.

How it's made. Built from on-the-ground field measurements taken in July 2016, combined with airborne laser elevation mapping and satellite imagery to produce permafrost distribution and probability maps.

How & where you'd use it. Helps scientists study how climate change is affecting frozen ground in a flat, low-lying region that is rich in wildlife and important for local subsistence communities.

What's measured

CRYOSPHERE › FROZEN GROUND › PERMAFROSTBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION COVERLAND SURFACE › TOPOGRAPHY › TERRAIN ELEVATION › DIGITAL ELEVATION/TERRAIN MODEL (DEM)LAND SURFACE › SOILS › PERMAFROST

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2009-06-27 → 2016-07-17
  • Measured byIKONOS (Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope) · FIELD SURVEYS (SOIL DEPTH PROBE) · Airplane (LIDAR)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-165.69, 61.1694, -165.03, 61.2881
  • Formatsmultiple
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Measure sea ice, snow cover and glaciers
  • Watch ice-sheet elevation change
  • Track freeze/thaw and permafrost
Official description

This dataset provides field observations of thaw depth and dominant vegetation types, a LiDAR-derived elevation map, and permafrost distribution and probability maps for an area on the coastal plain of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), in western Alaska, USA. Field data were collected during July 8-17, 2016 to parameterize and to validate the derived permafrost maps. The YKD is in the sporadic to isolated permafrost zone where permafrost forms extensive elevated plateaus on abandoned floodplains. The region is extremely flat and vulnerable to eustatic sea-level rise and inland storm surges. These high-resolution permafrost maps support landscape change analyses and assessments of the impacts of climate change on permafrost in this region of high biological productivity, critical wildlife habitats, and subsistence-based human economy.

Get the data

permafrost_thaw_depth_yk_1598_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="Permafrost_Thaw_Depth_YK_1598",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from ORNL_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.