These data were collected as a part of the Slave Province surficial materials and permafrost study (SPSMPS) which took place near the Ekati mine, north of Lac de Gras. Data comprise air and ground temperature measurements as well as detailed metadata describing surface and vegetation conditions at each site.
Study plots measuring 15 m × 15 m were selected to represent different facets of the landscape. For each plot, up to four sub-plots were selected to represent the diversity of surface characteristics within the plot area. Metadata for each plot include surface features, disturbances and topography. Sub-plot metadata include vegetation type and abundance as well as leaf-area index as measured by an accuPAR.
In the centre of each plot, thermistor cables were installed into a borehole with sensors between 0.5 and 12 m deep. At each sub-plot, a single-channel temperature logger was installed approximately 10 cm below the ground surface. Six air temperature and humidity sensors were installed 2 m above the ground surface and nine temperature sensors were drilled into bedrock. Instruments for near-surface and air temperature were programmed to record data every 20 minutes, whereas temperatures in boreholes are recorded every 60 minutes. All instruments were set to UTC time. Time series have been aggregated to hourly and daily averages. The period of data coverage is between August 2015 and September 2017.
