PERMOS

Data Portal

Murtèl rock glacier PERMA-XT data set

DOI for scientific data (Identifier): 10.13093/permos-spec-2023-01
Title: Murtèl rock glacier PERMA-XT data set (2020–2023)
Creator: PERMA-XT project (Uni Fribourg/GEOTEST)
Publisher: Swiss Permafrost Monitoring Network (PERMOS)
Publication Year: 2023
Release date: 2023-12-19
Online access: https://www.permos.ch/doi/permos-spec-2023-1

Citation: PERMA-XT 2023. Murtèl rock glacier PERMA-XT data set (2020–2023). Uni Fribourg/GEOTEST Fribourg/Zollikofen. doi:10.13093/permos-spec-2023-01.

Description: The data set offers a comprehensive hydro-meteorological characterisation of the coarse-blocky Murtèl rock glacier and its small periglacial catchment, including surface meteorological AWS measurements, thermal measurements in the active layer, and discharge/EC of the outflow. The PERMA-XT data set expands the nearby long-term PERMOS AWS data set and may be used for energy and water budget estimates of Murtèl rock glacier for the years 2022–2022. Novel measurements are direct observations of the seasonal ground-ice evolution (‘ablation time series’) as well as long-wave radiation and heat flux plate measurements in the coarse-blocky active layer. The data set include:

  1. Surface meteorological data set consisting of air temperature, relative humidity, snow height, snow temperatures (four levels: 0, 25, 50, 100 cm above ground level), rainfall, barometric pressure (10-minutes resolution).
  2. Active-layer temperature and relative humidity time series measured in an instrumented cavity (5 to 30-minutes resolution).
  3. Active-layer long-wave radiation, heat-flux plate measurements, and airflow speeds measured at different depths and locations (30-minute resolution).
  4. Ground-ice ablation measurements in a rock-glacier furrow where the ground ice was accessible (active layer ca. 2 m thick).
  5. Hydrological data set: quasi-continuous water temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), water pressure and derived water level of the rock-glacier outflow (hourly resolution). Additionally, point-wise EC and isotopic (δ18O, δ2H) measurements of supra-permafrost water, snowpack, and rainfall.
  6. Derived data sets: Snow water equivalent (SWE; daily), processed eddy-covariance data (sonic buoyancy flux; hourly)

The data are classified in terms of degree of pre-processing and corrections:

  • Level-1 data for full period 2020-08-24 to 2023-09-19. Corrections include range check (implausible and faulty values deleted).
  • Level-2 data: pre-processed and corrected data used in publications (mentioned below) for the period 2020-09-01 to 2022-09-30. Level-1 data additionally gap-filled and quality-checked.
  • Level-3 data: derived variables that involved post-processing/modelling (SWE from snow height, eddy-covariance flux)

Comments: Timestamps in CET/UTC+01:00 year-round / Naming convection of CGR3 radiation sensors: “up” means upwards-facing sensor that measures the downward radiation. Vice versa for “down”.

Keywords: coarse-blocky mountain permafrost, rock glacier, active-layer temperature, heat flux measurements, ground-ice, surface energy balance, energy budget, discharge, electrical conductivity, stable water isotopes

Contributors
Data collectors: Universities of Fribourg and GEOTEST
Data curator/manager: Dominik Amschwand, University of Fribourg

Related publications

  • Amschwand, D., Scherler, M., Hoelzle, M., Krummenacher, B., Haberkorn, A., Kienholz, C., and Gubler, H.: Surface heat fluxes at coarse-blocky Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps), doi: 10.5194/egusphere-2023-2109, in review.
  • Amschwand, D., Wicky, J., Scherler, M., Hoelzle, M., Krummenacher, B., Haberkorn, A., Kienholz, C., and Gubler, H.: Sub-surface processes and heat fluxes at coarse-blocky Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps), in prep.
  • Amschwand, D., Tschan, S., Scherler, M., Hoelzle, M., Krummenacher, B., Haberkorn, A., Kienholz, C., Aschwanden, A., and Gubler, H.: On the hydrological significance of rock glaciers: a case study from Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps) using in-situ energy-flux measurements, ground-ice melt observations and hydrological measurements, in prep.

Language: English
Data format: csv, zipped
Data size: 50 MB
Spatial coverage: Murtèl rock glacier, Engadine (eastern Swiss Alps) (Lat/Lon = 46.43/9.82)
Temporal coverage: 2020-08-24 to 2023-09-19

Instruments: NTC thermistor chains, hygrometer, sonic ranger, pluviometer, barometer, pyrgeometer, heat flux plates, heated foil thermo-anemometer, water EC probe, water pressure logger

Rights: CC-BY 4.0

DOWNLOAD