East Siberian Air, Ground Temperature, and Snow Depth Measurements, 1882-1994

This data set contains historical data for 35 Russian (East Siberian) stations located between approximately 117-145 E and 55-72 N. Data were collected between 1882-1994, but the time period covered by each station and the parameters measured are variable. Daily measurements of snow depth were taken from three snow measuring rods placed in a meteorological enclosure. In individual cases, when the meteorological enclosure was unrepresentative of the surroundings in respect to snow cover formation, the snow measuring rods were placed near the station on a specially selected plot. The daily mean was calculated by averaging the readings from the three rods, rounded to the nearest whole centimeter. If the average was less than 0.5 cm, the mean was considered zero, and if it was greater than or equal to 0.5 cm, it was considered 1 cm. If snow, ice, or melt water was absent at one of the rods, the mean depth was calculated by dividing the sum of the readings by three. The daily data were then averaged at the end of a ten-day period into a single value. This averaging was done three times per month, with the final period in the month containing from eight to 11 days of data, depending on the month. Air and ground temperature measurements were taken with mercury thermometers with high inertiality. Measurements were taken as part of the Land-Atmosphere-Ice Interactions - Arctic Transitions in the Land-Atmosphere System (LAII-ATLAS) program. The research project was funded by the Arctic System Sciences (ARCSS) Program, grant numbers OPP-9721347 and OPP-9732126.