Surface geophysical data for characterizing shallow, discontinuous frozen ground near Fort Yukon, Alaska

The distribution of permafrost in cold regions is subject to temporal and spatial changes influenced by climate, landscape disturbance, and ecosystem succession. Remote sensing from airborne and satellite platforms is increasing our understanding of landscape-scale permafrost distribution, but typically lacks the resolution to characterize finer-scale processes and phenomena, which are often better captured by surface geophysical methods. Specifically, the electrical conductivity of the earth can be used to infer lithological and pore fluid properties, and in this case to delineate frozen, partially frozen, and unfrozen ground. Here, we present electromagnetic induction (EMI) data collected in August 2012 around the highly dynamic Twelvemile Lake, Yukon Flats, central Alaska, USA. This data release presents raw and processed results from hand-carried frequency domain EMI data collected with the GEM-2 instrument (Geophex, Ltd.) at approximately 0.75 m off the ground in both vertical and horizontal coplanar modes.