Citation:

PANGAEA.995128 (DOI registration in progress)

Name: Snow and ice surface temperatures measured during RV POLARSTERN cruise PS149
Published: 2026-05-29
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Arctic; Sea ice; snow temperature; Surface Temperature

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Published: 2026-05-29

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Abstract:

During the Polarstern cruise PS149 from July 2025 to August 2025 in the Atlantic part of the Arctic snow and ice surface temperatures were measured using a waterproof thermometer with a needle probe during 29 ice stations. A ruler was used to determine the measuring height. In snow pits, snow and surface scattering layer (SSL) could be distinguished, thus, in the "Height, relative, from ice/snow interface [cm]" column, 0 cm indicates the snow-ice interface. These measurements included the surface and the snow-ice interface temperature. Additional temperature measurements were taken at 2 cm spacing within the snow and SSL, and at 5 cm and 2 m height above the surface. For the snow pits the total "Snow depth [m]" is also given. Apart from snow pit temperature measurements, the snow /SSL was sampled within a small (2-4 m) radius around the snow pit. Here, a ruler was used to determine the height, but a clear distinction between snow and SSL was not done or was not possible and because the SSL could potentially be penetrated by a ruler, it is a combined measurement. Thus, these measurements were taken at the "Snow+surface scattering layer, height [m]". The "Measurement_ID" column is counting the measurements per Event and is of the form n_k where n is a number for the specific vertical profile that was sampled and k indicates the measurement number at that profile.

Whether a measurement was taken within the snow or at the surface is denoted by the "Measurement comment". Note that due to the indistinguishability between snow, SSL and ice mentioned above, in this column, SSL/ice is used to indicate measurements that were either taken at the ice-SSL interface or within the SSL.

All measurements (except during ice station with label PS149_30-1) were done within the vicinity of the footprint of the onboard microwave radiometers installed for the VAMPIRE project (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.990497), that is, in about 25 m distance to the port bow of Polarstern, further refined in the "Location" column. The ice stations lasted two to three days (day at station is included in the dataset), and the floes (named '1', '2', and '3') were revisited. The "Station label" contained in the dataset gives the number of the visit (indicated by 'a','b', 'c', and 'd') and the floe name (e.g., '2a' refers to the the first visit of floe 2). For more information about these measurements the user is referred to Chapter 3 of the cruise report

Keyword(s):

Arctic; Sea ice; snow temperature; Surface Temperature

Related to:

Bühler, Linnu; Rückert, Janna Elisabeth; Walbröl, Andreas; Mech, Mario; Krobot, Pavel; Ebell, Kerstin; Schnitt, Sabrina; Spreen, Gunnar (2026): Water vapor, mixed-phase clouds, precipitation and sea ice emissivity over the Central Arctic Ocean (VAMPIRE-2): remote sensing and in-situ measurements suite during POLARSTERN cruise PS149 (CONTRASTS) [dataset bibliography]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.990497

Nicolaus, Marcel (2026): The Expedition PS149 of the Research Vessel POLARSTERN to the Arctic Ocean in 2025. Berichte zur Polar- und Meeresforschung = Reports on Polar and Marine Research, 808, 382 pp, https://doi.org/10.57738/BZPM_0808_2026

Project(s):

Arctic Amplification (AC3)

Funding:

Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (AWI), grant/award no. AWI_PS149_07: VAMPIRE-2

German Research Foundation (DFG), grant/award no. 268020496 : TRR 172: ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms

Coverage:

Median Latitude: 83.631440 * Median Longitude: 7.798266 * South-bound Latitude: 82.411350 * West-bound Longitude: -17.902200 * North-bound Latitude: 84.944320 * East-bound Longitude: 33.998100

Date/Time Start: 2025-07-09T17:48:00 * Date/Time End: 2025-08-27T13:25:00

Minimum Elevation: -4693.8 m * Maximum Elevation: -3011.6 m

Event(s):

PS149_13-1 (Ice Station 1a) * Latitude Start: 83.804469 * Longitude Start: 20.753587 * Latitude End: 83.856951 * Longitude End: 24.252349 * Date/Time Start: 2025-07-09T06:32:22 * Date/Time End: 2025-07-12T18:25:00 * Elevation Start: -4073.9 m * Elevation End: -4071.5 m * O2A Registry URI: https://registry.o2a-data.de/items/8891 * Campaign: (CONTRASTS; ArcWatch 3) * Basis: * Method/Device: Ice station (ICE) * Comment: # Ice Station 1a; Sea ice 1.4m thick on Gangway

PS149_13-2 * Latitude: 83.781185 * Longitude: 20.796691 * Date/Time: 2025-07-09T11:37:09 * Elevation: -4075.2 m * O2A Registry URI: https://registry.o2a-data.de/items/5460 * Campaign: (CONTRASTS; ArcWatch 3) * Basis: * Method/Device: (CTD-RO) * Comment: 4042 m; EL31; failure altimeter software

PS149_16-1 (Ice Station 2a) * Latitude Start: 85.022741 * Longitude Start: 13.512829 * Latitude End: 84.686618 * Longitude End: 13.944513 * Date/Time Start: 2025-07-14T12:36:36 * Date/Time End: 2025-07-17T17:58:01 * Elevation Start: -3065.2 m * Elevation End: -3612.9 m * O2A Registry URI: https://registry.o2a-data.de/items/8891 * Campaign: (CONTRASTS; ArcWatch 3) * Basis: * Method/Device: Ice station (ICE) * Comment: # Ice station 2a

Parameter(s):

#	Name	Short Name	Unit	Principal Investigator	Method/Device	Comment
1	Event label	Event		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth		ice station
2	DATE/TIME	Date/Time		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth		Geocode
3	LATITUDE	Latitude		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth		Geocode
4	LONGITUDE	Longitude		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth		Geocode
5	Location	Location		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth
6	Station label	Station		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth
7	Time in days	Time d	days	Rückert, Janna Elisabeth		at station
8	Height, relative, from ice/snow interface	H rel ice/snow interf	cm	Rückert, Janna Elisabeth	Ruler stick (RULER)	0 m indicates the snow-ice interface
9	Snow+surface scattering layer, height	Snow+SSL height	cm	Rückert, Janna Elisabeth	Ruler stick (RULER)
10	Temperature, air	TTT	°C	Rückert, Janna Elisabeth	Digital thermometer
11	Temperature, ice/snow	t	°C	Rückert, Janna Elisabeth	Digital thermometer
12	Surface temperature	Surf temp	°C	Rückert, Janna Elisabeth	Digital thermometer
13	Measurement comment	Measurement comm		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth		medium measured
14	Measurement identification	Measurement ID		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth
15	Snow depth	Snow depth	m	Rückert, Janna Elisabeth	Ruler stick (RULER)	total
16	Comment	Comment		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth
17	Observer	Observer		Rückert, Janna Elisabeth

License:

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)

Status:

Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)

Size:

4745 data points

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