Temperature monitoring in Bakchar bog (West Siberia)

We report the results of continuous temperature monitoring (812 days, from 28 June 2005 to 26 September 2007) in a 80 cm layer of peat soil in Bakchar bog (West Siberia), at sampling rates of 60 min in wintertime and 15 min in summertime. Both annual and daily temperature patterns are controlled by water table position and weather conditions. Wintertime soil temperature patterns are disturbed by the formation of a seasonal frozen layer with its thickness (freezing depth) depending on the time when steady snow cover sets up and on soil moisture. During the period of frozen layer thawing, the temperature of peat becomes sensitive to peat moisture and water table position as well as to the air and peat surface temperature. The warm-season soil temperature patterns bear effects of peat warming by rainwater percolation, both in nightand daytime. The patterns with soil warming during rainfall and phase change during seasonal freezing-thawing cycles record disturbances to conductive heat transfer.