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Borehole permafrost data, Kumtor and Taragai Valleys, Tienshan, Kazakhstan, Version 1

Metadata Updated: September 19, 2025

This dataset includes observations of the permafrost temperatures in the Inner Tien Shan were started in 1986 by Kazakhstan Alpine Permafrost Laboratory. Observations are carried out on more than 40 boreholes, at altitudes between 3300-4200 m. The depths of the boreholes vary from 30 to 600 m. The boreholes are located in both loose (moraines) sediments and bedrock. Several boreholes are situated in the territory of the 'Kumtor' goldmine. The geocryological conditions of goldmine 'Kumtor' and nearby territory have been discussed in scientific reports 1988, 1989 and articles (see references). Two boreholes were drilled in body of glacier 'Davydov' and located in the central and lateral parts of the glacier (depth - 30 m). A third borehole passed through the glacier, moraine and bedrock to a depth of 600 m. In the Kumtor and Taragai valleys, permafrost temperature in 14 boreholes from 25 to 50 m depth, between 3300-3750 m ASL were observed. The distance between outermost boreholes is about 40 km.Temperature measurements in 9 geological prospecting adits [tunnels] (lengthwise 1500-1900 m) located in the four neighboring valleys (altitudes from 3920 to 4010 m) were carried out. At the same sites, but in natural conditions, the thermal conductivity of the bedrock was determined by the cylindrical sounding method. Grain size, soil moisture content, cryogenic structure and depth of seasonal thaw were also obtained from 15 pits located in differing altitudinal levels and exposures. At two further sites, ground temperatures measurements at depths of 0, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 40 cm were taken every hour during daylight hours every 5 days over a two year period. Air temperature, wind velocity and duration of daylight were measured at the same time as the ground temperature measurements. These data are presented on the CAPS Version 1.0 CD-ROM, June 1998.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2025
Publisher NSIDC
Maintainer
Identifier 10.7265/wp0n-8e23
Data Last Modified 2025-09-10
Category Earth Science
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 2b435b61-045f-4e89-af3a-d0e881985c92
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
Homepage URL https://nsidc.org/forms/GGD499_or.html?major_version=1
Old Spatial "CARTESIAN",{"WestBoundingCoordinate":77.817,"NorthBoundingCoordinate":41.933,"EastBoundingCoordinate":78.233,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":41.65}
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 8d39a135dc46a958dc58cc79eb718bc671857bb9841a6735e77301d9f16fc996
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial

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