The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO 2 , water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe (over 1500 site-years, up to and including year 2014). These sites, independently managed and operated, voluntarily contributed their data to create global datasets. Data were quality controlled and processed using uniform methods, to improve consistency and intercomparability across sites. The dataset is already being used in a number of applications, including ecophysiology studies, remote sensing studies, and development of ecosystem and Earth system models. FLUXNET2015 includes derived-data products, such as gap-filled time series, ecosystem respiration and photosynthetic uptake estimates, estimation of uncertainties, and metadata about the measurements, presented for the first time in this paper. In addition, 206 of these sites are for the first time distributed under a Creative Commons (CC-BY 4.0) license. This paper details this enhanced dataset and the processing methods, now made available as open-source codes, making the dataset more accessible, transparent, and reproducible.

Eddy covariance measurements of methane flux were carried out in an arctic tundra landscape in the central Lena River Delta at 721N. The measurements covered the seasonal course of mid-summer to early winter in 2003 and early spring to mid-summer in 2004, including the periods of spring thaw and autumnal freeze back. The study site is characterized by very cold and deep permafrost and a continental climate with a mean annual air temperature of À14.7 1C. The surface is characterized by wet polygonal tundra, with a micro-relief consisting of raised moderately dry sites, depressed wet sites, polygonal ponds, and lakes. We found relatively low fluxes of typically 30 mg CH 4 m À2 day À1 during mid-summer and identified soil temperature and near-surface atmospheric turbulence as the factors controlling methane emission. The influence of atmospheric turbulence was attributed to the high coverage of open water surfaces in the tundra. The soil thaw depth and water table position were found to have no clear effect on methane fluxes. The excess emission during spring thaw was estimated to be about 3% of the total flux measured during June-October. Winter emissions were modeled based on the functional relationships found in the measured data. The annual methane emission was estimated to be 3.15 g m À2. This is low compared with values reported for similar ecosystems. Reason for this were thought to be the very low permafrost temperature in the study region, the sandy soil texture and low bio-availability of nutrients in the soils, and the high surface coverage of moist to dry micro-sites. The methane emission accounted for about 14% of the annual ecosystem carbon balance. Considering the global warming potential of methane, the methane emission turned the tundra into an effective greenhouse gas source.

[1] Meteorological and soil temperature and moisture data for the period 1998-2005 are presented from a long term monitoring station in the central Lena River Delta at 72°N, 126°E. The investigation site, Samoylov Island, is situated in the zone of continuous permafrost and is characterized by wet polygonal tundra. The summer energy and water balance of the tundra was analyzed for the dry year 1999 and the wet year 2003. The summer water balance of the tundra was found to be mainly controlled by precipitation. The partitioning of the available energy was controlled by precipitation via the soil moisture regime, and by the synoptic weather conditions via radiation and the advection of maritime cold or continental warm air masses. In 2003, regular high precipitation resulted in a constant recharge of polygonal ponds. Of the available energy, 61% were partitioned into latent heat flux and 17% into ground heat flux; hence, the tundra behaved like a typical wetland. In 1999, low precipitation resulted in a loss of polygonal pond waters and a drying of upper soil layers. This led to lower latent heat flux (31% of available energy), higher ground heat flux (29%), and a considerably higher soil thaw depth compared to 2003. Surface and subsurface water flow had a significant influence on the tundra water balance. In 2003, the formation of new surface flow channels through thermo-erosion was observed, which is expected to have a strong and lasting influence on the hydrologic system of the tundra.

Abstract. Samoylov Island is centrally located within the Lena River Delta at 72° N, 126° E and lies within the Siberian zone of continuous permafrost. The landscape on Samoylov Island consists mainly of late Holocene river terraces with polygonal tundra, ponds and lakes, and an active floodplain. The island has been the focus of numerous multidisciplinary studies since 1993, which have focused on climate, land cover, ecology, hydrology, permafrost and limnology. This paper aims to provide a framework for future studies by describing the characteristics of the island's meteorological parameters (temperature, radiation and snow cover), soil temperature, and soil moisture. The land surface characteristics have been described using high resolution aerial images in combination with data from ground-based observations. Of note is that deeper permafrost temperatures have increased between 0.3 to 1.3 °C over the last five years. However, no clear warming of air and active layer temperatures is detected since 1998, though winter air temperatures during recent years have not been as cold as in earlier years. Data related to this article are archived under: http://doi. pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.806233 .

[1] We present the first ecosystem-scale methane flux data from a northern Siberian tundra ecosystem covering the entire snow-free period from spring thaw until initial freeze-back. Eddy covariance measurements of methane emission were carried out from the beginning of June until the end of September in the southern central part of the Lena River Delta (72°22 0 N, 126°30 0 E). The study site is located in the zone of continuous permafrost and is characterized by Arctic continental climate with very low precipitation and a mean annual temperature of À14.7°C. We found relatively low fluxes of on average 18.7 mg m À2 d À1 , which we consider to be because of (1) extremely cold permafrost, (2) substrate limitation of the methanogenic archaea, and (3) a relatively high surface coverage of noninundated, moderately moist areas. Near-surface turbulence as measured by the eddy covariance system in 4 m above the ground surface was identified as the most important control on ecosystem-scale methane emission and explained about 60% of the variance in emissions, while soil temperature explained only 8%. In addition, atmospheric pressure was found to significantly improve an exponential model based on turbulence and soil temperature. Ebullition from waterlogged areas triggered by decreasing atmospheric pressure and near-surface turbulence is thought to be an important pathway that warrants more attention in future studies. The close coupling of methane fluxes and atmospheric parameters demonstrated here raises questions regarding the reliability of enclosure-based measurements, which inherently exclude these parameters.