Fellow Colleagues,
Current data from the Niwot Ridge LTER in Colorado
and from Lapland in northern Finland support Joe
Moore's proposal. Soils at these sites have a MAST
<0.0 C and do not have permafrost above 2 meters.
Data sets for these sites consist of 1000s of
measurements and reflect data logging technology
that assures accurate values to a few tenths of a
degree F.
It can be safely estimated that over 40,000 acres
of soil with MAST similar to Niwot Ridge occur in
the continental United States. With the current
definition, they would be considered to have a
Cryic soil temperature regime AND a Frigid soil
temperature class (page 829 Soil Taxonomy -
1999).
Consequently, a change is needed.
HENRY R. MOUNT
Soil Scientist
National Soil Survey Center
