The eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains form the headwaters of the Saskatchewan River basin (SRB), whose water supplies are vital to domestic, agricultural, and industrial users in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. These mountain headwaters occupy about 12.6 % of total drainage area but generate 87 % of total water yield in the SRB (Redmond, 1964). Recognising the importance of these headwaters, the Eastern Rocky Mountain Forest Conservation Act was passed in 1947, which aimed to conserve and protect the Saskatchewan River headwaters (Neill, 1980; Rothwell et al., 2016). The Eastern Slopes (Alberta) Watershed Research Program (AWRP) was created in 1960 to investigate relationships between forest, soil, climate, and water and to examine the impacts of commercial timber harvesting practices on basin water yield and water quality (Jeffrey, 1965; Kirby and Ogilvy, 1969). This program was a collaborative effort between several provincial and federal government agencies to establish experimental watersheds in the headwaters, one of which was the establishment of what was then called the “Marmot Creek Experimental Watershed” during 1961–1962 (Rothwell et al., 2016). This later became the University of Saskatchewan-operated “Marmot Creek Research Basin” (MCRB) by which it is referred to in this paper.

During the historical period of 1962–1986, a paired-basin experiment devised by the Canadian Forestry Service (CFS) explored the effects of forest cutting on snow accumulation and water yield in MCRB. Two types of forest clearing experiment were conducted in the sub-alpine spruce–fir forest part of the basin (Fig. 1): six large “commercial” forest cut blocks were harvested in the Cabin Creek sub-basin during 1971–1972 and a “honeycomb” of numerous small circular clearings, each 12 to 18 m in diameter, were harvested in the Twin Creek sub-basin during 1977–1979, with Middle Creek left intact as a control sub-basin (Rothwell et al., 2016). Snow accumulation increased by 21 % in the large forest cutting blocks (Swanson et al., 1986) and 28 % in the small forest clearings compared to under adjacent intact forest canopies (Swanson and Golding, 1982). Overall, there was no statistically significant change in streamflow that could be associated with the forestry manipulations (Harder et al., 2015). Several other studies were carried out in parallel to the forest clearing experiments. Investigations on soil water storage and soil temperature in relation to snow accumulation and melt, forest, and slope orientation were conducted at several sites in MCRB and provided some early understanding of infiltration and runoff in the basin (Harlan, 1969; Hillman and Golding, 1981). Extensive field campaigns throughout MCRB produced detailed descriptions of soils (Beke, 1969) and surficial geology (Stevenson, 1967). Additional studies were undertaken to assess the basin's meteorology (Munn and Storr, 1967; Storr, 1967, 1973). Most hydrometeorological observations in MCRB ceased after 1986 due to the opening of the adjacent Nakiska Ski Resort in the 1986–1987 ski season and subsequent hosting of 1988 Winter Olympic Games; only streamflow measurements at the main outlet by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and groundwater measurements by Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP), were continued, though a high-elevation weather station was established on Centennial Ridge by ECCC, and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry maintained a nearby valley-bottom weather station (Rothwell et al., 2016).

After the Olympics, research activities in MCRB were minimal until 2004 when the research basin was reactivated by the University of Saskatchewan with the help of the University of Calgary and ECCC. Wide-ranging research has been conducted since then to improve the understanding of the impact of forest canopy and forest clearings on snow accumulation and snowmelt energetics (Ellis and Pomeroy, 2007; Essery et al., 2008; Pomeroy et al., 2009; Ellis et al., 2013; Musselman and Pomeroy, 2017), slope and aspect controls on snow accumulation and melt (DeBeer and Pomeroy, 2009; Ellis et al., 2011; Marsh et al., 2012), blowing snow and sublimation in the alpine treeline environment with respect to local wind and topography (MacDonald et al., 2010), alpine snowmelt runoff generation (DeBeer and Pomeroy, 2017), hillslope hydrology of the forest organic layer (Keith et al., 2010), and precipitation phase partitioning (Harder and Pomeroy, 2013). MCRB has also been the site of instrument or methodology development, from an early airborne lidar snow depth measurement (Hopkinson et al., 2012) to acoustic measurements of snow (Kinar and Pomeroy, 2009) as well as early telescope-based snow surveys (Kinar and Pomeroy, 2015). Utilising the Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling platform (CRHM) these advances have been synthesised into a physically based hydrological model of MCRB (Fang et al., 2013), which was used to assess the impact of forest disturbances on basin hydrology (Pomeroy et al., 2012), analyse antecedent conditions on flood generation (Fang and Pomeroy, 2016), and diagnose rain-on-snow runoff generation for an alpine environment during the 2013 flood in MCRB (Pomeroy et al., 2016).

This paper includes datasets of meteorological, snow survey, streamflow, and groundwater observations measured in MCRB. Meteorological datasets include historical observations by the CFS and ECCC and recent measurements by the University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology. Continuous records of streamflow measurements by ECCC and the University of Saskatchewan as well as groundwater levels monitored by AEP are also included. The snow survey data presented were conducted in clearings, under forest canopies, and on hillslopes at various elevations and are useful for model evaluation and snow process studies. Some of the studies utilising these datasets document the basin resilience to changes in climate, extreme weather, and land cover (Harder et al., 2015), a sensitivity analysis of climate warming on snow processes (Pomeroy et al., 2015), and assessments of variability of climate and its impact on the hydrological processes (Siemens, 2016).

Marmot Creek Research Basin (MCRB) (50.95∘ N, 115.15∘ W) is in the headwaters of the Bow River basin in the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains (Fig. 1) and its streamflow discharges into the Kananaskis River. The basin area (9.4 km2) is defined by the Water Survey of Canada stream gauge that was installed in 1962 (Bruce and Clark, 1965). MCRB is composed of three upper sub-basins: Cabin Creek (2.35 km2), Middle Creek (2.94 km2), and Twin Creek (2.79 km2), which converge into the confluence sub-basin above the main stream gauge (1.32 km2). Upper Marmot Creek is an upper sub-basin of Middle Creek (1.178 km2), is primarily alpine, and is also gauged. Based on a resampled 2007 lidar 8 m digital elevation model (DEM) (Hopkinson et al., 2012), hypsometric curves were derived for MCRB and its three sub-basins (Fig. 2). Elevation ranges from 1590 m a.s.l. (above sea level) at the main Marmot Creek gauging station to 2829 m at the summit of Mount Allan. The 8 m resampled lidar DEM, sub-basin stream network, and sub-basin boundary GIS data are also included in the datasets.

Most of MCRB is covered by needleleaf vegetation, which is dominated by Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) in upper-mid elevations of the basin (1710 to 2277 m). The lower-elevation (1590 to 2015 m) forests are mainly Engelmann spruce and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. Latifolia) with trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) present near the basin outlet (Kirby and Ogilvy, 1969). Alpine larch (Larix lyallii) and short shrubs are present around the treeline at approximately 2016 to 2379 m. Exposed rock surfaces, grasses, and talus are present in the highest alpine part of the basin (1956 to 2829 m). Physiographic descriptions of these ecozones are shown in Table 1 and they are mapped in Fig. 1. These ecozones were determined from the forest cover map by the Alberta Forest Service (1963) with recent updates from site visits. Forest management experiments conducted in the 1970s and 1980s left six large clear-cut blocks (1838 to 2062 m) in the Cabin Creek sub-basin and numerous small circular forest clearings (1762 to 2209 m) in the Twin Creek sub-basin (Golding and Swanson, 1986). These old forest clear-cut blocks and clearings have regrown as sparse juvenile forest to varying degrees. The basin surface land cover GIS data are included in the datasets.

The surficial soils are primarily poorly developed mountain soils consisting of glaciofluvial, surficial till, and postglacial colluvium deposits (Beke, 1969). Relatively impermeable bedrock is found at the higher elevations, whilst the rest of the basin is covered by a deep layer of coarse and permeable soil allowing for rapid rainfall infiltration to subsurface layers overlying relatively impermeable shale (Jeffrey, 1965).

Continental air masses control the weather in the region, which has long and cold winters and cool and wet springs with a late spring–early summer precipitation maximum. Westerly warm and dry Chinook (foehn) winds lead to brief periods when the air temperature exceeds 0 ∘C during the winter months – these events can result in snowpack ablation at lower elevations. Annual precipitation ranges from 600 mm at lower elevations to more than 1100 mm at the higher elevations, of which approximately 70 % to 75 % occurs as snowfall with the percentage increasing with elevation (Storr, 1967). Mean monthly air temperature ranges from 14 ∘C observed at 1850 m in July to -10 ∘C observed at 2450 m in January. Mean air temperatures have increased by 2.3 ∘C from 1967 to 2013, but there are no trends in precipitation or streamflow (Harder et al., 2015).

Three groundwater wells (GWs), 301, 303, and 305, established in the 1960s and one GW, 386, established in 1988 are continuously monitored by AEP. The location of these groundwater wells is shown in Fig. 1, and brief information regarding these wells is provided in Table 6. Daily data for these groundwater wells can be searched and accessed from AEP's “Groundwater Observation Well Network (GOWN)” website at http://environment.alberta.ca/apps/GOWN/. Access to the hourly groundwater well data can be requested from the Groundwater Information Centre at gwinfo@gov.ab.ca.

Data from the June 2013 flood are shown as an example of weather and streamflow observed in MCRB (Fig. 11). The flood event started on 18 June and ended on 24 June. Air temperature observed at the Fisera Ridge station was as high as 8 ∘C during rainfall on 19 June and dropped to 0.4 ∘C during snowfall on 21 June; the atmosphere became saturated on 18 June and stayed saturated through 21 June (Fig. 11a). Variable wind speeds were observed at the Fisera Ridge station, changing from relatively calm conditions on 18 June to 4 m s-1 on 20 June, then dropping to an average of 2 m s-1 before peaking at 5.5 m s-1 on 21 June (Fig. 11b). Overcast skies persisted during much of the flood event and incoming solar radiation observed at the Fisera Ridge station dropped from a peak of 533 W m-2 on 18 June to below 266 W m-2 throughout the event and then rose to a peak of 1038 W m-2 on 22 June (Fig. 11b). Similar depths of precipitation fell at all elevations (1436 to 2325 m) in MCRB, with about 257 mm during 19–25 June; however, this measurement was compromised as the Geonor precipitation gauge was overtopped on 21 June and could not be immediately accessed for maintenance due to damaged trails and roads. During the snowfall of 21–22 June, the depth of fresh snowpack on the ground was used to estimate precipitation based on the assumption of a fresh snow density of 100 kg m-3 (Pomeroy et al. 2016). Approximately 237 mm of rainfall was measured at the Fisera Ridge station during 19–25 June, and an 8 cm deep snowpack developed at Fisera Ridge on 21 June and melted after 22 June (Fig. 11c). Rainfall and snowfall rates during the event remained less than 12 mm h-1 and were higher than 6 mm h-1 only on 19 and 20 June, with cumulative daily totals increasing from 41 mm on 19 June to 113 mm on 20 June, and then dropping to 77 and 18 mm on 21 and 22 June, respectively. The streamflow discharge observed at the outlet of Upper Marmot Creek remained below 0.6 mm h-1 at the start of the flood event on 19 June and increased steadily on 20 June, reaching a peak of 2.84 mm h-1 at 01:00 on 21 June and then falling to below 1 mm h-1 after 21 June for the remainder of the flood event (Fig. 11d). Total discharge generated at the outlet of Upper Marmot Creek was estimated to be 106 mm during 19–25 June, much of which was the result of rain on snow in the alpine and treeline elevations.

The Centre for Hydrology held a 50th Anniversary Workshop for MCRB in February 2013 where many of the original and recent researchers gave presentations on a half-century of scientific research in the basin. The centre has also compiled 120 MCRB publications and provides real-time observations from many of the current meteorological stations. The workshop presentations, publications, and data can be accessed here: http://www.usask.ca/hydrology/MarmotBasin.php. In addition, a number of recent theses contain detailed contemporary site information for Marmot Creek Research Basin and provide results for the recent research conducted in the basin. These theses can help familiarise researchers with the basin and better understand its hydrology. Table 7 lists the theses that can be searched and accessed from the University of Saskatchewan's “eCommons” website at https://ecommons.usask.ca/.

All data presented in this paper are publicly available at the Federated Research Data Repository (10.20383/101.09, Fang et al., 2018). Headers in most data files are self-explanatory, and all data are measured in central standard time (CST) that is 6 h behind Greenwich mean time (GMT - 6). Meteorological data are time series in comma-delimited .txt files organised by station. Snow survey data are stored in the .xlsx files. Historical snow survey data are summarised in a single time series file. Recent snow survey data are organised by site for a water year. Recent streamflow data are time series and are stored in .csv files and are organised by the gauge station. Additional readme files are provided for notes on missing data, data measurement periods and units, and no measurement due to wildlife interruption. Additional GIS shapefiles are provided to show locations of historical and recent hydrometeorological and hydrometric stations as well as historical and recent snow survey transects.

Data presented in this paper provide support to ongoing research in MCRB, a mountain basin located in the Front Range of the Canadian Rockies. The data include 11 water years of hourly gap-filled air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, precipitation, incoming solar radiation, and soil temperature from 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2016 as well as 18 water years of hourly air temperature, relatively humidity, and wind speed as well as daily precipitation from 1 October 1969 to 30 September 1987. These meteorological datasets are useful for driving hydrological models and carrying out diagnostic change detection analysis in the basin. In addition, 15 min quality-controlled data including other hydrometeorological variables such as snow depth, soil temperature, and soil moisture are presented from 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2016; these data have gaps but are useful for diagnosing model performance in snow accumulation, soil moisture, and temperature. Snow survey data are included for the historical period from 1963 to 1986 and the current period from 2007 to 2016. Hourly streamflow is provided for Cabin, Middle, and Twin Creeks from 2007 to 2012, Upper Marmot Creek from 2007 to 2016, and Marmot Creek after June 2013 flood from 26 June 2013 to 2016. Daily streamflow for Cabin Creek, Middle Creek, Twin Creek, and Upper Marmot Creek from 1963 to 1986 and Marmot Creek daily streamflow from 1962 to 19 June 2013 can be obtained from the ECCC Water Survey of Canada's “historical hydrometric data search” website. In addition, data from several groundwater wells in Marmot Creek can be accessed from AEP's “Groundwater Observation Well Network (GOWN)” website. In all, these long-term meteorological and hydrometric datasets are a legacy of previous and current research activities conducted in MCRB and support ongoing efforts to detect and diagnose climate change in the basin and region, examine extreme hydrometeorological events (i.e. drought and flood), and diagnose the basin response to land cover changes caused by stressors such as insect infestations, fire, and forest harvesting. This dataset ultimately serves to advance our knowledge of hydrology of the Canadian Rockies.