The Ivotuk study area is located on the North Slope of Alaska, in the central southern coastal plains north of the Brooks Range (Lat: 68* 29' N, Long:155* 44' W). It is flanked on the west by Iteriak Creek and the Ivotuk Hills, and on the east by Otuk Creek. The airstrip and short road at the site were originally developed for geologic exploration in the early 1980's. The study area itself was officially established in 1998 as part of the Arctic Transitions in the Land-Atmosphere System (ATLAS) project.

The meteorological and soil data archived here represents a continuous record of Ivotuk site conditions since July of 1998. Two Met stations were established for this purpose: Met 1 (Moss) and Met 2 (Shrub). Instrumentation was installed on 3-meter towers at both sites in July of 1998, with additional instrumentation installed on a 10-meter tower at Met Site 1 in the Spring/Summer of 1999 (10 m tower replacing 3 m tower). Several instruments were added to the existing 3-meter tower at Met Site 2 in July of 1999.