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### Overview This data release includes surface nuclear magnetic resonance (sNMR) data collected as part of the SUN-SPEARS project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation (Award number 2015329) and is concerned with studying soil evolution in high Arctic environments post glacial retreat. Within SUN-SPEARS, data are collected on a chronosequence from very recently deglaciated to older locations which have been exposed for decades to centuries. In this data release, sNMR data from two sites are included: site 1 which was collected approximately 15 meters (m) from the snout of the glacier, and site 2 which was located approximately 1000 m from the snout of the glacier, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates are included for more precise locations. ### Access Data files can be accessed via: [https://arcticdata.io/data/10.18739/A23X83N25](https://arcticdata.io/data/10.18739/A23X83N25) 

Abstract Biologists have long pondered the extreme limits of life on Earth, including the maximum elevation at which species can live and reproduce. Here we review evidence of a self-sustaining population of mice at an elevation that exceeds that of all previously reported for mammals. Five expeditions over 10 years to Volcán Llullaillaco on the Argentina/Chile border observed and collected mice at elevations ranging from 5,070 m at the mountain’s base to the summit at 6,739 m (22,110 feet). Previously unreported evidence includes observations and photographs of live animals and mummified remains, environmental DNA, and a soil microbial community reflecting animal activity that are evaluated in combination with previously reported video recordings and capture of live mice. All of the evidence identifies the mouse as the leaf-eared mouse Phyllotis vaccarum, and it robustly places the population within a haplotype group containing individuals from the Chilean Atacama Desert and nearby regions of Argentina. A critical review of the literature affirms that this population is not only an elevational record for mammals but for all terrestrial vertebrates to date, and we further find that many extreme elevations previously reported for mammals are based on scant or dubious evidence.