Earth Surface Processes Team - Central Region

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Data Format and description: Explanation of CLIM-MET Site Data

All sensors are monitored every 4 seconds with the exception of soil moisture which is sampled once per hour. The 4 second resolution measurements are averaged and saved once per hour.

These sites also store higher resolution data (at 5-minute intervals) when either, or both of two conditions occur:

  1. The average wind speed for that 5-minute period is above a threshold where it is believed saltation might occur.
  2. The sensit erosion monitor has had a particle or particles strike it during that 5- minute period.
This allows a closer examination of the conditions occurring during saltation events. These data are stored in a separate file and are not continuously stored (not a contiguous file). For a given period of time this data file can then be very large or very small depending upon how many saltation events may have (or not have) occurred.

Data from each site is available in several processed resolutions including: Annual, Monthly, Daily, Hourly and 5-minute averages.


Contact Information

Inquiries about the sites, data, etc. should be directed to Frank Urban or Richard Reynolds
U.S. Geological Survey
Denver Federal Center
Box 25046, MS 980
Lakewood, CO 80225


Site Information

Each data file has a "metadata" header similar to the text below. Please read and acknowledge use of the data accordingly.

USGS/CLIM-MET site code: SWxxx
USGS/CLIM-MET site name: xxx
latitude: xxx
longitude: xxx
elevation: xxx
install_date: xxx


Acknowledgement Policy

If you use USGS/CLIM-MET data,

  1. Please notify us (email) when you begin to use data and for what general purpose.
  2. Please notify us (email) and acknowledge us (references) when USGS/CLIM-MET data are used or presented in published media.
    Current citation: "CLIM-MET data obtained from http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/info/sw/clim-met/"
  3. Please send us paper or electronic copies of any published media that use USGS/CLIM-MET data.


Definitions

YR: Year of Data Collection
DOY: Julian Day-Of-Year
Hr: Mountain or Pacific Daylight Time
Uspd: Windspeed in m/s
Udir: Wind direction in degrees
Tgrad: Air Temperature Gradient (°C)
SenPC: Total Sensit Particle Count
SenKE: Total Sensit Kinetic Energy Count
Smost: Soil Moisture %
PeakUspd: Peak Windspeed m/s
PeakTime: Peak Windspeed Time
So_d: Downwelling Shortwave Flux (W/m2)
So_u: Upwelling Shortwave Flux (W/m2)
Tair: Air Temperature 3-m above surface (°C)
RH: Relative Humidity %
Tg: Ground Temperature 10-cm below surface (°C)
Rain: Rainfall mm/hour
Alb: Albedo
-999: (data were missing or bad)
NaN: (data were missing or bad)

*Variable Names With Added "2" identifier are 5-minute resolution data*

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Page Last Modified: Wed 15-Mar-2006 14:40:38 MST