Estimating temperature normals for USCRN stations

Sun, Bomin; Peterson, Thomas C.

doi:10.1002/joc.1220

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In fact, the limited time series available inspired Sun andPeterson (2005, 2006) to develop an improved method for generating estimated normals, or pseudonormals, for temperature and precipitation at USCRN stations with brief time series. This work was later expanded to estimate normals for many incomplete station records in the 1981-2010 normals period (Arguez et al 2012).…”

Section: How Are Uscrn Observations Being Used?mentioning

confidence: 99%

U.S. Climate Reference Network after One Decade of Operations: Status and Assessment

Diamond

Karl

Palecki

et al. 2013

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

340

237

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The year 2012 marks a decade of observations undertaken by the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) under the auspices of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center and Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division. The network consists of 114 sites across the conterminous 48 states, with additional sites in Alaska and Hawaii. Stations are installed in open (where possible), rural sites very likely to have stable land-cover/use conditions for several decades to come. At each site a suite of meteorological parameters are monitored, including triple redundancy for the primary air temperature and precipitation variables and for soil moisture/temperature. Instrumentation is regularly calibrated to National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) standards and maintained by a staff of expert engineers. This attention to detail in USCRN is intended to ensure the creation of an unimpeachable record of changes in surface climate over the United States for decades to come. Data are made available without restriction for all public, private, and government use. This article describes the rationale for the USCRN, its implementation, and some of the highlights of the first decade of operations. One critical use of these observations is as an independent data source to verify the existing U.S. temperature record derived from networks corrected for nonhomogenous histories. Future directions for the network are also discussed, including the applicability of USCRN approaches for networks monitoring climate at scales from regional to global. Constructive feedback from end users will allow for continued improvement of USCRN in the future and ensure that it continues to meet stakeholder requirements for precise climate measurements.

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Section: How Are Uscrn Observations Being Used?mentioning

confidence: 99%

U.S. Climate Reference Network after One Decade of Operations: Status and Assessment

Diamond

Karl

Palecki

et al. 2013

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

340

237

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…USCRN and USHCN version 2 air temperature measurements cannot be directly compared in raw form, as air temperature is measured by an instrument aspirated by a fan in the case of USCRN, and primarily by natural ventilation in USHCN. Instead, a regression‐based method was developed to estimate air temperature normals for each USCRN station using observations from the surrounding Cooperative Observer Network as described by Sun and Peterson [2005]. Subtracting the estimated normals from the monthly USCRN air temperatures then produces a time series of monthly air temperature departures from normal that are compatible with the predecessor observation technology used throughout the USHCN, but with year‐to‐year variations that are independent of the USHCN.…”

Section: Independent Verification Of Recent Ushcn Annual Temperaturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the reliability of the U.S. surface temperature record

Menne¹,

Williams²,

Palecki³

2010

J. Geophys. Res.

102

100

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[1] Recent photographic documentation of poor siting conditions at stations in the U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) has led to questions regarding the reliability of surface temperature trends over the conterminous United States (CONUS). To evaluate the potential impact of poor siting/instrument exposure on CONUS temperatures, trends derived from poor and well sited USHCN stations were compared. Results indicate that there is a mean bias associated with poor exposure sites relative to good exposure sites; however, this bias is consistent with previously documented changes associated with the widespread conversion to electronic sensors in the USHCN during the last 25 years. Moreover, the sign of the bias is counterintuitive to photographic documentation of poor exposure because associated instrument changes have led to an artificial negative ("cool") bias in maximum temperatures and only a slight positive ("warm") bias in minimum temperatures. These results underscore the need to consider all changes in observation practice when determining the impacts of siting irregularities. Further, the influence of nonstandard siting on temperature trends can only be quantified through an analysis of the data. Adjustments applied to USHCN Version 2 data largely account for the impact of instrument and siting changes, although a small overall residual negative ("cool") bias appears to remain in the adjusted maximum temperature series. Nevertheless, the adjusted USHCN temperatures are extremely well aligned with recent measurements from instruments whose exposure characteristics meet the highest standards for climate monitoring. In summary, we find no evidence that the CONUS average temperature trends are inflated due to poor station siting.

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“…However, for the purposes of discussing station performance at altitude, two groups of stations in the west were separated by elevation to examine the recent western temperature record. Seasonal temperature departures relative to 1971-2000 estimated normals (Sun and Peterson 2005) were calculated for the 13 highest-and 12 lowestelevation stations in the west and were compared to see if the climate signal varies with altitude for the 2004-08 period. While there is no known elevation bias in the quality of the estimated normals, it should be noted that estimated normals for higher-elevation stations are usually based on long-term stations located at a wider range of altitudes than used in estimating normals for stations at lower elevations.…”

Section: Uscrn Temperature Observations In the Western United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observing Climate at High Elevations Using United States Climate Reference Network Approaches

Palecki

Groisman

2011

Journal of Hydrometeorology

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The U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) was deployed between 2001 and 2008 for the purpose of yielding high-quality and temporally stable in situ climate observations in pristine environments over the twenty-first century. Given this mission, USCRN stations are engineered to operate largely autonomously with great reliability and accuracy. A triplicate approach is used to provide redundant measurements of temperature and precipitation at each location, allowing for observations at a specific time to be compared for quality control. This approach has proven to be robust in the most extreme environments, from extreme cold (2498C) to extreme heat (1528C), in areas of heavy precipitation (4700 mm yr 21 ), and in locations impacted by strong winds, freezing rain, and other hazards. In addition to a number of stations enduring extreme winter environments in Alaska and the northern United States, seven of the USCRN stations are located at elevations over 2000 m, including stations on Mauna Loa, Hawaii (3407 m) and on Niwot Ridge above Boulder, Colorado (2996 m). The USCRN temperature instruments and radiation shield have also been installed and run successfully at a station on the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru (5670 m). This paper reviews the performance of the USCRN station network during its brief lifetime and the potential utility of its triplicate temperature instrument configuration for measuring climate change at elevation.

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Estimating temperature normals for USCRN stations

Cited by 9 publications

References 7 publications

U.S. Climate Reference Network after One Decade of Operations: Status and Assessment

U.S. Climate Reference Network after One Decade of Operations: Status and Assessment

On the reliability of the U.S. surface temperature record

Observing Climate at High Elevations Using United States Climate Reference Network Approaches

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