> Laboratory Highlight: ARL to begin transmitting data from the first USHCN-Modernization stations
ARL to
begin transmitting data from the first USHCN-Modernization stations
Beginning the week of October 5, ARL will turn on the first 10 United
States Historical Climatology Network-Modernization (USHCN-M) stations
to begin transmitting regional climate data. These 10 stations are a
part of a pilot project deployment of 141 stations in the southwest:
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Modernization of NOAA's HCN
was designated as a major program for NOAA in 2007. The HCN is a 1,221
station sub-set of the National Weather Service's Cooperative Observer
Network, which collects daily and monthly records of basic
meteorological variables (precipitation and temperature). The USCHN-M is
based on the design of, and inter-operability with, NOAA's US Climate
Reference Network, a national climate network for temperature and
precipitation. The USHCN-M Pilot Project is a partnership among three
NOAA offices: OAR's Air Resources Laboratory, National Weather Service,
and the NESDIS National Climatic Data Center. Project governance is
through an Executive Steering Committee comprised of senior managers
from the three NOAA offices. Completion of the modernization will allow
NOAA to better meet the mission of providing the nation with data
regarding the state of a region's climate.
Background: The USHCN-M is a new network for regional climate monitoring of temperature and
precipitation that will include a combination of existing HCN locations,
U.S. Climate Reference Network stations, and new locations. Station
location is based on an evenly dispersed grid to ensure greater
geographical coverage. The stations are automated with 5-minute
observations available hourly and three independent measurements of
temperature and precipitation for reliability. Additional measurements,
such as soil temperature, soil moisture, snow fall, and snow depth, may
be collected as funding allows. The Air Resources Laboratory's
Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division provides the engineering
and technical support for the pilot stations, tests new future
instruments and practices at these stations, and analyzes the
observations.
Significance: The lack of high quality surface
measurements of precipitation and air temperature historically has
hampered the ability of climate scientists to fully characterize the
national and regional climate signals with confidence. In order to
detect regional climate change over the next 50-100 years, NOAA is
implementing the USHCN-M. Completion of the modernization will allow
NOAA to better meet the mission of providing the nation with data
regarding the state of a region's climate.
ARL to
begin transmitting data from the first USHCN-Modernization stations