Fort Valley Experimental Forest 30-minute meteorological data: 2003-present

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Huebner, Dan P.

Publication_Date: 2010

Title:

Fort Valley Experimental Forest 30-minute meteorological data: 2003-present

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Fort Collins, CO

Publisher: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2010-0001

Description:

Abstract:

This data publication includes precipitation and temperature data summarized every 30 minutes from March 2003 to March 2013 at the Fort Valley Experimental Forest in Arizona. Information on how to access the data collected at this site from as early as 1909 from the Nation Climate Data Center (NCDC) is also included.

Purpose:

The Coconino Experiment Station (later Fort Valley Experiment Station) was established in 1908 to investigate reproduction in ponderosa pine forests. Regular meteorological observations have been made since that time to support this and other research.

Supplemental_Information:

At the time this documentation was written, the temperature and precipitation data for this site from 1909 - 2014 were available through the National Climate Data Center (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov, see Data Access / Global Historical Climatology Network-Daily). The station name was "Fort Valley, AZ US" and the station id was "GHCND:USC00023160". See the Process Steps below for more details.

Additional information about the Fort Valley Experimental Forest can be found at https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/fort-valley/.

Original metadata date was 10/10/10. Metadata modified on 02/04/11 to adjust citation to include the addition of a DOI (digital object identifier). On 8/17/2011 metadata modified to include additional information about data available via the online query. Minor metadata updates made on 07/29/2013 in addition to including a few more years of data. On 10/14/2014 additional metadata updates were made. Minor metadata updates on 12/20/2016.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 2003

Ending_Date: 2013

Currentness_Reference:

ground condition

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent:

The Fort Valley Experimental Forest is comprised of approximately 5270 acres of forest in five disjunct units in the area of Flagstaff, Arizona on the Coconino National Forest. A map is available as browse graphic. The weather station is in unit 2.

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -111.74259

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -111.74259

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 35.26778

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 35.26778

Bounding_Altitudes:

Altitude_Minimum: 7340

Altitude_Maximum: 7340

Altitude_Distance_Units: feet

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category

Theme_Keyword: biota

Theme_Keyword: climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: National Research & Development Taxonomy

Theme_Keyword: Climate change

Theme_Keyword: Climatology

Theme_Keyword: Inventory, Monitoring, & Analysis

Theme_Keyword: Monitoring

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: precipitation

Theme_Keyword: temperature

Theme_Keyword: meteorological data

Theme_Keyword: EFR

Theme_Keyword: Experimental Forest and Range

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Place_Keyword: Fort Valley

Place_Keyword: Arizona

Place_Keyword: Coconino National Forest

Place_Keyword: Fort Valley Experimental Forest

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints:

These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:

Huebner, Dan P. 2010. Fort Valley Experimental Forest 30-minute meteorological data: 2003-present. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Data publication updated 14 October 2014. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2010-0001

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Keith Moser

Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems Program

Contact_Position: Research Forester

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: 2500 S. Pine Knoll Drive

City: Flagstaff

State_or_Province: AZ

Postal_Code: 86001

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 928-556-2046

Browse_Graphic:

Browse_Graphic_File_Name: \Supplements\FortValleyEF_instrumentation_Jul06.jpg

Browse_Graphic_File_Description:

Photograph of the Fort Valley Experimental Forest meteorological instrumentation in July of 2006. A=107 temperature probe, B=unrelated Davis WeatherMonitor II station, C=tipping bucket rain gage, D=lightning rod, E=enclosure for CR10 data logger. Distance between 107 probe and tipping bucket is 45 feet.

Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPEG

Browse_Graphic:

Browse_Graphic_File_Name: \Supplements\FortValleyEF_thinning_Dec06.jpg

Browse_Graphic_File_Description:

Photograph of the Fort Valley Experiment Station meteorological station in December of 2006. It shows thinning that occurred in early December of 2006 for a restoration/fuels treatment project.

Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPEG

Browse_Graphic:

Browse_Graphic_File_Name: \Supplements\FortValleyEF_unit_map.jpg

Browse_Graphic_File_Description:

Map showing the five units of Fort Valley Experimental Forest. The Meteorological station is located in unit 2.

Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPEG

Browse_Graphic:

Browse_Graphic_File_Name: \Supplements\FortValleyEF_radiation_shields.jpg

Browse_Graphic_File_Description:

Photograph showing radiation shields. The shield on the left was used from station automation (1993) to 1100 June 2, 2008. At that time the radiation shield was replaced with unit at right of photograph.

Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPEG

Data_Set_Credit:

Funding for this project provided by Northern Arizona University School of Forestry and the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Credit is due to G.A.Pearson for foresight in beginning this long term data set and to those managers along the way who permitted their employees to continue building this data set. A large number of Forest Service employees have contributed to equipment matters and data collection over the past century. During the period May 1998 - March 2003 maintenance and data was collection was the responsibility of Northern Arizona University School of Forestry through memorandum of understanding between the Rocky Mountain Research Station and Northern Arizona University School of Forestry.

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

Precipitation values +/- 0.5% at 0.5 inches per hour, +/- 1% at 1 to 3 inches per hour, 0.01 inch resolution. Temperature accuracy +/- 0.4 degrees C (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) in the range -24 degrees Celsius to 48 degrees Celsius. These values are from manufacturer literature.

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Within five days after the end of the month the data are summarized by day, reviewed and error checked by comparing to MMTS equipment. Discrepancies are addressed as needed using a consumer grade weather station on site for additional reference (rarely needed). The summary is sent to the National Weather Service and is incorporated into their long term data set.

Completeness_Report:

These archive records begin March 23, 2003 at 0700 mountain standard time.

IMPORTANT NOTES - PRECIPITATION

Precipitation totals including the following periods will be incorrect (under-represented).

July 1 2003 to 1830 MST August 25, 2003 missing data (Data logger Station sent to Campbell Scientific for calibration. Station Data logger programming simplified.)

The tipping bucket rain gauge was out of service from approximately March 15, 2005 thru April 24, 2005 at 13:00 MST. The bucket had come out of the pivot point. Repaired April 24, 2005 13:00.

The tipping bucket was malfunctioning from an unknown date after September 8, 2005 to October 18, 2005 at 1730 MST. This missed a significant rain event October 17-18. A new reed switch was installed.

IMPORTANT NOTES - TEMPERATURE

April 28, 2008: National Weather Service (NWS) installed Max/Min Temperature Sensor (MMTS) and Standard Rain Gauge (SRG) on site. Temperature comparisons between NWS equipment and our 107 probe showed significant differences for daily high temperature. This difference was generally 1 to 3 degrees F with one day showing a difference of 4 degrees F (higher readings on our 107 probe). These comparisons can be viewed in FortValleyEF_data_compare.html (file is available through the data publication download - see the Distribution section below). Since the NWS equipment was checked for calibration (with a series of fixed resistors) at the time of installation it was used as a standard. It was noted that the MMTS solar radiation shield on the NWS equipment was larger in size than the 41301 Gill Multi-Plate Radiation Shield on our 107 probe.

June 2, 2008: To determine if this difference in shelter design was related to the difference in temperature we replaced the smaller shield on our 107 probe with one identical to one on NWS equipment (though it had a little yellowing from UV - it was a used unit). As of June 4, 2008 it seems this has brought high temperature readings within 1 degree F of NWS equipment. This suggests that the solar radiation shield installed on our 107 probe at time of station automation has skewed daily high temperatures in weather record upward. Perhaps the greatest influence was on sunny days with little breeze as these shelters are naturally aspirated. A photograph of the two radiation shields is available as browse graphic above.

Lineage:

Methodology:

Methodology_Type: Field

Methodology_Description:

These data are collected using a Campbell Scientific CR-10 data logger, a Campbell Scientific 107 temperature probe in a passively aspirated radiation shield 62 inches above ground , and a MetOne 12 inch heated (series 385) tipping bucket rain gauge, top of funnel is 56 inches above ground. Data are summarized on the CR-10 and uploaded to a server every 30 minutes using PC208W software.

In the first half of December 2006 the grounds of the Fort Valley Experiment Station, including the proximity of the meteorological station, trees were significantly thinned in a restoration/fuels treatment project. A post thinning photograph (FortValleyEF_thinning_Dec06.jpg) can be used to get a qualitative sense of change from pre-thinned condition (FortValleyEF_instrumentation_Jul06.jpg). Both photographs are available through the full data publication download.

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Fort Valley meteorological data prior to March 2003 were submitted to the Weather Service in daily summary form as a part of the cooperative weather station program. The Weather Service put the data through their quality control and quality assurance checks and then made these data (August of 1909 to March 2003) available through the National Climatic Data Center website as noted above.

Starting in March of 2003 the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station took over the quality control and quality assurance processes for these data and have hence made these data available in a raw electronic format, summarized for each 30-minute period. Daily summaries continue to be submitted to the Weather Service each month. The result is that daily summaries from 1909 to present are available from the NCDC and 30-minute summaries are available March 2003 to March 2013 in this archive.

As of 2013, the data are being processed by NCDC and only available through their website.

Process_Date: Unknown

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Overview_Description:

Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

This data publication contains 12 comma-delimited ASCII text files.

\Data\FortValleyEF_meteorology_YYYY.csv (where YYYY=year) contain the following variables:

COL1 = cfg = configuration code;

COL2 = Year = year of observation in format yyyy;

COL3 = Dayofyr = numeric day of year (ex Jan 1 = 1, Dec 31 = 365 in non-leap years);

COL4 = Time = Mountain Standard Time (MST) of observation. (ex 1:30 am = 130, 10:00 pm = 2200);

COL5 = BattVolt = voltage of gel cell battery in weather station;

COL6 = IntTempC = temperature (degrees Celcius) inside of station enclosure (measured for internal purposes only);

COL7 = TempObsF = temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) at time of observation as indicated in Time field;

COL8 = TempMaxF = maximum temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) for half hour period (temperature measured every 2 seconds);

COL9 = TimeMax = MST of maximum temperature for half hour period;

COL10 = TempMinF = minimum temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) for half hour period (temperature measured every 2 seconds);

COL11 = TimeMin = MST of minimum temperature for half hour period; and

COL12 = Precip01in = total precipitation for half hour period in hundredths of inches (ex 12 = 0.12 inches).


\Data\FortValleyEF_data_compare.csv contains data showing the effect of the radiation shield replacement. The table includes the followng variables:

COL1 = Date = date of measurement (mm/dd/yyyy where mm=month, dd=day, and yyyy=year);

COL2 = NWS precip (in.) = National Weather Service (NWS) daily precipitation (inches);

COL3 = NWS high F = NWS daily maximum temperature (Fahrenheit);

COL4 = NWS low F = NWS daily minimum temperature (Fahrenheit);

COL5 = RMRS precip (in.) = Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) daily precipitation (inches);

COL6 = RMRS high F = RMRS daily maximum temperature (Fahrenheit); and

COL7 = RMRS low F = RMRS daily maximum temperature (Fahrenheit).

COL8 = Comments.

Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

None provided

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Research and Development

Contact_Position: Research Data Archivist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: 240 West Prospect Road

City: Fort Collins

State_or_Province: CO

Postal_Code: 80526

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: see Contact Instructions

Contact Instructions: This contact information was current as of December 2016. For current information see Contact Us page on: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS.

Resource_Description: RDS-2010-0001

Distribution_Liability:

Metadata documents have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness. Unless otherwise stated, all data and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. However, neither the author, the Archive, nor any part of the federal government can assure the reliability or suitability of these data for a particular purpose. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed for a user's application of these data or related materials.

The metadata, data, or related materials may be updated without notification. If a user believes errors are present in the metadata, data or related materials, please use the information in (1) Identification Information: Point of Contact, (2) Metadata Reference: Metadata Contact, or (3) Distribution Information: Distributor to notify the author or the Archive of the issues.

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: ASCII

Format_Version_Number: see Format Specification

Format_Specification:

Comma-delimited ASCII text file (CSV)

File_Decompression_Technique: Files zipped with WinZip 14.0

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2010-0001

Fees: None

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20161220

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Keith Moser

Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

Contact_Position: Research Forester

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: 2500 S. Pine Knoll Drive

City: Flagstaff

State_or_Province: AZ

Postal_Code: 86001

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 928-556-2046

Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standard for National Biological Information Infrastructure Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001.1-1999