Nebraska Average Monthly or Annual Precipitation, 1961-90

Metadata:


Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Chris Daly of Oregon State University and George Taylor of the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University
Publication_Date: 199804
Title: Nebraska Average Monthly or Annual Precipitation, 1961-90
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Portland, Oregon, USA
Publisher:
Water and Climate Center of the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Description:
Abstract:
This ftp site contains spatially gridded precipitation of average monthly and annual precipitation for the climatological period 1961-90. Distribution of the point measurements to a spatial grid was accomplished using the PRISM model, developed by Chris Daly of PRISM Services/Oregon State University. Care should be taken in estimating precipitation values at any single point on the map. Precipitation estimated for each grid cell is an average over the entire area of that cell; thus, point precipitation can be estimated at a spatial precision no better than half the resolution of a cell. For example, the Oregon precipitation data was distributed at a resolution of approximately 4km. Therefore, point precipitation can be estimated at a spatial precision no better than 2km. However, the overall distribution of precipitation features is thought to be accurate. For further information, the online PRISM homepage can be found at http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/.

Purpose:
Display and/or analyses requiring spatially distributed monthly or annual precipitation for the climatological period 1961-90.

Supplemental_Information:
This data set was re-projected to Stateplane, NAD83, fipszone 2600 for use in the Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study using the ARCINFO PROJECT command. There are many methods of interpolating precipitation from monitoring stations to grid points. Some provide estimates of acceptable accuracy in flat terrain, but few have been able to adequately explain the extreme, complex variations in precipitation that occur in mountainous regions. Significant progress in this area has been achieved through the development of PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model). PRISM is an analytical model that uses point data and a digital elevation model (DEM) to generate gridded estimates of monthly and annual precipitation (as well as other climatic parameters). PRISM is well suited to regions with mountainous terrain, because it incorporates a conceptual framework that addresses the spatial scale and pattern of orographic precipitation.

Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 19610101
Ending_Date: 19901231
Currentness_Reference:
Climatological period from which the point observations were taken.

Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:
None planned for the 1961-90 climatological period. However, this data set will most likely be updated in 2001 for the new 1971-2000 climatological period.

Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -104.895833333333
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -94.812500000000
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 43.479166666667
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.229166666667
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: raster data
Theme_Keyword: precipitation
Theme_Keyword: grid cell
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Nebraska, USA
Access_Constraints:
n/a, no restrictions apply

Use_Constraints:
Acknowledgement of the following agencies in products derived from these data: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Water and Climate Center, NRCS National Cartography and Geospatial Center (NCGC), PRISM Model, and the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University.

Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address:
Strand Ag Hall 326, Oregon Climate Service, Oregon State University
City: Corvallis
State_or_Province: OR
Postal_Code: 97331-2209
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (541) 737-5705
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (541) 737-5710
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: oregon@oce.orst.edu

Security_Information:
Security_Classification_System: None
Security_Classification: Unclassified
Security_Handling_Description: None
Native_Data_Set_Environment: SunOS, 5.5.1, sun4m UNIX


Data_Quality_Information:
Logical_Consistency_Report:
All data were based on the same averaging period (1961-1990). Similar quality assurance procedures were used with all input data sets.
Completeness_Report:
Point estimates of precipitation originated from the following sources: National Weather Service Cooperative (COOP) stations, 2) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) SNOTEL, 3) local networks. All COOP station data were subjected to quality control checks by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).
Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
Accuracy of this data set is based on the original specification of the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) 1 degree digital elevation models (DEM). The stated accuracy of the original DEMs are 130 m circular error with 90% probability.
Quantitative_Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Assessment:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Value: 130 m with 90% probability.
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Explanation:
The broad DMA production objective for 1-degree DEM's.
Lineage:
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
Publication_Date: 1991
Title:
U.S. National 1961-1990 Climate Normals, Climatography of the United States No. 81
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Asheville, NC, USA
Publisher: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
Type_of_Source_Media: digital files
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 19610101
Ending_Date: 19901231
Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CLIM81
Source_Contribution:
Location and values of known average monthly and annual precipitation
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Natural Resources Conservation Service
Publication_Date: 1991
Title:
Cooperative Snow Survey Data of Federal - State - Private Cooperative Snow Surveys
Series_Information:
Series_Name:
Cooperative Snow Survey Data of Federal - State - Private Cooperative Snow Surveys
Issue_Identification: Annual issue for Western US states
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Portland, OR, USA
Publisher:
Natural Resources Conservation Service, Water and Climate Center
Type_of_Source_Media: digital files, paper reports, online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 19610101
Ending_Date: 19901231
Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: SNOTEL (SNOwpack TELemetry)
Source_Contribution:
Location and values of known average monthly and annual precipitation
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Natural Resources Conservation Service, Water and Climate Center
Publication_Date: Unpublished material
Title: Local Precipitation monitoring networks
Type_of_Source_Media: digital files
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 19610101
Ending_Date: 19901231
Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: LOCAL
Source_Contribution:
Location and values of known average monthly and annual precipitation
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Defense Mapping Agency
Publication_Date: 1985
Title:
1:250,000-scale Digital Elevation Models (DEM) also known as 1-Degree DEM's
Online_Linkage: http://edc.usgs.gov/geodata/
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Washington, DC
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Type_of_Source_Media: digital files
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 1985
Source_Currentness_Reference: Publication Date
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: DEM
Source_Contribution:
Terrain surface input to PRISM model for estimation of precipitaion between known points.

Process_Step:
Process_Description:
It is beyond the scope of this metadata to document the processes involved in generating spatially gridded precipitation using the PRISM model. However, the processes are documented in numerous conference proceedings and journal articles. The references can be found online at http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/.
Process_Date: 199804


Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Raster
Raster_Object_Information:
Raster_Object_Type: Grid Cell
Row_Count: 102
Column_Count: 242


Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Geographic:
Latitude_Resolution: .04166666666
Longitude_Resolution: .04166666666
Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: World Geodetic Spheroid 1972 (WGS 1972)
Ellipsoid_Name: WGS72
Semi-major_Axis: 6378135.0
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.26


Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: average precipitation grid cell value
Entity_Type_Definition: ASCII values
Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Self-evident
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: average precipitation grid cell value
Attribute_Definition: spatially gridded average precipitation
Attribute_Definition_Source:
Daly, C., R.P. Neilson, and D.L. Phillips, 1994: A Statistical-Topographic Model for Mapping Climatological Precipitation over Mountainous Terrain. J. Appl. Meteor., 33,140-158.
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 0
Range_Domain_Maximum: 1500000
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: <=-1
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: no data available or outside of range domain
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Oregon Climate Service PRISM Project
Attribute_Units_of_Measure: mm * 100
Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 1


Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Oregon Climate Service
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address: 316 Strand Agricultural Hall
City: Corvallis
State_or_Province: OR
Postal_Code: 97331
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (541) 737-5705
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (541) 737-5710
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: oregon@oce.orst.edu
Distribution_Liability:
This ftp site was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or misuse of the data, or for damage, transmission of viruses or computer contamination through the distribution of these data sets or for the usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: ARC/INFO ASCII Grid
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address: :http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/
Fees: none
Technical_Prerequisites:
Geographic data are intended for use in a Geographic Information System (GIS). In addition, this publication contains menu and display programs that operate 16 Mb RAM (absolute minimum), CD-ROM drive with ISO 9660 software driver, Graphics card (640x480 pixels with 256 colors, prefer 1024x1024 with 65,535 colors), Color monitor, mouse, and keyboard.


Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 19980423
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Tye Parzybok
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address:
Strand Ag Hall 326, Oregon Climate Service, Oregon State University
City: Corvallis
State_or_Province: OR
Postal_Code: 97331-2209
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (541) 737-5705
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (541) 737-5710
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: parzy@oce.orst.edu
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: 19940608
Metadata_Security_Information:
Metadata_Security_Classification_System: None
Metadata_Security_Classification: Unclassified
Metadata_Security_Handling_Description: None

Generated by mp on Tue Jun 30 15:02:14 1998