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The precipitation sensor did not perform reliably throughout the data collection period. The data were often affected by the presence of debris and bird fecal matter in the rain gauge. As a result, these data were removed from completely from the database. As an alternative, please see the “Raindaze” database currently held at the Baruch Institute’s Marine Field Laboratory or at Baruch’s on-line website.
Relative humidity was not recorded as part of the meteorological station, however, a National Weather Service (NWS) observing station was located approximately 1200 ft from the meteorological station. A minimum and maximum daily value was recorded from 1987 to 1995. If the data are not available on-line, contact the Baruch Data Manager and request the NWS data.
Three documents have been made available along with the climate data. These include the Climatronics Meteorological System Log, Meteorological Missing Data Documentation, and Meteorological Anomalous Data Documentation. The Climatronics Meteorological System Log (Filename= LTERMET.ClimatSysLog) is a complete log of problems and maintenance on the weather station. It is also the only documentation available from the weather technicians regarding data that were censored or manipulated. The log is often incomplete, and as a result, there is not always an explanation for data that is missing or corrections that may or may not have been made to the data. The missing (Filename= LTERMET.MissingData) and anomalous data (Filename= LTERMET.AnomalousData) documents were made available to help point out these inconsistencies. The missing data document notes the date and time of missing data and gives an explanation from the Met System Log if one is available. The anomalous data document points out data that was found to be questionable or erroneous by the data reviewer. It also correlates this data with comments and possible explanations from the system log when possible. All three of these documents, along with this metadata should be utilized along with the climate data (access via web: http://links.baruch.sc.edu/data/LTERMET/metadata/metadata.htm). All data and metadata were reviewed and verified by Baruch data managers and finalized in January 2002.
The publication date for this data set is 05/15/2002. However, this is the second version of these data and metadata to be released. The first version was released in October of 1992 on the LTER web page and these same data were available on Baruch’s Web presentation using Gopher access until 1999.
Oyster Landing Bounding Coordinates:
Following the loss of the original meteorological station, September 21, 1989 through December 31, 1990 a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) meteorological station was borrowed and collected data from October 14, 1989 to December 31, 1990 in 5 minute increments. The NCAR system sent a signal every 15 minutes by satellite to a computer at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado. Once there, the data were recorded onto tapes. These tapes were then sent to the Baruch Marine Laboratory where the data were downloaded and reformatted by the University of South Carolina, Computer Services Division’s (CSD).
On December 31, 1990, a new Campbell Scientific CR10 measurement and control module meteorological system was installed. The raw data output provided by this system were read and reformatted into a readable data set by a computer program called Smcom.exe, written by Baruch Institute data managers.
Until about 1993, all three station’s data files were written to ASCII files and saved in text space delimited format in the CSD computer storage system, CMS system. In January 1993 the files were read directly off of the weather station and the data was processed from csv format into a Microsoft Excel format where data were compiled by year, formatted, and saved in a text space delimited format. Final data files available on Baruch’s webpage are in csv (comma separated) format. See the Process Description Section for processing details and program descriptions.
Related Baruch / LTER / NIW NERR Meteorological Databases:
Related Climate Publications
Other Related Baruch / LTER / NIW NERR Datasets
Wind Velocity: ± 0.11 Meters per Second Wind Direction: ± 3.0 Degrees Air Temperature: ± 1.0% of full scale Water Temperature: ± 1.0% of full scale Solar Radiation (Eppley): ± 1.0% (measures wavelengths of 280 to 2800 nanometers) Water Level: ± 0.5% of full scale Conductivity: ± 1.0% of full scale Barometric Pressure: ± 1.0%There is no accuracy information available for the NCAR system utilized after Hurricane Hugo. We assume that the measurements provided by NCAR were at least as accurate as those from the other two meteorological systems, it is likely that they are more accurate.
Jan. 1991 - April 1996 Meteorological System Accuracy:
Wind Velocity: ± 0.12 Meters per Second Wind Direction: ± 4.0 degrees Air Temperature: ± 0.4 degrees Celsius Water Temperature: ± 0.4% degrees Celsius Solar Radiation (Eppley): ± 1.0%(measures wavelengths of 280 to 2800 nanometers) Water Level: Unknown, assume at least as accurate as former sensor which was ± 0.5% of full scale, probably more accurate. Conductivity: ± 0.5% of full scale Barometric Pressure: ± 0.5 millibars at +20 degrees C, ± 2.0 millibars at 0-40 degrees C Solar Radiation (Licor): ± 1.0% (measures wavelengths of 400 to 700 nanometers)
LTER.MET.1982.FINAL & LTER.MET.1982.FINAL.CSV to LTER.MET.1996.FINAL <ER.MET.1996.FINAL.CSV.
Variable Number of decimal places Date (mm/dd/yyyy) 0 Jday 0 Hour 0 Date/Time 0 Wind Velocity 1 Max Wind Velocity 1 Wind Direction 0 Air Temperature 1 Water Temperature 1 Solar Radiation (Eppley) 1 up to 9/89, 2 from 10/89 - 12/90, 3 from 1/91 to 2/96 Water Level 1 Conductivity 1 Barometric Pressure 0 Solar Radiation (Licor) 1
Date, Jday, Hour, and Date/Time have no decimal places assigned to them because they are integers, and are accurate to the whole number.
Wind Velocity: accuracy is to ±0.11 or ±0.12, so values were rounded to the nearest 10th or 1 decimal place.
Max Wind Velocity: accuracy is to ±0.11 or ±0.12, so values were rounded to the nearest 10th or 1 decimal place.
Wind Direction: accuracy is ± 3.0 or ± 4.0 degrees, so values were rounded to the nearest whole number.
Air Temperature: accuracy is ± 1.0% of full scale or ± 0.4 degrees Celsius, so one decimal place was kept.
Water Temperature: accuracy is ± 1.0% of full scale or ± 0.4 degrees Celsius, so one decimal place was kept.
Solar Radiation (Eppley): accuracy is ± 1.0% of the reading, so accuracy ranges from 0.00001 to 0.0299. A minimum of three decimal places are needed to use the database. The number of decimal places recorded in the Final data for the Eppley sensor is solely based on (or limited by) the number of decimal places in the original data files. From 1982 to 9/89, the original data managers and weather station technicians only kept one decimal place in the raw files. When the NCAR system was deployed (10/89 - 12/90), two decimal places were kept in the raw and edited files. From 1/1991 to 2/96, the weather technician/data manager recorded three decimal places in the raw downloaded file.
Water Level: accuracy is ± 0.5% of full scale which is 0.0 to 1.5 cm, so one decimal place was kept.
Conductivity: accuracy is ± 1.0% of full scale (before 9/1989) and ± 0.5% of full scale (beginning 1/91), so accuracy ranges from 0.001 to 0.7 before 9/1989 and 0.0005 to 0.35 after this. Therefore, one decimal place was kept. Barometric Pressure: accuracy is ± 1.0% of full scale before 9/1989 and ± 0.5 millibars at +20 degrees C, ± 2.0 millibars at 0 to 40 degrees C after this time. Therefore, no decimal places were kept with this sensor’s output.
Solar Radiation (Licor): accuracy is ± 1.0% of reading of 0 to approx. 2000. Since accuracy is based on the reading, one decimal place has been kept, but it is up to the user to note the decrease in accuracy as the reading increases.
A log of maintenance, problems, and observations relevant to the meteorological station may be found in the Climatronics Meteorological System Log. A list of observations or difficulties that may have led to anomalous data, also correlated with entries in the system log, may be found in the Anomalous Data Documentation file, called LTERMET.ANOMALOUSDATA.doc. These documents have been provided on-line with the database and are also published in the LTER Weather Compact Disk.
The weather station technicians’ log of maintenance, problems, and observations relevant to the meteorological station may be found in the Climatronics Meteorological System Log file, called LTERMET.ClimatSysLog.
Specific data availability information correlated to entries in the system log may be found in the Missing Data Documentation file, called LTERMET.MissingData. Missing data values are represented by periods in the dataset. The Missing Data Documentation (59 pages long) identifies data that are missing from the meteorological data set, 1982-1996.
A list of observations or difficulties that may have led to anomalous data, also correlated with entries in the Meteorological System Log, may be found in the Anomalous Data Documentation file called, LTERMET.AnomalousData. The Anomalous Data Documentation document identifies data that are present in the meteorological data set (1982-1996), but that the final data reviewer believes may be compromised in quality and accuracy. These entries are found under the heading “Data Review” and include the dates and times of the suspect readings. Entries made in the Climatronics Meteorological System Log on particular dates are also included in the Anomalous Data Documentation under the “Weather Log” heading for each year. The data reviewer included these System Log excerpts in an attempt to make the user aware of any potential problems with data quality. It is important to remember that the Weather Log is the only documentation available for use in checking for errors and anomalous data. There is no further documentation regarding what specific steps were taken by technicians to remove or correct anomalous data.
All three of these documents, LTERMET.ClimatSysLog, LTERMET.MissingData, and LTERMET.AnomalousData have been provided on-line (http://links.baruch.sc.edu/data/LTERMET/metadata/metadata.htm) and are also published in the LTER Weather Compact Disk.
System 1
During the phase preceding September 21, 1989, the Climatronics Corporation of Bohemia, NY, designed the system in use. It consisted of a remote meteorological system with telemetry and an IMP 803 cassette data acquisition system. The system was designed to measure and transmit wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, barometric pressure, solar radiation, precipitation (see Supplemental Information), water level, water temperature, and conductivity data. This system consisted of the following components:
Remote Site:
1. Wind Speed and Direction sensors with cross arm Climatronics Wind Mark III
2. Naturally Aspirated Temperature Shield w/ YSI 703 - Dual Element Air
Temperature Thermistor
3. Solar Radiation sensor with mount, Eppley 8-48 radiometer
4. Barometric Pressure sensor, YSI 2014 transducer
5. Precipitation Gauge, Belfort Instruments tipping bucket gauge
6. Water Depth, Enviro-Labs Water Level Sensor
7. Water Temperature, YSI 701 Water Temperature Thermistor
8. Conductivity Meter, YSI Conductivity Sensor, glass conductivity
cell and temperature compensator
9. Remote Meteorological System mainframe in a NEMA environmental
enclosure (with mounting hardware), housing the following equipment:
a. signal conditioning electronics
b. modem transmitter
c. conductivity meter
d. line protectors
10. Ten meter aluminum tower with guying kit
11. Cables, connectors and a sensor mounting boom
The wind cross arm was mounted to the 4 foot extension mast located at the top of the tower. The temperature shield and solar radiation sensor were mounted on a tower boom near the top of the tower. The precipitation gauge was mounted on a level surface approximately 20 meters from the tower base. The barometric pressure sensor was mounted inside of the NEMA enclosure. The water temperature, water level and conductivity cables were placed in a rigid PVC well in the water.
All of the sensor cables were wired through the signal line protector except the conductivity cell. The remote meteorological site’s NEMA enclosure housed the signal conditioning electronics, the conductivity meter, an AC/DC converter, and a battery back-up pack.
Base Site:
1. Pre-wired Instrument Cabinet containing a mainframe with a power supply and Modem Receiver, a multiplexing (MUX) recorder, and an IMP 803 Microprocessor based Cassette Data Acquisition System.
2. 2,500 feet of telemetry cable.
All sensors were scanned once per second (3600 times per hour) except wind direction, water level, and precipitation. Wind direction hourly data is based on a mean of 120 scans per hour. Final hourly data values are an average of the number of scans for the previous hour. Water level and precipitation (cumulative) values are instantaneous readings recorded at the time indicated.
System 2
Hurricane Hugo destroyed the original meteorological station on September 21, 1989. From October 14, 1989 through December 31, 1990, the meteorological system utilized was borrowed from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. The signal was scanned every second and a 5 minute mean was transmitted every 15 minutes to a satellite, which in turn sent the signal to a computer in Boulder, CO. NCAR designed and built the system to measure, transmit, and store wind speed, wind direction, maximum wind velocity, dry air temperature, wet air temperature, barometric pressure, solar radiation, precipitation, dew point, and relative humidity. This data set was modified in the final form to only include the wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, barometric pressure, and solar radiation data in order for it to be compatible with the previous long-term climate data. The water temperature, water level, and conductivity parameters measured previously are absent from this portion of the data set.
The NCAR system consisted of the following components:
1. Anemometer is mounted to the top of the 8 meter mast 2. The temperature sensors are located near the shield within a cylinder. 3. The solar radiation sensor is mounted on a separate post approx 5 m away from the tower. 4. Precipitation gauge is mounted on a level surface approx 5 m from the tower base. 5. Barometric pressure sensor is mounted inside the NEMA enclosure.All sensors were scanned 3600 times per hour (including wind direction with this frequency), except for precipitation which was a cumulative value for the hour.
System 3
On December 31, 1990, a new Campbell Scientific CR10 measurement and control module meteorological system was installed. The system was designed by Climatronics Corporation to measure and transmit wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, barometric pressure, solar radiation, precipitation (see Supplemental Information), water level, water temperature, and conductivity data. This system is still in use to date, however, this data set concludes on April 29, of 1996 because of electrical problems. The entire system was rebuilt and calibrated and back online in July 1997 as part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Program.
The system consists of the following components:
1. Wind speed and direction sensors with cross arm Climatronics Wind Mark III
2. Naturally Aspirated Temperature Shield w/ YSI 703 - Dual Element
Air Temperature Thermistor
3. Solar radiation sensor with mount, Eppley 8-48 radiometer
4. Barometric pressure sensor, YSI 2014 transducer
5. Precipitation gauge, Sierra-Misco 2500-8 Tipping Bucket Precipitation Gauge
6. Water depth, Keller PSI PT108V-50-15PSI Water Level Sensor
7. Water temperature, YSI 070/44018/NA/RN/300 - Water Temperature Thermistor
8. Conductivity Meter, Rosemount 1181T-00-02-99 Water Conductivity Probe
9. Remote Meteorological System mainframe in a NEMA environmental enclosure
(with mounting hardware), housing the following equipment:
a. signal conditioning electronics
b. modem transmitter
c. conductivity meter
d. line protectors
e. CR10 data logger
10. Ten meter aluminum tower with guying kit
11. Cables, connectors, and a sensor mounting boom
12. Solar radiation sensor, Licor LI190SB Quantum Sensor (added in 1994)
The wind cross arm is mounted to the 4 foot extension mast located at the top of the tower. The temperature shield and solar radiation sensor are mounted on the tower boom near the top of the tower. The barometric pressure sensor is mounted outside of the NEMA enclosure. The water temperature, water level and conductivity cables are placed in a rigid PVC well in the water. All of the sensor cables are wired through the signal line protector. The remote meteorological site’s NEMA enclosure houses the Campbell control module, the storage module, the Rosemont conductivity transmitter, and a backup 12-volt battery. The primary power source is a solar panel.
All sensors were scanned once per second (3600 times per hour) and hourly means (from the previous 3600 seconds) were generated on the hour. The only exception was the water level parameter, which recorded an instantaneous value every six minutes. An instantaneous water level value was also recorded on the hour.
As of November 1992:
Once a week the storage module that records data was retrieved from the field, and the data were downloaded to a PC in Baruch’s data management office using a program called SMCOM, written by Campbell Scientific. This was done because the field laboratory was not completely reconstructed after Hurricane Hugo and the remote phone line to the MET station tower was not yet installed. The data were reformatted and appended to the yearly data set. The data were archived in six month blocks.
As of July 1993:
The dedicated phone line was installed and the weather module data was accessed by phone line. The remote station was called up through the program called “TELCOM”. This program downloads all data that have not already been retrieved. Another program called “TERM”, displays a form screen which displays the realtime data as it is happening, but the program does not record any data to the computer file.
As of 10/5/94:
The Licor LI-190SB solar radiation sensor was added. This sensor uses a unique multiplier for each individual sensor that is based on a calibration constant obtained during the calibration process. The calibration constants and multipliers for this data set (94-96) were not documented, but were simply part of the datalogger program.
From June 3, 1982 through September 21, 1989, the Climatronics meteorological system and IMP 803 cassette data acquisition system provided raw data on LA50 80 character printouts and on IMP 803 magnetic cassette tapes. Data were edited on a daily basis from the 80 character printouts and data files were read directly from the magnetic tapes approximately every 45 days. These files were then reformatted into a readable data set by a computer program called “Metclean”, written by Baruch Institute data managers (see Data Set Environment). “Metclean” also performed a number of error checking routines. Metclean flagged values outside of their ranges (designated with a -88 by the program). The program output was renamed to fit the date of the data file by the operator, written to an ASCII file and visually checked for errors, and sent by phone line to the Computer Services Division of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.
RAW Data Storage:
1) Raw data were stored on IMP 803 output cassette tapes labeled tape 1 through tape 53. Each tape contains approximately 45 days of data. 2) The IMP 803 also produced 80 character printouts, which were bound and labeled in blue printout binders. 3) Copies of the IMP 803 tapes were made on 5 1/4" 800K digital diskettes and labeled tape 1.log through tape 53.log.Note: All raw data forms were stored at the Baruch Marine Laboratory in Georgetown, SC. These were damaged in Hurricane Hugo and are not available for use.
Program: Metclean.basic (note: this program is obsolete as of September 21, 1989) Data Set: Meteorological Program Author: Bob McLaughlin Program Author: Daniel Taylor Principle Investigator: F.J.Vernberg Principle Investigator: B. Kjerfve Program Definition: This program reads a raw, undesirably formatted data file as the Weather Station (IMP 803) writes it, and reformats it into a readable data set. Input: Data is read into the program from a file that is copied from the IMP 803 magnetic tape. Conditions Required to Run Program: All missing days and channels must be known before running "Metclean" in order to produce corrected missing data values.Hourly Data storage:
The reformatted and cleaned hourly data files from this period are stored in the following locations:
1) 5 ¼” 800K Digital Diskettes, output from program Metclean.BAS, labeled Y82154.DAT through Y89054.DAT, Baruch Marine Laboratory, Georgetown, SC. These are missing as of January 2002.
2) University of South Carolina, Computer Services Division Mass Storage System, archived in a partitioned data set structure, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. These hourly data files called A200208.LTER.METHOUR.Y1982(JUN) through LTER METHOUR.Y1989(SEP) were downloaded to the Baruch Institute’s data manager’s computer on Aug 9, 2001. In January 2002 these files were then placed in the folder: LTER.METHOUR.Y1982-89.MO under the directory: LTER/weather/LTER.MET.EditedData/Processed1989. Later in 2002 they were archived onto a CD with the rest of the weather data, documentation and graphics.
3) University of South Carolina, Computer Services Division Tape Library, 2400 Ft. 9 track tape, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. It is unknown, as of February 2002, whether these are still available.
Meteorological System 2
Following the loss of the original meteorological station after September 21, 1989, a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) meteorological station was borrowed, and it collected data from October 14, 1989 to December 31, 1990. The meterological station’s signal was scanned every second and averaged every 5 minutes. The NCAR system sent a signal every 15 minutes by satellite to a computer at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado. Hourly means were performed on the data by the staff at NCAR. This dataset was sent to the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory (BMFL) on a 2400 bpi magnetic tape.
The staff at the BMFL sent the data to USC CSD IBM Mainframe computer. The files were visually checked for errors that could have occurred during satellite monitoring or uploading on the dedicated phone line from the BMFL to campus. Missing data are indicated by a -99.0.
The original, raw, 5 minute, error flagged, NCAR data files from 10/14/89 to 12/31/90 and the error flagging information are on the following CSD 2400ft. 9 track tapes:
a) 010321: contains data for 12/30/89 to 2/28/90 b) 010322: contains data for 10/14/89 to 12/14/89 c) 010323: contains data for 5/1/90 to 6/30/90 d) 010324: contains data for 3/1/90 to 4/30/90 e) 010325: not able to recover data as of 1/30/02. All i/o errors. f) 008524: contains data for 7/1/90 to 8/31/90 g) 008526: contains data for 9/1/90 to 9/30/90 h) 008529: contains data for 10/1/90 to 12/19/90 i) 008537: contains data for 12/20/90 to 12/31/90The information below describes the data rescue of CSD tapes above because of age and obsolete technology (January 2002):
a) The tapes were identified and downloaded onto USC’s CMS system by CSD staffer, Dorothy Tudor.
b) Each tape contained multiple files; all were identified and named in numerical order.
c) Odd numbered files = 80 record length, 3 kb in size, and contain the flagging information (all are duplicates of the same information); even numbered files are mostly 660 record length, 73 kb, and contain the 5 minute data for one day.
d) All files except those on tape 010325 were ftp’d to the Baruch Data manager’s personal computer, and archived to CD.
e) Column headings for daily 5 minute tape files:
Date (yy/mm/dd) Time (hh:mm:ss) Barometric pressure Dry Air Temperature Wet Air Temperature Dew Point MR (As of February 1, 2002, do not know what this is) Relative Humidity U_Wind V_Wind Wmax RainA Program: NCAR1 SASJOB Data set: Meteorological Program Authors: Karen Maloney & Daniel Taylor Program Definition: The program reads a raw undesirably formatted NCAR file, and reformats it into a readable data set. Input: Data is read from a file that is recorded onto one of the eight magnetic tapes that was provided by NCAR. Output: The program output is renamed by the operator in the program before it is run. The output data file is then sent to Mass Storage at the USC Computer Services Division. Conditions required to run NCAR1 SASJOB: The VOLSER must be changed in all of the DD cards, the odd numbered DD cards define the text files which contain the number of parameters for the data files. The label numbers will always be odd. Do not change the DD names, just change the label numbers when going against the second month on the tape. To add additional days, repeat the last odd DD card and increment the in61 to in63 est. and increment the label number by two. You must change the DASN to reflect the DASD DSN you want to use. The number in the do statement must match the number of the days you are running against. It should be one half the number of DD cards.The raw, reformatted, and flagged (for missing and out-of-range) hourly data were stored as partitioned data sets in the University of South Carolina’s Mass Storage System called A200208.LTER.NCARHALF.Y1989.OCT-DEC through LTER.NCARHALF.Y1990.JLY-DEC. These files were downloaded to the Baruch Institute’s data manager’s computer, placed in the folder, LTER.NCARHALF.Y1989-90 under the directory, LTER/weather/LTER.MET.NCAR.RawData and archived onto a CD with the rest of the weather data, documentation and graphics.
The reformatted, cleaned, edited hourly data files from this period are stored in the following locations:
a) Partitioned data sets in the University of South Carolina’s Mass Storage System
b) University of South Carolina, Computer Services Division Tape Library, 2400 Ft. 9 track tape, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. (Used as a backup for the mass storage.)
c) On CD at the Baruch Marine Field Lab in directory LTERMET.EditedDATA/Processed1991, in the NCAReditedFiles folder, file names: NCAR89OD, NCAR90JJ, NCAR90JD. These files are text and CSV formatted files.
The final edited data set was then read into a Microsoft Excel form where data were compiled by year, formatted, and saved in Excel and in a csv (comma separated) format. Data files available on Baruch’s webpage are in csv (comma separated) format.
SAS programs for NCAR data are also published on CD with the rest of the LTERMET data.
Meteorological System 3
On December 4, 1990, a new Campbell Scientific CR10 measurement and control module meteorological system was installed. The raw data output provided by this system were read and reformatted into a readable data set by a computer program called “Smcom.exe”, written by Baruch Institute data managers. Once the Smcom program was installed, this process occurred automatically at the data logger stored in the NEMA enclosure on the met station tower at Oyster Landing. Data were downloaded once a week and visually edited to identify any errors. The data were then formatted to be consistent with the pre-existing data sets and transferred in six-month blocks to a SUN workstation and archived on 8mm tapes. Data were then read into a Microsoft Excel format, edited by hand for any errors, formatted, compiled by year, and saved in a text tab format.
Program "Smcom.exe" Data Set: "Meteorological" Program Author: Campbell Scientific Inc. Principle Investigator: F.J. Vernberg Principle Investigator: B. Kjerfve Program Definition: This program reads a raw, undesirably formatted data file as the Weather Station (CR 10 datalogger) writes it, and reformats it into a readable data set. Conditions Required to Run Program: Basic questions about the connection must be answered during the program execution, and the current Julian day must be entered.Raw data from Dec 31,1991 to Dec 31, 1992 were archived onto a 3 1/2" diskettes labeled by year and stored at the Baruch Marine Laboratory in Georgetown, SC labeled with the following names.
1)Met*.DAT / (pre Y9****.DAT) metfiles 2)Y91*.Dat / Metfiles 3)Y920*.DAT / metfiles 4)Y921*.DAT / Y922*.DAT Metfiles 5)Y923*.DATData Rescue and compilation of Raw data above:
Raw data files above were downloaded to Baruch Institute’s data manager’s machine and written to a CD. The 3 ½” diskettes above have been discarded.
All raw data after July, 1993 were stored directly to the weather technicians computer from the weather module by phone line and archived to a SUN workstation at the BMFL.
Data for each year (1991-1996) were presumably run through a program entitled Metcheck. Metcheck was designed to check for anomalous data by flagging readings that may be within the suitable range of measurement but fairly extreme, or not within a suitable range for that variable at all. These flagged readings were then verified by hand. The criteria for flagging values are readings outside of the following ranges (designated or flagged with a -88 by the program):
Wind Velocity: 0-20 Meters per Second Wind Direction: 0-540 Degrees Air Temperature: -10-40 Degrees C. Water Temperature: 34-0 Degrees C. Solar Radiation (Eppley): 0-1.5 Langleys/minute Water Level: 15-290 centimeters Conductivity: 10-48 millivolts/centimeter Barometric Pressure: 945-1030 Millibars Program Metcheck Data Set: Meteorological Program Author: Unknown Principle Investigator: F.J. Vernberg Principle Investigator: B. Kjerfve Program Definition: Reads data file and verifies that readings are within an acceptable range for the variable.The 6-minute instantaneous water level readings were discarded from the final data set. Reformatted hourly “metchecked” data for all three meteorological systems are stored in the following locations:
a) Data Manager’s PC and on CD in fireproof cabinet with all raw data, edited data, and final data and metadata at the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, Georgetown, SC
b) 8mm tapes, Baruch Institute, Columbia, SC. Not sure if these still exist.
The 1992 originally processed data for submission to the LTER web page are named as follows and are space delimited:
LTER.NIN.MET.1982
LTER.NIN.MET.1983
LTER.NIN.MET.1984
LTER.NIN.MET.1985
LTER.NIN.MET.1986
LTER.NIN.MET.1987
LTER.NIN.MET.1988
LTER.NIN.MET.1989
LTER.NIN.MET.1990
LTER.NIN.MET.1991
LTER.NIN.MET.1992
The file naming convention was changed in 1995 to simply MET82, MET83, MET84,….., MET95, MET96. These files are in MS Excel 2000 and text space format, and now reside in the LTER.MET.EditedData directory in the Processed1996 folder on Archive CD One at the BMFL.
Final Process step (October 2001 - January 2002):
The space delimited data sets (MET.yyyy) above were read into a Microsoft Excel format (unless they were already in Excel) and the name changed to LTER.MET.yyyy. The data for each year were then formatted to a standard that would be used for the entire data set. Formatting and editing changes included:
1) All 24-hour maximum and minimum values were removed from the hourly Excel worksheet and pasted into a separate Excel worksheet within the same workbook as the hourly file. Maximum and minimum values were originally represented by several different time values: 2500, 25LO, or 2402 for minimum values and 2600, 25HI, or 2403 for maximum values. These representations were all changed to “max” or “min” under a variable column designated as “24 Hour” in the new worksheet. These files are included in the final excel formatted file (see number 12 below); the worksheet is entitled “24hour-maxmin”. These 24 hour worksheets have been exported as csv (comma separated) files and are named: LTER.METYYYY.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL.CSV where YYYY=1982-1996.
2) Variable columns for maximum wind velocity and Licor solar radiation were added for all years prior to the new variable’s implementation (1993 and 1994, respectively).
3) The column for max wind velocity was omitted from the 24-hour max/min worksheet (the maximum values were already represented in the wind velocity portion of this worksheet).
4) Data were formatted to show the sensitivity of the measurement that took place at that time (sensitivity sometimes changed throughout the data set) by displaying the correct number of decimal places.
5) All years were formatted to use the 1900 date calculating system.
6) Missing data or out-of-range indicators (including -99, -88, 9999, .9, etc.) were replaced with a (.).
7) Data for each year were saved in a csv (comma separated) format.
8) Original documentation and spreadsheets had meters as the units for water level and 0.0 • 3.0 meters as the range of measurement. After examining the data it was obvious that the readings were in centimeters, and the range of measurement 0.0 • 300.0 cm, so the units were changed throughout.
9) Precipitation variable was removed from all original yearly datasets. The data are available in the raw and edited directories on LTERMET Archive CD One, but it is not advised because of the problems associated with the instrumentation.
10) Data Rescue of Solar Radiation (Eppley) data:
To recover the solar radiation data to three decimal places, the raw (some were edited) data files were used to rebuild each year’s data. All files used in this process are in the EditedProcessedData / SolarRadiation3decPlacesRescue directory. Data for 1989 and 1990, however, were only rescued to 2 decimal places. Another exception to recovery to 3 decimal places was in 1992, Julian day 55, hour 1000 to 56 hour 1000 where the data could not be recovered to 3 decimal places, it still is in one decimal place. To verify the new rebuilt solar database, all 2 and 3 decimal place recovered data was converted to one decimal place and verified with the NIN.MET final data. Over 99% of the values matched. Some errors were found and corrected in the final posted data.
NOTE: The processed data files (not final) LTER.NIN.MET.1982 - 1992 and MET82-96 mentioned above will have different solar radiation data for the Eppley sensor from final data listed in #12 below. The NIN.MET files had Eppley solar radiation values to one decimal place. The values were recovered to three decimal places from October 1989 to April 1996. The earlier data could not be rescued because the original data files could not be found. In the “24hour-maxmin” sheet of each LTER.MET.19YY.FINAL Excel file, the max/min solar Eppley data from 1982-1994 were removed because they were based on one decimal data and therefore inaccurate. The final exported csv files called, LTER.METYYYY.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL.CSV, also had their Eppley data removed for the same years.
11) Annual data were graphed in Deltagraph (version 4.05e) and data were visually inspected for errors. The few modifications that were made as a result of this process are documented in the missing data and/or anomalous data sections. In order for the time interval 2400 to be graphed properly, the time value was changed in Excel and Deltagraph to 2359. {When combining date & time into one variable column from Excel to Deltagraph, the program automatically changed all 2400 hour to 0000 hour which moved all data from the end of the day to the beginning of each day.} Final Deltagraph graphical data file names are: LTER.FINALMET.YYYY.GRAPHICS; where YYYY=1982 to 1996. TIF graphs were created from Deltagraph in order to post them to the web and are named LTER.MET.YYYY.(Variable name).graph.TIF.
12) Final processed/edited data are annual files containing the following variables in the following order:
Date (mm/dd/yyyy) Julian day hour (time) datetime wind velocity wind velocity maximum (for the hour) wind direction air temperature water temperature solar radiation (Eppley sensor) water level conductivity barometric pressure solar radiation (Licor)These final annual hourly data files are in both Excel and csv (comma separated) formats and have the following names:
LTER.MET.1982.FINAL LTER.MET.1982.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1983.FINAL LTER.MET.1983.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1984.FINAL LTER.MET.1984.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1985.FINAL LTER.MET.1985.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1986.FINAL LTER.MET.1986.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1987.FINAL LTER.MET.1987.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1988.FINAL LTER.MET.1988.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1989.FINAL LTER.MET.1989.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1990.FINAL LTER.MET.1990.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1991.FINAL LTER.MET.1991.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1992.FINAL LTER.MET.1992.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1993.FINAL LTER.MET.1993.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1994.FINAL LTER.MET.1994.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1995.FINAL LTER.MET.1995.FINAL.CSV LTER.MET.1996.FINAL LTER.MET.1996.FINAL.CSVThe final annual 24 hour max/min data files are in their own worksheet in the yearly Excel files above. The csv (comma separated) version of each year’s min/max data are called: LTER.METYYYY.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL.CSV. Both the Excel version and the csv with the following variable order and information:
Date Julian Day 24 Hour (min/max) Wind Velocity Wind Direction Air Temperature Water temperature Solar radiation (Eppley sensor) Water level Conductivity Barometric pressure Solar radiation (Licor)The hourly and 24 hour min/max final files are on CD, on the Baruch Webpage, and the Baruch Institute’s Data Manager’s computer.
13) Summary statistics (average, N, SD, and 95%CI) were calculated for each year in Excel and the yearly average and 95%CI were graphed in Deltagraph. The Excel data table is called LTER.MET.1983-95.ANNUALAVE.FINAL and the summary graphics file is called LTER.FINALMET.1983-95.ANNUALAVE.GRAPHICS. These files are also on CD with the rest of the LTER weather data, programs, documentation, and processed files.
When variables “hour”=25 and variable “minute”=HI, this record represents the instantaneous daily maximum values for the variables: wind velocity, air temperature, water temperature, solar radiation (Eppley), precipitation, conductivity, and barometric pressure.
When variables “hour”=25 and variable “minute”=LO, this record represents the instantaneous daily minimum values for the variables: wind velocity, air temperature, water temperature, solar radiation (Eppley), precipitation, conductivity, and barometric pressure.
When variables “hour”=25 and variable “minute”=HI or LO, then variable “wind direction” is not recorded.
When variables “hour”=25 and variable “minute”=HI or LO, the value indicated for variable “water level” only represents the maximum or minimum for the previous 6 minute interval.
24 Hour = Designation of the maximum or minimum instantaneous value of the identified variable over the 24 hour day.
For the FINAL processed data, published in 2002.
Date = month/day/year (mm/dd/yyyy) that the reading was taken (not necessarily processed).
Jday = Julian day that the reading was taken.
Hour = Time on the 24 hour clock that the reading was taken; reading represents the data from the previous hour.
Date/Time= the combination of the month/day/year column with the hour column; the hour 2400 was modified to 2359 in order for the graphics software to graph the data correctly.
Wind Velocity = The mean wind velocity of 3600 observations taken over the preceding hour.
Max Wind Velocity = The maximum wind velocity over the preceding hour.
Wind Direction = The mean wind direction (the wind is coming from) of 120 observations taken over the preceding hour (no correction for magnetic declination).
Air Temperature = The mean air temperature of 3600 observations taken over the preceding hour.
Water Temperature = The mean water temperature of 3600 observations taken over the preceding hour.
Solar Radiation (Eppley) = The mean solar radiation of 3600 observations taken over the preceding hour, as measured by the Eppley pyranometer. Note: the sensor does NOT subtract out whatever is reflected from the ground.
Water Level = The instantaneous water level at the time indicated.
Conductivity = The mean conductivity of 3600 observations taken over the preceding hour.
Barometric Pressure = The mean barometric pressure of 3600 observations taken over the preceding hour.
Solar Radiation (Licor) = The mean solar radiation of 3600 observations taken over the preceding hour, as measured by the Licor Quantum Sensor.
The following tables describe the variable names, value type and size (in total number of digits.number of decimal places format), and the value measurement range (not actual measurements, potential maximum and minimum values) with its unit of measurement.
For climate data for 1982-1989 processed in 1989
(Monthly text files in LTER.MET.EditedData/LTER.METHOUR.Y1982-89.MO directory). This is not for Raw or Final data.
Type (total size of value Variable .# of decimal places) Range of Measurement (min-max) Day Integer 1-31 Month Integer 1-12 Year Integer 82-89 Julian Day Integer 1-366 Hour Integer,Alpha 100-2400,25HI,25LO (Hr/Min column combined) Minute Scaler Alpha 00, HI, LO (In orig. documentation) Wind Velocity Real (6.1) 0.0-50.0 Meters per second Wind Direction Real (6.0) 0-540 Degrees Air Temperature Real (6.1) -20.0-50.0 Degrees C Water Temperature Real (6.1) 0.0-50.0 Degrees C Solar Radiation (Eppley) Real (6.1) 0.0-2.0 Langleys/minute, wavelength 280-2800 nm Precipitation Real (6.1) 0.0-25.0 millimeters Water Level Real (6.1) 0.0-300.0 centimeters (orig. doc states: 0.0-3.0M) Conductivity Real (6.1) 0.0-70.0 (80?)* millivolts/centimeter Barometric Pressure Real (6.1) 940-1040 MillibarsFor NCAR Hourly Dataset only, in the directories LTER.MET.NCAR.RawData/LTER.NCARHALF.Y1989-90 and
LTER.MET.EditedData/Processed1991/NCAReditedFiles, not Final files. The order of variable names
correspond to the column order in each file.
Type (total size of value
Variable .# of decimal places) Range of Measurement (min-max)
Year Integer 89-90
Month Integer 1-12
Day Integer 1-31
Hour Integer 01-24
Barometric Pressure Real (7.2) 940.00-1040.00 Millibars
Dry Air Temperature Real (6.2) -20.00-50.00 Degrees C
Wet Air Temperature Real (6.2) -20.00-50.00 Degrees C
Dew point Real (6.2) -20.00-50.00 Degrees C
Relative humidity Real (6.2) 0.00 to 10.000%
Solar Radiation (Eppley) Real (6.2) 0.00-2.00 Langleys/minute,
wavelength 280-2800 nm
Wind Direction Real (6.2) 0.00-360.00 Degrees
Wind Velocity Real (6.2) 0.00-50.00 Meters per second
Max Wind Velocity Real (6.2) 0.00-50.00 Meters per second
Precipitation Real (6.2) 0.00-25.00 millimeters
Each record (one hour) is an 80 character record; each day is 24 records; and each month is 65 kb in size.
For Final Dataset only, LTER.MET.1982.FINAL & LTER.MET.1982.FINAL.CSV through LTER.MET.1996.FINAL & LTER.MET.1996.FINAL.CSV. Raw and intermediately processed data will not necessarily contain all variables. Range of measurement should be the same for raw, processed, and final data.
Type (total size of value
Variable .# of decimal places) Range of Measurement (min-max)
Date (mm/dd/yyyy) Integer 1-12, 1-31, 1982-1996
Jday Integer 1-366
Hour Integer 0000-2400
Date/Time Integer 1-12, 1-31, 1982-1996, 0:00-23:59
Wind Velocity Real (6.1) 0.0-50.0 Meters per second
Max Wind Velocity Real (6.1) 0.0-50.0 Meters per second
Wind Direction Real (6.0) 0-540 Degrees
Air Temperature Real (6.1) -20.0-50.0 Degrees C
Water Temperature Real (6.1) 0.0-50.0 Degrees C
Solar Radiation (Eppley) Real (6.3) 0.0 -2.0 to 0.000-2.000
Langleys/minute,@280-2800nm
Water Level Real (6.1) 0.0-300.0 centimeters
Conductivity Real (6.1) 0.0-70.0 (80?)* millivolts/centimeter
Barometric Pressure Real (6.1) 940-1040 Millibars
Solar Radiation (Licor) Real (6.3) 0.0~2000
microEinsteins/M2/Sec or micromoles/M2/Sec
* The original documentation states the range for conductivity is 0.0 - 2.0 mv/cm, but data readings from final data range up to 70 and sometimes 80 mv/cm.
North Inlet LTER Meteorological Data North Inlet LTER Weather North Inlet MET Station Data LTER NIN001 databaseIdentification of Directories and Files:
The LTERMET.PUBLISH CD contains the complete Final 1982-1996 database; including all final data, graphics, and metadata files. The PUBLISH CD contains the following files in the following directories:
FINAL DOCUMENTATION (Directory Size: 2.80 MB, 13 files) LTERMET.FGDC.METADATA.doc LTERMET.FGDC.METADATA.txt LTERMET.FGDC.METADATA.pdf LTERMET.AnomalousData.doc LTERMET.AnomalousData.txt LTERMET.AnomalousData.pdf LTERMET.MissingData.doc LTERMET.MissingData.txt LTERMET.MissingData.pdf LTERMET.ClimatSysLog.doc LTERMET.ClimatSysLog.txt LTERMET.ClimateSysLog.pdf FINAL.DATA.SUMMARIES (Directory Size: 32.2 MB, 3 folders, 45 files FINAL.HRLY.24HrMinMax.xl (Directory Size: 23.3 MB, 15 files) LTERMET.1982.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1983.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1984.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1985.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1986.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1987.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1988.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1989.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1990.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1991.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1992.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1993.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1994.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1995.FINAL.xls LTERMET.1996.FINAL.xls FINAL.HRLY.csv (Directory Size: 8.4 MB, 15 files) LTER.MET.1982.FINAL LTER.MET.1983.FINAL LTER.MET.1984.FINAL LTER.MET.1985.FINAL LTER.MET.1986.FINAL LTER.MET.1987.FINAL LTER.MET.1988.FINAL LTER.MET.1989.FINAL LTER.MET.1990.FINAL LTER.MET.1991.FINAL LTER.MET.1992.FINAL LTER.MET.1993.FINAL LTER.MET.1994.FINAL LTER.MET.1995.FINAL LTER.MET.1996.FINAL FINAL.24HrMinMax.csv (Directory Size: 530 KB, 15 files) LTERMET.1982.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1983.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1984.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1985.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1986.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1987.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1988.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1989.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1990.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1991.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1992.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1993.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1994.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1995.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL LTERMET.1996.24HRMAXMIN.FINAL FINAL.GRAPHICS (Directory Size: 11.2 MB, 15 folders, 123 files) 1982.jpg (Directory Size: 651 KB, 8 files) 1982.AirTemp.jpg 1982.BP.jpg 1982.Conductivity.jpg 1982.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1982.WaterLevel.jpg 1982.WaterTemp.jpg 1982.WindDirVel.jpg 1982.WindVelocity.jpg 1983.jpg (Directory Size: 735 KB, 8 files) 1983.AirTemp.jpg 1983.BP.jpg 1983.Conductivity.jpg 1983.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1983.WaterLevel.jpg 1983.WaterTemp.jpg 1983.WindDirVel.jpg 1983.WindVelocity.jpg 1984.jpg (Directory Size: 702 KB, 8 files) 1984.AirTemp.jpg 1984.BP.jpg 1984.Conductivity.jpg 1984.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1984.WaterLevel.jpg 1984.WaterTemp.jpg 1984.WindDirVel.jpg 1984.WindVelocity.jpg 1985.jpg (Directory Size: 808 KB, 8 files) 1985.AirTemp.jpg 1985.BP.jpg 1985.Conductivity.jpg 1985.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1985.WaterLevel.jpg 1985.WaterTemp.jpg 1985.WindDirVel.jpg 1985.WindVelocity.jpg 1986.jpg (Directory Size: 640 KB, 8 files) 1986.AirTemp.jpg 1986.BP.jpg 1986.Conductivity.jpg 1986.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1986.WaterLevel.jpg 1986.WaterTemp.jpg 1986.WindDirVel.jpg 1986.WindVelocity.jpg 1987.jpg (Directory Size: 725 KB, 8 files) 1987.AirTemp.jpg 1987.BP.jpg 1987.Conducitivity.jpg 1987.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1987.WaterLevel.jpg 1987.WaterTemp.jpg 1987.WindDirVel.jpg 1987.WindVelocity.jpg 1988.jpg (Directory Size: 746 KB, 8 files) 1988.AirTemp.jpg 1988.BP.jpg 1988.Conductivity.jpg 1988.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1988.WaterLevel.jpg 1988.WaterTemp.jpg 1988.WindDirVel.jpg 1988.WindVelocity.jpg 1989.jpg (Directory Size: 735 KB, 8 files) 1989.AirTemp.jpg 1989.BP.jpg 1989.Conductivity.jpg 1989.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1989.WaterLevel.jpg 1989.WaterTemp.jpg 1989.WindDirVel.jpg 1989.WindVelocity.jpg 1990.jpg (Directory Size: 472 KB, 5 files) 1990.AirTemp.jpg 1990.BP.jpg 1990.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1990.WindDirVel.jpg 1990.WindVelocity.jpg 1991.jpg (Directory Size: 658 KB, 7 files) 1991.AirTemp.jpg 1991.BP.jpg 1991.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1991.WaterLevel.jpg 1991.WaterTemp.jpg 1991.WindDirVel.jpg 1991.WindVelocity.jpg 1992.jpg (Directory Size: 838 KB, 8 files) 1992.AirTemp.jpg 1992.BP.jpg 1992.Conductivity.jpg 1992.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1992.WaterLevel.jpg 1992.WaterTemp.jpg 1992.WindDirVel.jpg 1992.WindVelocity.jpg 1993.jpg (Directory Size: 934 KB, 9 files) 1993.AirTemp.jpg 1993.BP.jpg 1993.Conductivity.jpg 1993.MaxWindVel.jpg 1993.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1993.WaterLevel.jpg 1993.WaterTemp.jpg 1993.WindDirVel.jpg 1993.WindVelocity.jpg 1994.jpg (Directory Size: 1.0 MB, 10 files) 1994.AirTemp.jpg 1994.BP.jpg 1994.Conductivity.jpg 1994.MaxWindVel.jpg 1994.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1994.SolarRadLiCor.jpg 1994.WaterLevel.jpg 1994.WaterTemp.jpg 1994.WindDirVel.jpg 1994.WindVelocity.jpg 1995.jpg (Directory Size: 1.1 MB, 10 files) 1995.AirTemp.jpg 1995.BP.jpg 1995.Conductivity.jpg 1995.MaxWindVel.jpg 1995.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1995.SolarRadLiCor.jpg 1995.WaterLevel.jpg 1995.WaterTemp.jpg 1995.WindDirVel.jpg 1995.WindVelocity.jpg 1996.jpg (Directory Size: 787KB, 10 files) 1996.AirTemp.jpg 1996.BP.jpg 1996.Conductivity.jpg 1996.MaxWindVel.jpg 1996.SolarRadEppley.jpg 1996.SolarRadLiCor.jpg 1996.WaterLevel.jpg 1996.WaterTemp.jpg 1996.WindDirVel.jpg 1996.WindVelocity.jpgThe LTERMET ARCHIVE CD ONE contains the complete final database as well as all raw and process data, metadata, program documentation, and the table of contents for both the CD’s and Notebooks.
The LTERMET ARCHIVE CD TWO contains the final graphics files created in the Deltagraph version 5.01 software package and the resulting yearly graphics images in .jpg format.
The LTERMET ARCHIVE CD THREE contains an earlier version of the graphics files in the Deltagraph version 4.05 software package.