Value Added Products

Farnes, Phillip

A summary of hydrology data being used to study climate change. Presently, there is a wealth of hydrologic information on the Web related to climatic data. However, it is mostly raw data derived directly from sensors. It would be a great benefit to all hydrologists and others if additional data were generated using these data. Examples of “Value Added Products” will be presented. These include summary tables of temperatures that include coldest and warmest daily temperatures and date of occurrence for each year, monthly and annual averages for daily minimum, maximum and average temperatures. Calculation of growing seasons would include date that grasses and trees break dormancy, date growth stops, length of growing season, monthly and annual accumulation of growing degree-days and whether or not there was fall green-up. SWE summaries would include date snow accumulation begins, date of maximum accumulation and amount, date snow melts to zero, first of the month SWE and date of half-melt. Daily values of Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) can be useful for fire analysis and can also be used as an index to the soil moisture deficit. The NWS/NCDC needs to make their daily climatic data available to users via the web and they need to estimate missing data. It is almost impossible to analyze data with missing segments. It would be much easier and more accurate to have the collecting agency fill in missing data than to have each user perform this task. Also, the USBR needs to do a better job of editing their data. Agencies that use Federal or State monies to collect data should be required to edit this data rather than show a statement on their web site saying that the user should be aware. If it does not meet data standards, then it should not be entered on their web site. With the large variability in climatic data, the word “normal” should be replaced with average or mean and not imply that lower or higher values are outside of the historic range.