Soil Temperatures at South Royalton, Vermont, USA
Summary
This data set presents half-hourly measurements of soil temperatures at depths of 0 to 60 cm, together with meteorological data (air temperature, precipitation, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed/direction, solar radiation, longwave radiation) and snow depth. The data were collected in sandy loam soil at South Royalton, Vermont, between October 1989 and September 1993. The data document seasonal changes in soil temperature, including the development of a frozen layer and occasionally a transient thawed layer at the surface. Data are available via ftp.
Citing These Data:
Peck, L. and J. Fiori. 1992. Soil temperatures at South Royalton, Vermont, USA. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital Media.
Overview Table
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Data format | Tab-delimited ASCII files |
| Spatial coverage | South Royalton, Vermont, USA |
| Temporal coverage | October 1989 - September 1993 |
| File size | 16 - 32 KB per ASCII file; total size 30.5 MB |
| Parameter(s) | Soil temps at 7.5-cm increments from 0 to 60 cm, on bare ground and beneath undisturbed snow cover. Also meteorological data. |
| Procedures for obtaining data | data are available via ftp |
Table of Contents
1. Contacts
2. Detailed Data Description
3. Document Information
1. Contacts:
Investigator(s) Name and Title:
Lindamae Peck
US Army CRREL
72 Lyme Road
Hanover, NH 03755-1290
tel: 603-646-4261
fax: 603-646-4397
email: Lindamae.Peck@erdc.usace.army.mil
John Fiori
US Army CRREL
72 Lyme Road
Hanover, NH 03755-1290
tel: 603-646-4515
fax: 603-646-4397
e-mail: fiori@crrel.usace.army.mil
Technical Contact:
NSIDC User Services
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0449 USA
phone: +1 303.492.6199
fax: +1 303.492.2468
form: Contact NSIDC User Services
e-mail: nsidc@nsidc.org
2. Detailed Data Description:
File and Directory Structure:
The data are in directories by year (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993) and named "metMMDDYY.txt".
Format:
The data files are in tab-delimited ASCII. Each file represents one day (24 hours) of data, with measurements every half hour. The files are in the following format:
DATE TIME Chnl 201 Chnl 202 Chnl 203 Chnl 204 .... 10/23/89 00:30:00 6.7 7.6 8.3 8.8 ....
The channels correspond to parameters as follows:
Channel Parameter 201 Soil temperature (°C) at 7.5 cm 202 Soil temperature (°C) at 15 cm 203 Soil temperature (°C) at 22.5 cm 204 Soil temperature (°C) at 30 cm 205 Soil temperature (°C) at 37.5 cm 206 Soil temperature (°C) at 45 cm 207 Soil temperature (°C) at 52.5 cm 208 Soil temperature (°C) at 60 cm 301 Air temperature (°C) at 5 cm 302 Air temperature (°C) at 10 cm 303 Air temperature (°C) at 15 cm 304 Air temperature (°C) at 20 cm 305 Air temperature (°C) at 25 cm 306 Air temperature (°C) at 30 cm 307 Air temperature (°C) at 35 cm 308 Air temperature (°C) at 40 cm 315 Soil temperature (°C) at 0 cm 601 Forward scatter meter voltage (V) 701 Average air temperature (°C) at 2 m 702 Maximum air temperature (°C) at 2 m 703 Minimum air temperature (°C) at 2 m 704 Average relative humidity (%) at 2 m 705 Maximum relative humidity (%) at 2 m 706 Minimum relative humidity (%) at 2 m 707 Average wind speed (m/s) at 2 m 708 Average wind direction (degrees) at 2 m 709 Instantaneous wind speed (m/s) at 2 m 710 Instantaneous wind direction (degrees) at 2 m 711 Maximum gust wind speed (m/s) at 2 m 712 Time of maximum gust at 2 m 713 invalid 714 Precipitation (mm) 715 Incident solar radiation, 0.3 - 3 microns, [avg] (W/m2) 716 Reflected solar radiation, 0.3 - 3 microns [avg] (W/m2) 801 Average air temperature (°C) at 4 m 802 Maximum air temperature (°C) at 4 m 803 Minimum air temperature (°C) at 4 m 804 Average relative humidity (%) at 4 m 805 Maximum relative humidity (%) at 4 m 806 Minimum relative humidity (%) at 4 m 807 Average wind speed (m/s) at 4 m 808 Average wind direction (degrees) at 4 m 809 Instantaneous wind speed (m/s) at 4 m 810 Instantaneous wind direction (degrees) at 4 m 811 Maximum gust wind speed (m/s) at 4 m 812 Time of maximum gust at 4 m 813 invalid 814 Barometric pressure 815 Incident longwave radiation, 3 - 50 microns [avg] (W/m2) 816 Upwelling longwave radiation, 3 - 50 microns [avg] (W/m2) CR10-T Instantaneous snow depth (mm) CR10-3 Average snow depth (mm) CR10-4 Maximum snow depth (mm) CR0206-06 Average snow depth (mm) CR0206-07 Maximum snow depth (mm)
Channels 209-216, 314, 316, 602, and 603 are not site characterization channels; they are military sensor channels and can be ignored.
An entry of OVRNG indicates an out-of-range reading (high). An entry of OPEN means that a channel had been activated (the data logger was sampling that channel) but there was no instument feeding a voltage to the channel.
File Size:
The individual ASCII files range from 16 to 32 KB. Total file size is 30.5 MB.
Spatial Coverage:
Data were collected at South Royalton, Vermont, USA.
Northwest latitude: 43° 49' N
Northwest longitude: 72° 31' W
Southeast latitude: 43° 48.9' N
Southeast longitude: 72° 30.6' W
Temporal Coverage:
Data were collected between October 1989 and September 1993.
Parameter or Variable:
The data set consists of soil temperatures, snow depth, and meteorological parameters (air temperature, precipitation, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed/direction, solar radiation, longwave radiation). Sampling was generally 8 cycles/sec (every 125 msec), and every 10 minutes for snow depth, and the samples were averaged for half-hourly data points.
Error Sources:
Soil temperatures are valid only after 13:00 on 2 Oct 1989. The thermocouple probe for obtaining soil temperatures at the undisturbed location (channels 201 - 208) was put in place on 25 Sep 1989. During a site visit on 2 Oct, the researchers found that the thermocouple leads had been reversed when the thermocouple was connected to the data logger. The error was corrected. However, soil temperatures prior to midday on 2 October are invalid.
Channels 715 and 716 (incident and reflected solar radiation), sometimes display negative values. This is due to noise with the solar (0.3 - 3 microns) Eppleys at low levels of solar radiation. The negative values should be set to zero when working with the data.
There is a data anomaly at 11:00 on 23 October 1989. A technician installed an air thermocouple array (channels 301-308) on 18 Oct 1989, but there was a delay before those channels were sampled by the data logger. The researchers suspect that any nonsense numbers and additional overrange/open occurrences are the result of the technician working on the data logger. By the evening of 23 Oct 1989, the half-hourly reports stabilized in terms of number of channels and validity of their entries.
3. Document Information:
Document Creation Date:
March 26, 2003
Document URL:
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