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Data Set ID:
HMA_AWS

High Mountain Asia Langtang Automatic Weather Station Measurements, Version 1

This data set contains meteorological data, such as air temperature, pressure, rainfall intensity, relative humidity, and wind direction/speed measured by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

This is the most recent version of these data.

Version Summary:

Initial release

Overview

Parameter(s):
  • ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE > AIR TEMPERATURE
  • PRECIPITATION > LIQUID PRECIPITATION > LIQUID SURFACE PRECIPITATION RATE > PRECIPITATION RATE
  • ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR > WATER VAPOR INDICATORS > HUMIDITY > RELATIVE HUMIDITY
  • ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE > SURFACE PRESSURE
  • ATMOSPHERIC WINDS > SURFACE WINDS > WIND DIRECTION
  • ATMOSPHERIC WINDS > SURFACE WINDS > WIND SPEED
Data Format(s):
  • Comma-Separated Values (.csv)
Spatial Coverage:
N: 28.214, 
S: 28.214, 
E: 85.61, 
W: 85.61
Platform(s):GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS
Spatial Resolution:Not applicableSensor(s):IceCube
Temporal Coverage:
  • 22 October 2017 to 1 November 2018
Version(s):V1
Temporal ResolutionVariesMetadata XML:View Metadata Record
Data Contributor(s):Si-Chee Tsay

Citing These Data

As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.

Tsay, S. 2019. High Mountain Asia Langtang Automatic Weather Station Measurements, Version 1. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: https://doi.org/10.5067/TNQV3XTMP9CP. [Date Accessed].

Documentation

Created: 
16 January 2019
Last modified: 
18 March 2020

Data Description

This data set is closely related to High Mountain Asia Langtang Snow Properties, High Mountain Asia Langtang Snow Bidirectional Reflectance Factor, and High Mountain Asia Langtang Shortwave Downward Irradiance. All of these data sets feature point measurements that were collected on or near the Yala Glacier in Nepal.

Parameters

The parameters provided in this data set are air temperature, surface pressure, rainfall rate, relative humidity, wind direction, and wind speed. Each parameter is provided in a separate data file. The parameters are described in more detail in Table 1.

Table 1. Parameter Information
Parameter Description Units
AirT Air temperature °C
Pressure Surface pressure hPa
RainIntensity Rainfall rate mm/h
RH Relative humidity %
WindDirection Wind direction Degrees (North = 0, clockwise)
WindSpeed Wind speed m/s

File Information

Format

The data files are provided in Comma-Separated Values (.csv) format. Each data file contains one of six possible parameters (see Table 1).

Naming Convention

There are six data files in this data set:

HMA_AWS_AirT_ICIMOD_BC_20171022_20181101.csv
HMA_AWS_Pressure_ICIMOD_BC_20171022_20181101.csv
HMA_AWS_RainIntensity_ICIMOD_BC_20171022_20181101.csv
HMA_AWS_RH_ICIMOD_BC_20171022_20181101.csv
HMA_AWS_WindDirection_ICIMOD_BC_20171022_20181101.csv
HMA_AWS_WindSpeed_ICIMOD_BC_20171022_20181101.csv

The files are named according to the following convention, which is described in Table 2:

HMA_AWS_[parameter]_ICIMOD_BC_20171022_20181101.csv

Table 2. File Naming Convention
Variable Description
HMA_AWS Indicates the data set High Mountain Asia Langtang Automatic Weather Station Measurements
parameter

Indicates one of six possible parameters (see Table 1):

  • AirT
  • Pressure
  • RainIntensity
  • RH
  • WindDirection
  • WindSpeed
ICIMOD_BC Indicates the measurement site: ICIMOD BC (see Table 3)
20171022_20181101 Start and end date of collection in YYYYMMDD format
.csv Indicates file type: Comma-Separated Values file

Spatial Information

Coverage

Spatial coverage includes one location in Langtang, Nepal, as noted by the spatial extent in Table 3.

Table 3. Information about Measurement Site
Measurement Site Name Latitude Longitude Altitude
ICIMOD BC 28.214° N 85.610° E 4901 m

Resolution

This data set consists of one individual measurement site located in Langtang, Nepal (see Table 3).

Geolocation

Each data file contains measurements for a single site (see Table 3).

Temporal Information

Coverage

22 October 2017 to 01 November 2018

Resolution

1 s for wind speed and wind direction; 10 s for all other parameters

Data Acquisition and Processing

Acquisition and Processing

Meteorological data are measured by a commercial weather sensor (Lufft WS700) and a visibility sensor (Biral Visibility Sensor SWS100) operated by ICIMOD.

Instrumentation

The data were collected using an automatic weather station (AWS).

Software and Tools

The data files can be opened in any program. However, they are best viewed through a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Calc, or Google Docs.

Related Data Sets

High Mountain Asia Langtang Snow Properties
High Mountain Asia Langtang Snow Bidirectional Reflectance Factor
High Mountain Asia Langtang Shortwave Downward Irradiance
High Mountain Asia at NSIDC | Data Sets

Related Websites

High Mountain Asia at NSIDC | Overview
NASA High Mountain Asia Project
NASA Research Announcement: Understanding Changes in High Mountain Asia

Contacts

Si-Chee Tsay
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Acknowledgments

The data providers are grateful to the NASA MODIS Adaptive Processing System (MODAPS) for processing the satellite data sets used in this product; the Calibration Facility Laboratory (GSFC/Code 618) for their support in calibrating the SMART-r units; and Milton G. Hom at SSAI/GSFC (Code 618) for the reflectance standards of the BRF measurements. The providers also sincerely acknowledge the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal, for logistics support, field site identification, and operating collocated instruments, as well as data sharing. Sincere thanks are also given to all assistants and graduate students operating the sites under harsh environmental conditions and for their technical support, which helped make the field campaigns successful.

References

Ji, Q., Tsay, S.-C., Lau, K. M., Hansell, R. A., Butler, J. J., & Cooper, J. W. (2011). A novel nonintrusive method to resolve the thermal dome effect of pyranometers: Radiometric calibration and implications. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 116(D24), n/a-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jd016466

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