19 Research data (Meteorology: Sources of CD-ROMs)
Description
This article is from the Meteorology FAQ, by Tom Berg hcane@mobile.gulf.net with numerous contributions by others.
19 Research data (Meteorology: Sources of CD-ROMs)
NMC gridpoint dataset ($150):
Twice daily grids for the Northern Hemisphere at a resolution of about
381 km.
Contact: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000,
Boulder, CO 80307. 303/497-1219, email datahelp@ncar.ucar.edu.
National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) discs:
Various discs available, including: Gulf of Mexico GLORIA data,
Geophysics of North America, global ecosystems, global topography,
gravity data, solar activity, and more. A catalog and price list are
available via gopher or ftp (see part 1).
Contact: NGDC, 325 Broadway E/GC4, Dept. 894, Boulder, CO 80303.
303/497-6958, email info@ngdc.noaa.gov.
Global Ocean Temperature and Salinity (2 discs, $80 each or $124/both)
Temperature and salinity in the world ocean for about 1900-1990, based
on all available XBTs, MBTs, BTs, etc.
Contact: National Oceanographic Data Center, NOAA/NESDIS E/OC21,
Washington, DC 20235. 202/606-4549.
Global Upper Air Climatic Atlas (GUACA) ($240 for set):
This two-volume CD-ROM set uses a 12-year (1980-1991) 2.5 degree upper
air data base obtained from the European Centre for Medium Range
Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). This CD presents upper air statistics for
15 vertical levels in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere for dry
bulb and dewpoint temperature, geopotential height, air density, and
vector and scalar wind speed. The disc provides access/display
software for gridpoint data, contouring capability for user-defined
areas, and vertical profiles. The climatology covers the 12-year
period as well as individual year-months.
This is a joint NCDC and U.S. Navy product. DOS only. An ASCII data
CD-ROM (no graphic interface) is also available at a cost of $120.00.
Contact: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Attn: Climate Services
Branch, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801-5001. 704/271-4800,
fax 704-271-4876, email orders@ncdc.noaa.gov. Add $5 service charge
per order.
Radiosonde Data of North America 1946-1994. ($480):
Contains all available radiosonde data for North America (U.S.,
Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean Islands) through the 100-mb level on
four disks. Disk periods are 1946-1965, 1966-1979, 1980-1989, and
1990-1994. Data includes significant, mandatory, and special wind
levels for all observation times and includes geopotential height,
temperature, dew point and wind direction, and scalar speed. The user
can select for output to printer, screen, or file, a single station or
multiple stations for a defined time period, or all stations within a
specified geographic region in either synoptic or station sort. The
CD also contains available station metadata.
Software is available to access the data for DOS, UNIX and VMS
computer systems. This is a joint NCDC and ERL product. The latest
single CD-ROM (1990-1994) is also available separately for 120.00.
Contact: National Climatic Data Center, see above.
Global Tropical and Extratropical Cyclone Climatic Atlas (GTECCA) ($120):
This CD-ROM contains all global historic tropical storm track data
available for five tropical storm basins. Periods of record varies
for each basin, with the beginning as early as the 1870s and with 1992
at the latest year. Northern hemispheric extratropical storm track
data will be included from 1965 to 1992. Tropical track data includes
time, position, storm stage (maximum wind, central pressure when
available). The user can display tracks, track data for any basin or
user-selected geographic area, or tracks passing within a user-defined
radius of any point. Narratives for all tropical storms for the
1980-1992 period will be included as well as basin-wide tropical storm
climatological statistics.
Joint NCDC and U.S. Navy product, available for DOS only.
Contact: National Climatic Data Center, see above.
Global Daily Summary (GDS) ($120):
This CD-ROM provides access to a 10,000-station set of daily
maximum/minimum temperature, daily precipitation, and 3-hourly present
weather for the 1977-1991 period of record. Data can be selected for
viewing or output to file for geographic areas or by a predefined
user-selected list of stations. The dataset includes element flags
for suspected erroneous data. A data inventory contains station name,
latitude/longitude, elevation, period of record, and the number of
observations of available data.
Available for DOS only: requires a bare minimum of 4 MB of RAM, with
8MB of RAM recommended for superior performance.
Contact: National Climatic Data Center, see above.
GALE dataset (price not known):
GALE (Genesis of Atlantic Lows), 1/15/86-4/15/86: ship data, raobs,
aircraft, radar, etc off N Carolina coast. Available through Dept. of
Atmos. Sci. (AK40), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.
ERICA dataset ($35):
ERICA (Experiment on Rapidly Intensifying Cyclones over the Atlantic),
12/1/88-2/26/89: rawinsondes, aircraft, radar, buoys, satellite data,
etc.
Contact: C. Kreitzberg, Dept. of Physics and Atmospheric Science,
Philadelphia, PA 19104. (215) 895-2726,
kreitzcw@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu.
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