Western U.S. Average Monthly or Annual Precipitation, 1961-90Western U.S. 
Average Monthly or Annual Precipitation, 1961-90
Metadata:
  Identification_Information 
  Data_Quality_Information 
  Spatial_Data_Organization_Information 
  Spatial_Reference_Information 
  Entity_and_Attribute_Information 
  Distribution_Information 
  Metadata_Reference_Information 



  Identification_Information: 
    Citation: 
      Citation_Information: 
        Originator: 
        Chris Daly of Oregon State University and George Taylor of the Oregon 
        Climate Service at Oregon State University 
        Publication_Date: 199804 
        Title: Western U.S. Average Monthly or Annual Precipitation, 1961-90 
        Publication_Information: 
          Publication_Place: Portland, Oregon, USA 
          Publisher: 
          Water and Climate Center of the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

    Description: 
      Abstract: 
      This ftp site contains vector and polygon coverages of average monthly and 
      annual precipitation for the climatological period 1961-90. 
      Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) 
      derived raster data is the underlying data set from which the polygons and 
      vectors were created. PRISM is an analytical model that uses point data 
      and a digital elevation model (DEM) to generate gridded estimates of 
      annual, monthly and event-based climatic parameters. Detailed descriptions 
      of the PRISM raster data can be found with the accompanying raster data 
      sets. For further information, the online PRISM homepage can be found at 
      <URL:http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/prism_new.html>. 
      Purpose: 
      Display and/or analyses requiring spatially distributed monthly or annual 
      precipitation for the climatological period 1961-90. 
      Supplemental_Information: 
      There are many methods of interpolating precipitation from monitoring 
      stations to grid points. Some provide estimates of acceptable accuracy in 
      flat terrain, but few have been able to adequately explain the extreme, 
      complex variations in precipitation that occur in mountainous regions. 
      Significant progress in this area has been achieved through the 
      development of PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent 
      Slopes Model). PRISM is an analytical model that uses point data and a 
      digital elevation model (DEM) to generate gridded estimates of monthly and 
      annual precipitation (as well as other climatic parameters). PRISM is well 
      suited to regions with mountainous terrain, because it incorporates a 
      conceptual framework that addresses the spatial scale and pattern of 
      orographic precipitation. 
    Time_Period_of_Content: 
      Time_Period_Information: 
        Range_of_Dates/Times: 
          Beginning_Date: 19610101 
          Ending_Date: 19901231 
      Currentness_Reference: 
      Climatological period from which the point observations were taken. 
    Status: 
      Progress: Complete 
      Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: 
      None planned for the 1961-90 climatological period. However, this data set 
      will most likely be updated in 2001 for the new 1971-2000 climatological 
      period. 
    Spatial_Domain: 
      Bounding_Coordinates: 
        West_Bounding_Coordinate: -125.020833333333 
        East_Bounding_Coordinate: -100.979166666667 
        North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.937500000000 
        South_Bounding_Coordinate: 28.479166666667 
    Keywords: 
      Theme: 
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None 
        Theme_Keyword: polygon data 
        Theme_Keyword: precipitation 
        Theme_Keyword: contour data 
      Place: 
        Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None 
        Place_Keyword: Western USA 
    Access_Constraints: 
    n/a, no restrictions apply 
    Use_Constraints: 
    Acknowledgement of the following agencies in products derived from these 
    data: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Water and Climate 
    Center, NRCS National Cartography and Geospatial Center (NCGC), PRISM Model, 
    and the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University. 
    Point_of_Contact: 
      Contact_Information: 
        Contact_Person_Primary: 
          Contact_Person: Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University 
        Contact_Address: 
          Address_Type: mailing address 
          Address: 
          Strand Ag Hall 326, Oregon Climate Service, Oregon State University 
          City: Corvallis 
          State_or_Province: OR 
          Postal_Code: 97331-2209 
          Country: USA 
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: (541) 737-5705 
        Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (541) 737-5710 
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: oregon@oce.orst.edu 
    Security_Information: 
      Security_Classification_System: None 
      Security_Classification: Unclassified 
      Security_Handling_Description: None 
    Native_Data_Set_Environment: SunOS, 5.5.1, UNIX, ARC/INFO version 7.1.2, 
    PRISM 



  Data_Quality_Information: 
    Logical_Consistency_Report: 
    Polygon and chain-node topology present. Checks were made to ensure that no 
    two adjacent polygons are labelled with the same precipitation value. A 
    manual spot check was made of peaks, depressions, and islands. 
    Completeness_Report: 
    Point estimates of precipitation originated from the following sources: 
    National Weather Service Cooperative (COOP) stations, 2) Natural Resources 
    Conservation Service (NRCS) SNOTEL, 3) local networks. All COOP station data 
    were subjected to quality control checks by the National Climatic Data 
    Center (NCDC). 
    Lineage: 
      Source_Information: 
        Source_Citation: 
          Citation_Information: 
            Originator: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) 
            Publication_Date: 1991 
            Title: 
            U.S. National 1961-1990 Climate Normals, Climatography of the United 
            States No. 81 
            Publication_Information: 
              Publication_Place: Asheville, NC, USA 
              Publisher: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) 
        Type_of_Source_Media: digital files 
        Source_Time_Period_of_Content: 
          Time_Period_Information: 
            Range_of_Dates/Times: 
              Beginning_Date: 19610101 
              Ending_Date: 19901231 
          Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition 
        Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CLIM81 
        Source_Contribution: 
        Location and values of known average monthly and annual precipitation 
      Source_Information: 
        Source_Citation: 
          Citation_Information: 
            Originator: Natural Resources Conservation Service 
            Publication_Date: 1991 
            Title: 
            Cooperative Snow Survey Data of Federal - State - Private 
            Cooperative Snow Surveys 
            Series_Information: 
              Series_Name: 
              Cooperative Snow Survey Data of Federal - State - Private 
              Cooperative Snow Surveys 
              Issue_Identification: Annual issue for Western US states 
            Publication_Information: 
              Publication_Place: Portland, OR, USA 
              Publisher: 
              Natural Resources Conservation Service, Water and Climate Center 
        Type_of_Source_Media: digital files, paper reports, online 
        Source_Time_Period_of_Content: 
          Time_Period_Information: 
            Range_of_Dates/Times: 
              Beginning_Date: 19610101 
              Ending_Date: 19901231 
          Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition 
        Source_Citation_Abbreviation: SNOTEL (SNOwpack TELemetry) 
        Source_Contribution: 
        Location and values of known average monthly and annual precipitation 
      Source_Information: 
        Source_Citation: 
          Citation_Information: 
            Originator: 
            Natural Resources Conservation Service, Water and Climate Center 
            Publication_Date: Unpublished material 
            Title: Local Precipitation monitoring networks 
        Type_of_Source_Media: digital files 
        Source_Time_Period_of_Content: 
          Time_Period_Information: 
            Range_of_Dates/Times: 
              Beginning_Date: 19610101 
              Ending_Date: 19901231 
          Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition 
        Source_Citation_Abbreviation: LOCAL 
        Source_Contribution: 
        Location and values of known average monthly and annual precipitation 
      Source_Information: 
        Source_Citation: 
          Citation_Information: 
            Originator: Defense Mapping Agency 
            Publication_Date: 1985 
            Title: 
            1:250,000-scale Digital Elevation Models (DEM) also known as 
            1-Degree DEM's 
            Online_Linkage: 
            <URL:http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/doc/edchome/ndcdb/ndcdb.html> 
            Publication_Information: 
              Publication_Place: Washington, DC 
              Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey 
        Type_of_Source_Media: digital files 
        Source_Time_Period_of_Content: 
          Time_Period_Information: 
            Single_Date/Time: 
              Calendar_Date: 1985 
          Source_Currentness_Reference: Publication Date 
        Source_Citation_Abbreviation: DEM 
        Source_Contribution: 
        Terrain surface input to PRISM model for estimation of precipitaion 
        between known points. 
      Process_Step: 
        Process_Description: 
        Filter raster data from a resolution of 4 km to 2 km using a Gaussian 
        filter 
        Process_Date: 199804 
      Process_Step: 
        Process_Description: Contour 2 km raster data 
        Process_Date: 199804 
      Process_Step: 
        Process_Description: 
        Convert adjacent contour lines to areas or polygons using custom 
        software 
        Process_Date: 199804 



  Spatial_Data_Organization_Information: 
    Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector 
    Point_and_Vector_Object_Information: 
      SDTS_Terms_Description: 
        SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Label point 
        SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: String 
        SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: GT-polygon composed of chains 



  Spatial_Reference_Information: 
    Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition: 
      Geographic: 
        Latitude_Resolution: 0.02083333 
        Longitude_Resolution: 0.02083333 
        Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal Degrees 
      Geodetic_Model: 
        Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum 1983 (NAD83) 
        Ellipsoid_Name: GRS1980 
        Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.0 
        Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222101 



  Entity_and_Attribute_Information: 
    Detailed_Description: 
      Entity_Type: 
        Entity_Type_Label: RANGE 
        Entity_Type_Definition: 
        Polygons representing an area with a fixed value of precipitation. The 
        precipitation value is stored as the item RANGE in the attribute table. 
        Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Oregon Climate Service PRISM Project 
      Entity_Type: 
        Entity_Type_Label: CONTOUR 
        Entity_Type_Definition: 
        Contours representing lines of equal precipitation. The precipitation 
        value is stored as the item CONTOUR in the attribute table. 
        Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Oregon Climate Service PRISM Project 
      Attribute: 
        Attribute_Label: precipitation polygons 
        Attribute_Definition: average precipitation polygons 
        Attribute_Definition_Source: 
        Daly, C., R.P. Neilson, and D.L. Phillips, 1994: A 
        Statistical-Topographic Model for Mapping Climatological Precipitation 
        over Mountainous Terrain. J. Appl. Meteor., 33,140-158. 
        Attribute_Domain_Values: 
          Range_Domain: 
            Range_Domain_Minimum: 0 
            Range_Domain_Maximum: 600 
        Attribute_Units_of_Measure: inches 
        Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 2 inches 
      Attribute: 
        Attribute_Label: precipitation contours 
        Attribute_Definition: average precipitation contours 
        Attribute_Definition_Source: 
        Daly, C., R.P. Neilson, and D.L. Phillips, 1994: A 
        Statistical-Topographic Model for Mapping Climatological Precipitation 
        over Mountainous Terrain. J. Appl. Meteor., 33,140-158. 
        Attribute_Domain_Values: 
          Range_Domain: 
            Range_Domain_Minimum: 0 
            Range_Domain_Maximum: 600 
        Attribute_Units_of_Measure: inches 
        Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 2 inches 



  Distribution_Information: 
    Distributor: 
      Contact_Information: 
        Contact_Person_Primary: 
          Contact_Person: Oregon Climate Service 
        Contact_Address: 
          Address_Type: mailing address 
          Address: 316 Strand Agricultural Hall 
          City: Corvallis 
          State_or_Province: OR 
          Postal_Code: 97331 
          Country: USA 
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: (541) 737-5705 
        Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (541) 737-5710 
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: oregon@oce.orst.edu 
    Distribution_Liability: 
    This ftp site was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. 
    Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of 
    their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any 
    legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or misuse 
    of the data, or for damage, transmission of viruses or computer 
    contamination through the distribution of these data sets or for the 
    usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in 
    this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned 
    rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or 
    service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not 
    necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring 
    by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and 
    opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect 
    those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. 
    Standard_Order_Process: 
      Digital_Form: 
        Digital_Transfer_Information: 
          Format_Name: ARC/INFO coverage 
        Digital_Transfer_Option: 
          Online_Option: 
            Computer_Contact_Information: 
              Network_Address: 
              <URL:http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/prism_new.html> or 

      Fees: none 
    Technical_Prerequisites: 
    Geographic data are intended for use in a Geographic Information System 
    (GIS). In addition, this publication contains menu and display programs that 
    operate 16 Mb RAM (absolute minimum), CD-ROM drive with ISO 9660 software 
    driver, Graphics card (640x480 pixels with 256 colors, prefer 1024x1024 with 
    65,535 colors), Color monitor, mouse, and keyboard. 



  Metadata_Reference_Information: 
    Metadata_Date: 19980423 
    Metadata_Contact: 
      Contact_Information: 
        Contact_Person_Primary: 
          Contact_Person: Tye Parzybok 
        Contact_Address: 
          Address_Type: mailing address 
          Address: 
          Strand Ag Hall 326, Oregon Climate Service, Oregon State University 
          City: Corvallis 
          State_or_Province: OR 
          Postal_Code: 97331-2209 
          Country: USA 
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: (541) 737-5705 
        Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (541) 737-5710 
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: parzy@oce.orst.edu 
    Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial 
    Metadata 
    Metadata_Standard_Version: 19940608 
    Metadata_Security_Information: 
      Metadata_Security_Classification_System: None 
      Metadata_Security_Classification: Unclassified 
      Metadata_Security_Handling_Description: None 


Generated by mp on Thu Aug 13 14:17:28 1998

