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Historical Sunshine and Cloud Data in the United States, CDIAC NDP-021/R1

Entry ID: CDIAC_NDP21

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Summary

Abstract: This package contains monthly sunshine data from 240 U.S. stations (including Puerto Rico and nine Pacific Islands) and monthly cloud amount data from 197 U.S. stations. The longest periods of record are 1891 through 1987 for the sunshine data and 1871 through 1987 for the cloud data.The sunshine data were derived from measurements taken by a variety of sunshine-recording instruments. The cloud ... data were derived from land-based estimates of fractional cloud amount, which were made with observation practices that have varies during the period of record.

The sunshine data include monthly and annual total hours of recorded sunshine, monthly and annual maximum possible hours of sunshine, monthly and annual percentages of possible sunshine (hours recorded/hours possible), and dates of use for recorders at the stations. The cloud data contain monthly and annual cloud amount (in percent of sky cover) and sample listings of the total monthly and annual sunshine measurements, maximum possible monthly and annual sunshine measurements, and the percentages of monthly and annual sunshine (measured/maximum possible).

Sunshine duration is considered to be the time between sunrise and sunset, assuming a smooth, spherical earth. Sunrise and sunset are considered to be when the sun's upper disc appears just above the horizon in the morning and disappears below the horizon in the evening. On a smooth, spherical earth, possible sunshine duration varies only with latitude and time of year.

Sunshine data for 240 U.S. stations (including Puerto Rico and islands in the Pacific) are presented for the years 1891-1984. The periods of record of monthly and annual total hours of sunshine vary widely from station to station. Many of the stations have discontinuous sampling periods and only 15 stations have periods of records greater than 90 years. However, 185 stations have periods of record equal to or greater than 30 years.

Maximum possible sunshine values for the 240 stations recording network range from a minimum of 4,418 hours at the most southern station (San Juan, Puerto Rico) to a maximum of 4,591 hours at the most northern station (Fairbanks Alaska). The highest annual sunshine value ever recorded in the U.S. was at Yuma, Arizona, with 4,272 hours in 1958 (96%) and the lowest was at Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, with 1,181 hours in 1943 (26%).

All CDIAC numerical data packages include copies of pertinent literature discussing the data, summaries discussing the background, source and scope of the data, as well as applications limitations and restrictions of the data. This data set also resides on the CDIAC CD-ROM which contains many other CDIAC data sets.

CDIAC has provided an anonymous FTP area to all data files, retrieval codes, and descriptive files for the NDP's that are presently available. The FTP address is ftp://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov

The NDP-021/R1 data set is located in CDIAC's anonymous FTP in pub/ndp021r1. All files are compressed (UNIX) ASCII text files. All the data bases provided in this area are fully documented.

Related URL

Link: GET DATA

Description: FTP directory of data.

Link: GET DATA

Description: HTTP directory of data.

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: 72.0

S: 17.0

E: -65.0

W: -180.0

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: P. M. Steurer and T. R. Karl

Dataset Title: Historical Sunshine and Cloud Data in the United States (revised 1991)

Dataset DOI: DOI: 10.3334/CDIAC/cli.ndp021

Online Resource: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/ndps/ndp021.html

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1891-01-01

Stop Date: 1987-12-31

Location Keywords

OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > Pacific Islands

OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > CARIBBEAN SEA > PUERTO RICO

Data Resolution

Temporal Resolution: Monthly
Temporal Resolution Range: Monthly - < Annual

Science Keywords

ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD PROPERTIES > CLOUD FREQUENCY

ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD TYPES

ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION > SOLAR RADIATION

ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION > SUNSHINE

ISO Topic Category

CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

Platform

GROUND STATIONS

Instrument

SUNSHINE RECORDERS

Ancillary Keywords

ANNUAL DATA

CLIMATOLOGY

Originating Center

CDIAC

Data Center

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U. S. Department of Energy

Data Center URL: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/
Dataset ID: NDP-021/R1

Data Center Personnel
Name: CARBON DIOXIDE INFORMATION ANALYSIS CENTER Fax: (865) 574-2232 Contact Address: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) Oak Ridge National Laboratory P.O.. Box 2008 City: OAK RIDGE Province or State: TENNESSEE Postal Code: 37831-6335 Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Media: on-line (FTP)

Personnel

THOMAS R. KARL

Role: INVESTIGATOR

Contact Address:

National Climatic Data Center

Global Climate Laboratory

Federal Building

151 Patton Avenue

City: Asheville

Province or State: NC

Postal Code: 28801-5001

Country: USA

PETER M. STEURER

Role: INVESTIGATOR

Contact Address:

Climate Services Branch

National Climatic Data Center

Room 468

151 Patton Avenue

City: Asheville

Province or State: North Carolina

Postal Code: 28801-5001

Country: USA

CARBON DIOXIDE INFORMATION ANALYSIS CENTER

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Fax: (865) 574-2232

Contact Address:

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

P.O.. Box 2008

City: OAK RIDGE

Province or State: TENNESSEE

Postal Code: 37831-6335

Country: USA

Publications/References

Doehring, F. and T. Karl (1981), A history of sunshine data in the United States 1891-1980, No. 2-2, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina

P. M. Steurer and T. R. Karl (1991), Historical Sunshine and Cloud Data in the United States (revised 1991), doi:10.3334/CDIAC/cli.ndp021, http://cdiac.ornl.gov/ndps/ndp021.html

Creation and Review Dates

Last DIF Revision Date: 2011-09-30

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