North Temperate Lakes
US Long-Term Ecological Research Network

Additional Daily Meteorological Data for Madison Wisconsin (1884-2010)

Abstract
These data are in addition to "Madison Wisconsin Daily Meteorological Data 1869-current." Additional variables added include: daily cloud cover, wind, solar radiation, vapor pressure, dew point temperature, total atmospheric pressure, and average relative humidity for Madison, Wisconsin. In addition, the adjustment factors which were applied on a given date to calculate the adjusted parameters in "Madison Wisconsin Daily Meteorological Data 1869-current" are also included in these data. Raw data, in English units, were assembled by Douglas Clark - Wisconsin State Climatologist. Data were converted to metric units and adjusted for temporal biases by Dale M. Robertson. For adjustments applied to various parameters see Robertson, 1989 Ph.D. Thesis UW-Madison. Adjusted data represent the BEST estimated daily data and may be raw data. Data collected at Washburn observatory, 8-1-1883 to 9-30-1904. Data collected at North Hall, 10-1-1904 to 12-31-1947 Data collected at Truax Field (Admin BLDG), 1-1-1948 to 12-31-1959. Data collected at Truax Field, center of field, 1-1-1960 to Present. Much of the data after 1990 were obtained in digital form from Ed Hopkins, UW-Meteorology. Data starting in 2002-2005 were obtained from Sullivan at http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=mkx%20 ,then go to CF6 and download monthly data to Madison_sullivan_conversion. Relative humidity data was obtained from 1986 to 1995 from CD's at the State Climatologist's Office. Since Robertson (1989) adjusted all historical data to that collected prior to 1989; no adjustments were applied to the recent data except for wind and estimated vapor pressure. Wind after January 1997, and only wind from the southwest after November 2007, was extended by Dale M. Robertson and Yi-Fang "Yvonne" Hsieh, see methods. Estimated vapor pressure after April 2002 was updated by Yvonne Hsieh, see methods.
Dataset ID
282
Date Range
-
Metadata Provider
Methods
Raw data (in English units) were assembled by Douglas Clark - Wisconsin State Climatologist. Data were converted to metric units and adjusted for temporal biases by Dale M. Robertson. For adjustments applied to various parameters see Robertson, 1989 Ph.D. Thesis UW-Madison. Adjusted data represent the BEST estimated daily data and may be raw data. Data collected at Washburn observatory, 8-1-1883 to 9-30-1904. Data collected at North Hall, 10-1-1904 to 12-31-1947 Data collected at Truax Field (Admin BLDG), 1-1-1948 to 12-31-1959. Data collected at Truax Field (Center of Field), 1-1-1960 to Present. Much of the data after 1990 were obtained in digital form from Ed Hopkins, UW-Meteorology. Data starting in 2002-05 were obtained from Sullivan at <a href="http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=mkx%20">http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=mkx</a> ,then go to CF6 and download monthly data to Madison_sullivan_conversion. Since Robertson (1989) adjusted all historical data to that collected from 1884-1989; no adjustments were applied to the recent data except for (1) wind and (2) estimated vapor pressure:(1) Wind after January 1997, and only wind from the southwest after November 2007, was extended by Dale M. Robertson and Yvonne Hsieh.In 1996, a discontinuity in the wind record was caused by change in observational techniques and sensor locations (Mckee et al. 2000). To address the non-climatic changes in wind speed, data from MSN were carefully compared with those collected from the tower of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, see http://ginsea.aos.wisc.edu/labs/mendota/index.htm. Hourly data from both sites (UMSN,hourly and UAOS,hourly) during 2003&ndash;2010 were used to form a 4&times;12 (four components of wind direction &times; 12 months) matrix (K4,12) of wind correction factors, yielding UAOS,daily= Ki,j&times;UMSN,daily. The comparison results indicated that the MSN weather station reported a higher magnitude in winds out of the east by 5% and lower magnitude in winds out of the west and south by 30% and 10%. The adjusted wind data (=Ki,j&times;UMSN,daily) were therefore employed and used in the model simulation. After adjustments, there was a decrease in wind velocities starting shortly before 1996. Overall the adjusted wind data had a decline in wind velocities of 16% from 1988&ndash;93 to 1994&ndash;2009) compared to a 7% decline at a nearby weather station with no known observational changes (St. Charles, Illinois; 150 km southeast of Lake Mendota). (2) Estimated vapor pressure was updated (after April 2002) by using the equation from DYRESM for estimation of vapor pressure (a function of both air temperature and dew point temperature); where a=7.5, b=237.3, and c=.7858.
Related Sites
Version Number
23

North Temperate Lakes LTER Meteorological Data - Woodruff Airport 1989 - current

Abstract
Meteorological measurements are being gathered at a site at the Noble F. Lee municipal airport located at Woodruff, WI for three purposes: 1) to supplement the data from the raft on Sparkling and Trout Lakes used for evaporation calculations, and 2) to provide standard meteorological measurements for the North Temperate Lakes site, and 3) to measure radiation for primary production studies in the study lakes at the site. The following parameters are measured at 1-minute intervals: 1) air temperature at 1.5 m above ground, 2) relative humidity at 1.5 m above ground, 3) wind speed and direction and peak wind speed at 3 m above ground, 4) total long-wave radiation, 5) total short-wave radiation, 6) photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), 7) total solar radiation, and 8) total precipitation. High resolution data is taken typically at 1 minute intervals as well as 1-hour and 24-hour averages. Half-hourly averages of PAR and shortwave radiation are also stored. Precipitation data are summed for 5-minute intervals during periods of detectable precipitation. Derived data included in this data set include dew point temperature as well as daily minimum and maximum values for some parameters. Number of sites: 1. Date/time is Central Standard Time (GMT - 06:00) throughout the year.
Dataset ID
17
Date Range
-
Metadata Provider
Methods
See abstract for methods.
Related Sites
Short Name
NTLME01
Version Number
37

North Temperate Lakes LTER: High Frequency Meteorological and Dissolved Oxygen Data - Sparkling Lake Raft 1989 - current

Abstract
The instrumented raft on Sparkling Lake is equipped with a dissolved oxygen and CO2 sensors, a thermistor chain, and meteorological sensors that provide fundamental information on lake thermal structure, weather conditions, evaporation rates, and lake metabolism. Estimating the flux of solutes to and from lakes requires accurate water budgets. Evaporation rates are a critical component of the water budget of lakes. Data from the instrumented raft on Sparkling Lake includes micrometeorological parameters from which evaporation can be calculated. Raft measurements of relative humidity and air temperature (2m height), wind velocity (2m) ,and water temperatures (from thermistors placed throughout the water column at intervals varying from 0.5 to 3m) are combined with measurements of total long-wave and short-wave radiation data from a nearby shore station to determine evaporation by the energy budget technique. Comparable evaporation estimates from mass transfer techniques are calibrated against energy budget estimates to produce a lake-specific mass transfer coefficient for use in estimating evaporation rates. After correcting for flux to or from the atmosphere and vertical mixing within the water column, high frequency measurements of dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen can be used to estimate gross primary productivity, respiration, and net ecosystem productivity, the basic components of whole lake metabolism. Other parameters measured include precipitation, wind direction (beginning in 2008), and barometric pressure (beginning in 2008). Sampling Frequency: one minute with hourly and daily averages provided. Number of sites: 1.
Core Areas
Dataset ID
4
Date Range
-
Maintenance
ongoing
Metadata Provider
Methods
The instrumented raft on Sparkling Lake is equipped with a D-Opto dissolved oxygen sensor, a thermistor chain, and meteorological sensors that provide fundamental information on lake thermal structure, weather conditions, evaporation rates, and lake metabolism. Estimating the flux of solutes to and from lakes requires accurate water budgets. Evaporation rates are a critical component of the water budget of lakes. Data from the instrumented raft on Sparkling Lake includes micrometeorological parameters from which evaporation can be calculated. Raft measurements of relative humidity and air temperature (2 m height), wind velocity (2m) , and water temperatures (from thermistors placed throughout the water column at intervals varying from 0.5 to 3m) are combined with measurements of total long-wave and short-wave radiation data from a nearby shore station to determine evaporation by the energy budget technique. Comparable evaporation estimates from mass transfer techniques are calibrated against energy budget estimates to produce a lake-specific mass transfer coefficient for use in estimating evaporation rates. After correcting for flux to or from the atmosphere and vertical mixing within the water column, high frequency measurements of dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen can be used to estimate gross primary productivity, respiration, and net ecosystem productivity, the basic components of whole lake metabolism. Other parameters measured include precipitation, wind direction (beginning in 2008), and barometric pressure (beginning in 2008). Sampling Frequency: one minute; averaged to hourly and daily values as well as higher resolution values such as 2 min and 10 min.Dissolved oxygen sensors: 2004-2006: Greenspan Technology series 1200; 2007-2016: Zebra-Tech Ltd. D-Opto; 2018+: OTT HydrolabCO2 sensors: 2018+: ProOceanos MiniCO2 for dissolved CO2; Eosense Inc. eosGP for atmospheric CO2
Related Sites
Short Name
NTLEV01
Version Number
34
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National Science Foundation | LTER Network | Center for Limnology        

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement #DEB-2025982, NTL LTER (ROR: 04gq8q482). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.