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LBA-ECO CD-03 Mesoscale Meteorological Data, Santarem Region, Para, Brazil: 1998-2006
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Revised September 29, 2009

Summary:

A mesoscale network has been set up in the Santarem region of Para, Brazil. This network consists of eight meteorological stations named Belterra, Km 117 (Fazenda Sr. Davi), Mojui, Jamaraqua, Guarana, Embrapa (Cacoal Grande), Vila Franca and Sudam (Curua Una). Belterra and Km 117
 stations have been almost continuously collecting data since August, 1998, respectively. Mojui, Jamaraqua, and Guarana have been collecting data since July, 2000. Embrapa, Vila Franca and Sudam stations have been collecting data since 2002. 

Data are presented in 52 individual comma-separated ASCII files. Each file contains data from one calendar year for one site; both site and year are identified clearly in the data file name and all files follow the same header information and organizational structure. Measurements include air temperature and pressure, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, downward solar radiation, and at some stations soil temperature and moisture.

stations  

Locations of eight meteorological stations in the Santarem region of Para, Brazil.

Data Citation:

Cite this data set as follows:

Fitzjarrald, D.R., R.K. Sakai and O.L.L. de Moraes. 2009. LBA-ECO CD-03 Mesoscale Meteorological Data, Santarem Region, Para, Brazil: 1998-2006. Data set. Available on-line [http://daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. doi:10.3334/ORNLDAAC/944

Implementation of the LBA Data and Publication Policy by Data Users:

The LBA Data and Publication Policy [http://daac.ornl.gov/LBA/lba_data_policy.html] is in effect for a period of five (5) years from the date of archiving and should be followed by data users who have obtained LBA data sets from the ORNL DAAC. Users who download LBA data in the five years after data have been archived must contact the investigators who collected the data, per provisions 6 and 7 in the Policy.

This data set was archived in September of 2009. Users who download the data between September 2009 and August 2014 must comply with the LBA Data and Publication Policy.

Data users should use the Investigator contact information in this document to communicate with the data provider. Alternatively, the LBA Web Site [http://lba.inpa.gov.br/lba/] in Brazil will have current contact information.

Data users should use the Data Set Citation and other applicable references provided in this document to acknowledge use of the data.

Table of Contents:

1. Data Set Overview:

Project: LBA (Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in the Amazon)

Activity: LBA-ECO

LBA Science Component: Physical Climate

Team ID: CD-03 (Fitzjarrald / Moraes)

The investigators were Fitzjarrald, David R.; Moraes, Osvaldo Luiz Leal de; Acevedo, Otavio C; Czikowsky, Matthew J.; Sakai, Ricardo and Tsoyreff, Alexander . You may contact Fitzjarrald, Dr. David R. (fitz@asrc.cestm.albany.edu) and Sakai, Dr. Ricardo K. (sakai@asrc.cestm.albany.edu)

LBA Data Set Inventory ID:CD03_Mesoscale_Meteorology

A mesoscale network has been set up in the Santarem region, Para. This network consists of eight meteorological stations. The Belterra and Km 117
 stations have been almost continuously collecting data since August, 1998. Mojui, Jamaraqua, and Guarana have been collecting data since July, 2000. EMBRAPA, Vila Franca and SUDAM stations started collecting data in 2002. The sampling interval is 1 measurement for every 2 seconds and data are presented as 1 hour averages with associated standard deviations as well as minimum and maximum values for the sampling interval (1 hour). Measurements include air temperature and pressure, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, downward solar radiation, and at some stations soil temperature and moisture.


Related Data Sets:

2. Data Characteristics:

This data set consists of meteorological data from eight stations located in the region of Santarem, Para. Belterra and Km 117
 stations have been almost continuously collecting data since August, 1998. Mojui, Jamaraqua, and Guarana have been collecting data since July, 2000. EMBRAPA, Vila Franca and SUDAM stations started collecting data in 2002. 

Data are presented in 52 individual comma-separated ASCII files. Each file contains data from one calendar year for one site; both site and year are identified clearly in the data file name. All files follow the same header information and organizational structure (shown below).

Time series of wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, solar radiation, and precipitation from Belterra and Km 117
 stations are available since late August, 1998. Soil temperature and moisture, and air pressure sensors were installed on July, 2000. The met stations consist of a 10 m tower with a Campbell Scientific dataloggers, powered by a solar panel. Wind speed and direction system, solar radiation sensor, air temperature and RH sensors, and air pressure sensor were installed at 10, 9.5, 2, and 1m respectively. Soil temperatures measurements were taken at two levels, 0.1, and 1 m, and the soil water content sensor at 0.2 m below the organic layer. The sampling interval is 1 measurement for every 2 seconds and data are presented as 1 hour averages with associated standard deviations as well as minimum and maximum values for the sampling interval (1 hour).

Measurements and Sampling Periods:

Site / Measurement 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Belterra
Met Station*** X X X X X X X X X
Soil Temp 0.05m X X X X X X X X X
Soil Temp 1 m X X X X X X X X X
Soil moisture 0.2 m X X X X X X X X X
Km 117
Met Station X X X X X X X X X
Soil Temp .05m X X X X X X X X X
Soil Temp 1 m X X X X X X X    
Soil moisture .2 m X X X X X X X X X
Guarana
Met Station     X X X X X X  
Soil Temp .05m     X X X X X X  
Soil Temp 1 m     X X X X X X  
Soil moisture .2 m     X X X X X X  
Mojui
Met Station     X X X X X X X
Soil Temp 0.05m     X X X X X X X
Soil Temp 1 m     X X X X X X X
Soil moisture 0.2 m     X X X X X X X
Jamaraqua
Met Station     X X X X X X X
Soil Temp 0.05m     X X X X X X X
Soil Temp 1 m     X X X X X X X
Soil moisture 0.2 m     X X X X X X X
Embrapa
Met Station         X X X X X
Soil Temp 0.05m         X X X X X
Soil Temp 1 m                  
Soil moisture 0.2 m X X X X X
Sudam
Met Station         X X X X  
Soil Temp 0.05m         X X X X  
Soil Temp 1 m                  
Soil moisture 0.2 m         X X X X  
V. Franca
Met Station         X X X X X
Soil Temp 0.05m         X X X X X
Soil Temp 1 m                  
Soil moisture 0.2 m         X X X X X

***Meteorological Station measurements reported include: Temperature air, Relative humidity, Solar radiation, Air pressure, Wind speed, Wind direction, and Precipitation.

Data Description:

Heading Units or Format Description
Year (YYYY) Year
Julian_day fractional day Julian day or fractional day (e.g., 1.22917) corresponding to the middle of the averaging period (1 hour) based on GMT. Local time is GMT-4.
Hour fractional hour Fractional hour corresponding to the middle of the averaging period (1 hour). Using a 24 hour clock based on GMT.
T_air degrees C Air Temperature
RH_air % Relative humidity
S_dw W/m2 Downward solar radiation: 280-2800 nm wavelengths
pressure millibars Atmospheric pressure with a 1000 mbar offset: ie a reading of 998 mbars is reported as -2
sd_T_air degrees C Standard deviation of the air temperature
sd_RH_air % Standard deviation of relative humidity
sd_S_dw W/m2 Standard deviation of downward solar radiation
sd_press millibars Standard deviation of atmospheric pressure
sd_WS m/s Standard deviation of the mean wind speed
wind_speed m/s Mean horizontal scalar wind speed
vector_WS m/s Mean horizontal resultant vector wind speed
WD degrees Mean horizontal resultant vector wind direction
sd_WD degrees Standard deviation of the wind direction
max_T_air degrees C Maximum recorded air temperature
max_RH_air % Maximum recorded relative humidity
max_S_dw W/m2 Maximum recorded downward solar radiation
max_press millibars Maximum recorded air pressure
max_WS m/s Maximum recorded wind speed
min_T_air degrees C Minimum recorded air temperature
min_RH_air % Minimum recorded relative humidity
min_S_dw W/m2 Minimum recorded downward solar radiation
min_press millibars Minimum recorded air pressure
min_WS m/s Minimum recorded wind speed
precip mm Total precipitation for the one hour sampling interval
Tsoil_1 degrees C Soil temperature 0.05 m depth in degrees C
Tsoil_2 degrees C Soil temperature 1 m depth in degrees C
soil_moisture % Soil moisture at 0.2 m depth: reported as percent on a volume basis
sd_Tsoil_1 degrees C Standard deviation of soil temperature 0.05 m depth
sd_Tsoil_2 degrees C Standard deviation of soil temperature 1 m depth
sd_soil_moisture % Standard deviation of soil moisture at 0.2 m depth
batt V Battery charge

Example Data Records:

Missing data is represented by -9999. Placeholder missing values are included in a data file even when a parameter was not measured at that site to maintain consistent file format across files from all sites / years.

Data records from file cd03_belterra_1998_hourly_met_data.csv

Year,Julian_day,Hour,T_air,RH_air,S_dw,pressure,sd_T_air,sd_RH_air,sd_S_dw,sd_press,sd_WS,wind_speed,
vector_WS,WD,sd_WD,max_T_air,max_RH_air,max_S_dw,max_press,max_WS,min_T_air,min_RH_air,
min_S_dw,min_press,min_WS,precip,Tsoil_1,Tsoil_2,soil_moisture,sd_Tsoil_1,sd_Tsoil_2,sd_soil_moisture,batt

1998,233.8125,19.5,32.75,52.81,461.31,-9999,0.32,1.57,162.7,-9999,0.94,2.79,
2.52,99.3,25.01,33.42,56.91,684.68,-9999,6.4,32.04,49.18,
94.03,-9999,0.8,0,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999
1998,233.85417,20.5,31.85,58.46,249.93,-9999,0.39,2.04,73.5,-9999,0.85,2.29,
2.1,98.8,23.39,32.5,62.65,384.49,-9999,5.6,31.06,54.05,
129.05,-9999,0,0,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999
...
1998,365.9375,22.5,26.7,79.2,0,-9999,0.43,2.21,0.04,-9999,0.47,1.29,
1.24,125.1,15.48,27.56,82.2,0.65,-9999,2.4,26.22,74.3,
-0.65,-9999,0,0,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999
1998,365.97917,23.5,25.97,82.9,0,-9999,0.17,1.4,0.02,-9999,0.47,1.52,
1.48,130.4,14.12,26.31,85.6,0,-9999,3.2,25.71,80.2,
-0.65,-9999,0,0,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999,-9999


Site boundaries: (All latitude and longitude given in degrees and fractions)

Site (Region) Westernmost Longitude Easternmost Longitude Northernmost Latitude Southernmost Latitude Geodetic Datum
Para Western (Santarem) - Fazenda Sr. David (km 117) (Para Western (Santarem)) -54.924 -54.924 -3.3502 -3.35 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)
Para Western (Santarem) - Jamaraqua - Santarem River Site (Para Western (Santarem)) -55.03639 -55.03639 -2.80639 -2.80639 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)
Para Western (Santarem) - Mojui (Para Western (Santarem)) -54.57917 -54.57917 -2.76667 -2.76667 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)
Para Western (Santarem) - Belterra (Para Western (Santarem)) -54.94361 -54.94361 -2.6431 -2.6431 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)
Para Western (Santarem) - Guarana (Para Western (Santarem)) -54.32472 -54.32472 -2.67694 -2.67694 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)
Para Western (Santarem) - Cacoal Grande (Para Western (Santarem)) -54.32861 -54.32861 -2.38944 -2.38944 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)
Para Western (Santarem) - Vila Franca (Para Western (Santarem)) -55.02889 -55.02889 -2.34861 -2.34861 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)
Para Western (Santarem) - Curua Una (Para Western (Santarem)) -54.09083 -54.09083 -2.54417 -2.54417 World Geodetic System, 1984 (WGS-84)

Time period:

Platform/Sensor/Parameters measured include:

3. Data Application and Derivation:

This CD-03 effort aims to assess how the special mesoclimatic characteristics of  the LBA Santarem study area might introduce a bias in standard climatic variables and, potentially, in ecosystem productivity estimates. In the Santarem study areas, for example, the tall flux towers are located in a thin area of forest sandwiched between cleared lands and near to large rivers that are known to influence cloudiness and alter winds in their proximity. The mesoclimate of the region must be understood before results regarding net forest carbon uptake can be generalized.

The need to document radiation, rainfall and temperature anomalies led to the development of a network of eight surface weather stations. Results for the first six years of data indicate that that temperature and precipitation are higher and wind speed is lower during the LBA-ECO years compared to the recent past. The daily averaged wind speed at Santarem correlates well with the observed Belem-Santarem surface pressure difference. From composite data we deduced the river breeze pressure gradient forcing, and identified double diurnal peaks in precipitation and specific humidity. The precipitation peak in the early morning hours is consistent with previous studies of propagating squall line circulations from the Atlantic coast. However, for inland areas away from the rivers, the nocturnal period precipitation contributes less than half of total precipitation. Nocturnal flows following local topographic gradients are seen, including the terral along the Tapajos River south of Jamaraqua identified by Bates (1864).

The most striking mesoclimatic difference is in incident solar radiation and its variation. Owing to over-river clearing provoked by the daytime river breeze, there is 20-30% more incident radiation along the river than inland. The corresponding diminution in the standard deviation of the solar radiation verifies the diminished cloudiness. A large-scale rainfall increase just to the west of Santarem manifests itself locally as a 'tongue' of enhanced rain from along the wide area of open water at the Tapajos-Amazon confluence. The Amazon River breeze circulation affects rainfall more than does the Tapajos breeze, which moves contrary to the predominant wind. East of the riverbank the Tapajos breeze influence on precipitation extends only a few kilometers inland. Rainfall increases to the north of the Amazon, possibly the result uplift over elevated terrain. Dry season rainfall increases by up to 30% going away from the Amazon River, as would be expected given breeze subsidence over the river. This reinforces the idea that stations close to the rivers are biased. These results indicate the data from the standard climatic stations, all located near the river, be used in producing model parameterizations only after allowing for these mesoclimatic biases.


4. Quality Assessment:

There are no known problems with these data.

5. Data Acquisition Materials and Methods:

The met stations consist of a 10 m tower with a Campbell Scientific dataloggers, powered by a solar panel. Data are sampled at 0.5 Hz and a mean, standard deviation and both minimum and maximum values are recorded at hourly intervals for most variables. Precipitation is the cumulative amount for the entire sampling period. The sensors used and installation arrangements at each site are listed below.

Sensor positions (Belterra, Km 117
, Mojui, Guarana, Jamaraqua):

Sensor positions (Embrapa, V. Franca, Sudam):

Collection periods for meteorological and soil measurements varied by site and are listed in the accompanying documentation.

Sensors used include:

6. Data Access:

This data is available through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Data Archive Center:

Contact for Data Center Access Information:

E-mail: uso@daac.ornl.gov
Telephone: +1 (865) 241-3952

7. References:

Bates, H.W., 1864. A Naturalist on the River Amazons, second edition, reprinted by U. Cal. Press, 1962, 465 pp.


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