NASA Global Data Sets for…phere Models 1987 - 1988/NASA Global Data Sets for Land-Atmosphere Models 1987 - 1988 - Disc 1.iso/brochure.doc

Text File | 1995-04-10 | 21KB | 527 lines

The authors of this CD-ROM collection would like to extend their gratitude to
the many individuals who participated in its preparation. We would especially
like to thank members of the ISLSCP Science Steering Committee who provided
guidance throughout the preparation of this publication. In addition, the
efforts of Yann Kerr in organizing the data and documentation peer review
process are also gratefully acknowledged. We are also indebted to the
scientists (Jim Collatz, Forrest Hall, Yann Kerr, Randy Koster, Sietse Los,
Ken Mitchell, Paul Try, YongKang Xue) who participated in the workshops that
were held to review the data and documentation. All of these individuals were
instrumental in the development of the content and quality of this CD
collection.

Blanche W. Meeson, Series Editor
Frank Corprew, Data Editor
Jim McManus, Document Editor
Piers Sellers, ISLSCP Chair

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            INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE LAND SURFACE CLIMATOLOGY PROJECT
                                     (ISLSCP)

                                   Initiative I


                                   Volumes 1-5:
                  Global Data Sets for Land-Atmosphere Models


B. W. Meeson (1,2), F. E. Corprew (1,3), J.M.P. McManus (1,3), D.M. Myers
(1,3),
    J.W. Closs (1,3), K.-J. Sun (1,3), D.J. Sunday (5), P.J. Sellers (2,4)


              (1) EOS-DIS Goddard Distributed Active Archive Center
                      (2) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
                            (3) Hughes-STX Corporation
          (4) International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project
                           (5) Sundancer Communications

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INTRODUCTION

The International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP)
Initiative I data collection contained here was borne out of a workshop
organized by the ISLSCP scientific community in 1992. This workshop brought
modelers, algorithm developers, and field experiment scientists together to
discuss future steps for applying and translating current research findings
into useful global data sets for land-atmosphere models; see the overview
paper by Sellers et al. published on Volume 1 of this CD set (OVERVIEW.DOC).
The data sets contained within this CD set are a direct response to the
recommendations of that workshop. The intent here was to produce, as quickly
as possible, a consistent collection of high priority global data sets using
existing data sources and algorithms, designed to satisfy the needs of those
modelers. The workshop recommendations specified that global data sets at a
consistent spatial and temporal resolution be compiled in four key areas: land
cover, hydrometeorology, radiation, and soils.

The data sets on this CD set cover those four areas, span the 24 month period,
1987-1988, and all but one are mapped to a common spatial resolution and grid
(1 deg. x 1 deg.). Temporal resolution for most data sets is monthly; however,
a few are at a finer resolution (e.g., 6-hourly). The data within the four
areas are organized into five groups on this CD set.

     1. Vegetation
     2. Hydrology and Soils
     3. Snow, Ice, and Oceans
     4. Radiation and Clouds
     5. Near-Surface Meteorology

The data within each of these areas were acquired from a variety of sources
including model output, satellites, and ground measurements. The individual
data sets were provided in a variety of forms. In some cases this required the
data publication team to regrid and reformat data sets and in others to
produce monthly averages from finer resolution data. The specific handling for
each data set is detailed in the documentation. The regridded, reformatted,
integrated, and peer reviewed data sets are published on this five-volume CD
collection.

The vegetation; hydrology and soils; snow, ice, and oceans; and radiation and
clouds data are all found on Volume 1 of the set, while the near-surface
meteorology data span Volumes 2-5. For a summary description of the data sets
in this collection, see the overview article (OVERVIEW.DOC) on Volume 1. In
addition to the data, Volume 1 contains the data set documentation, a file
describing what is on each of the CDs in this set (AAREADME.CDS), the peer
review of these data (PEER_REV.DOC), fully formatted documentation files (file
name .PDF), and software to decompress the compressed data files, to read the
PDF files, and to run Macintosh CD drives. Volumes 2-5 also have the data set
documentation and the decompression software and CD drivers.

A review of ISLSCP activities and current initiatives can be found in the
following publication:

   Sellers, P.J., B.W. Meeson, F.G. Hall, G. Asrar, R.E. Murphy, R.A.
Schiffer,
   F.P. Bretherton, R.E. Dickinson, R.G. Ellingson, C.B. Field, K.F.
Huemmrich,
   C.O. Justice, J.M. Melack, N.T. Roulet, D.S. Schimel, and P.D. Try. 1995.
   Remote sensing of the land surface for studies of global change: Models -
   algorithms - experiments. Remote Sens. Environ. 51(1):3╨26.


DATA SETS

The data on these CDs have been acquired from a variety of sources throughout
the world. Several of the parameters that appear here were produced for this
CD set, while others were assembled from existing yet uncollated data sets,
and still others were obtained from archives or individuals' private
collections.

Volume 1

This CD contains global images for 36 parameters derived from satellite and
ground measurements, and one ground-based, point measurement data set (river
flow). These data sets are all monthly resolution except where noted below.
The parameters on this CD, organized by group, are as follows:

Vegetation
   NDVI
   FASIR╨NDVI
   LAI
   Vegetation classification
   Surface roughness
   Background reflectance (NIR & Vis)
   Greenness
   FPAR
   Snow-free albedo

Hydrology and Soils
   Precipitation
   River flow
   Soil slope, texture, and depth
   Lake, river, and marsh cover

Snow, Ice, and Oceans
   Snow cover*
   Snow depth
   Sea ice concentration
   Sea surface temperature
   Land-sea boundary

Radiation and Clouds
   Surface and TOA incoming and outgoing shortwave**
   Surface incoming shortwave and longwave
   Surface net shortwave, net longwave, and net radiation
   Surface incoming PAR**
   Clear-sky albedo
   Cloud amount
   Cloud top pressure
   Optical thickness
   Cloud water path

Miscellaneous
   Land-sea mask
   Grid cell area
__________
 *      These data have a temporal resolution of weekly.
**      These data have a temporal resolution of monthly 3-hourly and are in
   compressed form on the CD.

Volumes 2-5

Global images of near-surface meteorological parameters derived from the ECMWF
and NMC assimilation-forecast models in compressed form are found on these
CDs.

Volume 2

The parameters on this disk are at three different temporal resolutions --
monthly 6-hourly, monthly, and fixed. They were derived using data from the
ECMWF model and are accompanied by the standard deviation and range for each.
This CD includes

Monthly 6-Hourly Parameters
   Surface pressure
   U & V wind stress
   Temp. at 2 m
   U & V wind speed at 10 m
   Dew point at 2 m
   Surface temperature
   Mean sea level pressure
   Surface net shortwave and longwave radiation
   Surface Sensible and latent heat fluxes
   TOA net shortwave and longwave

Monthly
   Surface soil moisture
   Climate deep-soil temperature
   Deep soil temperature
   Climate deep-soil wetness
   Deep soil wetness
   Snow depth

Fixed
   Roughness length
   Albedo

Volumes 3-5

The last three volumes contain the 6-hourly data for the 2 years, 1987 and
1988.  Volume 3 contains the 6-hourly values for temperature and dew point at
2 meters using this same ECMWF model, while Volume 4 contains the 6-hourly
values for surface pressure and wind magnitude at 10 meters derived using the
ECMWF model.  Volume 5 has the hybrid parameters for radiation and
precipitation. The radiation hybrids (shortwave and longwave) were generated
using the ECMWF 6-hourly modeled radiation and the LaRC satellite derived
monthly radiation products, while the precipitation (total and convective)
products were produced using the NMC 6-hourly modeled precipitation and GPCP
monthly precipitation products.


TECHNICAL INFORMATION

The ISLSCP CDs are written in the ISO 9660 format. Your CD device must be able
to read this format to access the data properly.

These CDs may not be readable by all CD drives, since not all drives can
access the full 640-680 MBytes capacity of the disc. However, there are less
than 600 MBytes of data on this volume, which should avoid this problem.

Compatibility will be determined by the interaction between the CD reader, the
hardware interface in your computer, and the software interface (driver). The
only guarantee that all will work together is to buy them from the same
vendor, with a specific requirement that they will work with your host
computer (e.g., PC, Mac, Sun, HP, SGI, VAX, etc.).

All files on the CDs are accessible using normal operating system software and
application programs on all machines with a suitable CD reader and driver
software for the ISO 9660 disc format.


DISC ORGANIZATION AND CONTENTS

These CDs contain global data sets, data set documentation, and software for
the data. The data and documents are in ASCII format and are organized into
five groups of related data sets. The first CD in this set, Volume 1
(USA_NASA_GDAAC_ISLSCP_001), contains all of the data sets for four of these
groups: Vegetation; Hydrology and Soils; Snow, Ice, and Oceans; Radiation and
Clouds. The fifth data group, Near-Surface Meteorology, is contained on the
other four CDs (Volumes 2-5) in this set. The monthly and monthly 6-hourly
products for the near-surface meteorology data are found on Volume 2
(USA_NASA_GDAAC_ISLSCP_002), while the 6-hourly data for the near-surface
meteorology are found on Volumes 3-5 (USA_NASA_GDAAC_ISLSCP_003, _004, _005).
The directory structure for each of the CDs is as follows:

VOLUME 1
  ROOT
  |  AAREADME.CDS
  |  ACROBAT
  |  |  AAREADME.ARB
  |  |  DOCUMENT
  |  |  |  BROCHURE.PDF
  |  |  |  OVERVIEW.PDF
  |  |  |  PEER_REV.PDF
  |  |  |  READ_1ST.PDF
  |  |  SOFTWARE
  |  |  |  MAC
  |  |  |  PC
  |  |  |  SUN
  |  BROCHURE.DOC
  |  DATA
  |  |  HYDR_SOL*
  |  |  MISC*
  |  |  RADIATN*
  |  |  SN_ICSST*
  |  |  VEGETATN*
  |  DOCUMENT
  |  |  HYDR_SOL
  |  |  NRSURMET
  |  |  RADIATN
  |  |  SN_ICSST
  |  |  VEGETATN
  |  OVERVIEW.DOC
  |  PEER_REV.DOC
  |  SOFTWARE
  |  |  DECOMPRS
  |  |  |  AAREADME.CMP
  |  |  |  MAC
  |  |  |  PC
  |  |  |  UNIX_VMS
  |  |  MAC_DRVR
  |  |  |  AAREADME.DRV
  |  |  |  DRIVERS

VOLUME 2
  ROOT
  |  AAREADME.CDS
  |  DATA
  |  |  ECINVRNT*
  |  |  EC_MTHIN*
  |  |  ECMTH6HR*
  |  DOCUMENT
  |  |  ECMWF.DOC
  |  SOFTWARE
  |  |  DECOMPRS
  |  |  |  AAREADME.CMP
  |  |  |  MAC
  |  |  |  PC
  |  |  |  UNIX_VMS
  |  |  MAC_DRVR
  |  |  |  AAREADME.DRV
  |  |  |  DRIVERS

VOLUME 3
  ROOT
  |  AAREADME.CDS
  |  DATA
  |  |  YyyMmm
  |  |  |  DWPNT_2M
  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  |  |  TEMP_2M
  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  DOCUMENT
  |  |  ECMWF.DOC
  |  SOFTWARE
  |  |  DECOMPRS
  |  |  |  AAREADME.CMP
  |  |  |  MAC
  |  |  |  PC
  |  |  |  UNIX_VMS
  |  |  MAC_DRVR
  |  |  |  AAREADME.DRV
  |  |  |  DRIVERS

VOLUME 4
  ROOT
  |  AAREADME.CDS
  |  DATA
  |  |  YyyMmm
  |  |  |  MWND_10M
  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  |  |  SUR_PRSR
  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  DOCUMENT
  |  |  ECMWF.DOC
  |  SOFTWARE
  |  |  DECOMPRS
  |  |  |  AAREADME.CMP
  |  |  |  MAC
  |  |  |  PC
  |  |  |  UNIX_VMS
  |  |  MAC_DRVR
  |  |  |  AAREADME.DRV
  |  |  |  DRIVERS

VOLUME 5
  ROOT
  |  AAREADME.CDS
  |  DATA
  |  |  YyyMmm
  |  |  |  ECM_LANG
  |  |  |  |  HYB_LWDN
  |  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  |  |  |  HYB_SWDN
  |  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  |  |  NMC_GPCP
  |  |  |  |  CONV_PRC
  |  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  |  |  |  TOTL_PRC
  |  |  |  |  |  nymmddhh.Z
  |  DOCUMENT
  |  |  ECMWF.DOC
  |  |  NMC_GPCP.DOC
  |  SOFTWARE
  |  |  DECOMPRS
  |  |  |  AAREADME.CMP
  |  |  |  MAC
  |  |  |  PC
  |  |  |  UNIX_VMS
  |  |  MAC_DRVR
  |  |  |  AAREADME.DRV
  |  |  |  DRIVERS

The file types for the documentation on the CDs are

Data set documentation
           .DOC -- Data set documentation

Miscellaneous documentation
   OVERVIEW.DOC -- History of the ISLSCP initiative to create the data set
                   collection; overview of the data on the CD.
   PEER_REV.DOC -- Report from the peer reviewers of the data sets on these
                   CDs.
   AAREADME.CDS -- Brief description of CD contents, a full description of the
                   file-naming conventions for the data files, detailed index
                   to the files, and a description of the software that is on
                   the CDs.
   AAREADME.sfx -- Descriptive information for the files located with this
                   README file.
           .PDF -- Fully formatted versions of the above documents: Adobe
                   Acrobat(TM) Reader (included on this CD set) required to
                   read this format.

NAMING CONVENTIONS

The naming of files and directories is slightly different for each volume.
Generally, the data on these CDs use these naming conventions:

         Volume 1: \DATA\datagroup\data_set\parameter\YyyMmm.sfx
         Volume 2: \DATA\temporal_resolution\YyyMmm\parameter\nnsymmhh.z
   Volume 3 and 4: \DATA\YyyMmm\parameter\nymmddhh.z
         Volume 5: \DATA\YyyMmm\data_set\parameter\nymmddhh.z

Where yy is the last two digits of the year (e.g., 87 = 1987), mm is the month
of the year (e.g., 12 = December), hh is the GMT hour, nn is a two-letter code
for the parameter, n is a one-digit code for the parameter, s is a code for
the statistical measure (e.g., E = mEan). Capital letters indicate fixed
values that appear on the CD exactly as shown here, lower case indicates
characters (values) that change for each path and file.

The file name extension is either .sfx, which identifies the data set content
for the file, or it is .Z, which identifies that the file is compressed and
must be decompressed before it can be used.

There are numerous exceptions to these rules, especially at deeper levels
within the directory structure. Consult the AAREADME.CDS at the ROOT level on
Volume 1 for a complete listing of all the naming conventions used for the
files on all of the ISLSCP Initiative I CDs.



SOFTWARE

The decompression software provided on these CDs uses the UNIX compression
algorithm. It is provided for a wide variety of platforms including Apple
Macintosh, DEC VAX running VMS, and IBM PC compatibles running MS-DOS. An IBM
386 and compatibles, or a Mac II and later machine is recommended for improved
performance when using these two platforms. No special hardware is required to
use this decompression software.

This software has been compiled from several public-access, FTP anonymous
sites on the Internet. Updates to this software are available from time to
time from those sites. A full list of these sites is given in the AAREADME.CMP
file in the SOFTWARE directory on CD Volume 1. For convenience, some of those
sites are listed here.

             MS-DOS -- ftp.cso.uiuc.edu [128.174.5.61]
                Mac -- sumex-aim.stanford.edu [36.44.0.6]
                VMS -- ftp.sspc.edu [192.107.46.27]
             VM/CMS -- vmd.cso.uiuc.edu [128.174.5.98]


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Goddard DAAC data publication team and the data set authors and peer
reviewers from the ISLSCP science community cooperatively assembled,
processed, prepared, documented, and reviewed the data presented on these CDs.
The requested form of acknowledgment for the data set authors is given in the
documentation for each data set, and should be honored. Two references should
be used when citing this CD collection as a publication:

   Meeson, B.W., F.E. Corprew, J.M.P. McManus, D.M. Myers, J.W. Closs, K.-J.
   Sun, D.J. Sunday, P.J. Sellers. 1995. ISLSCP Initiative I -- Global Data
   Sets for Land-Atmosphere Models,1987-1988. Volumes 1╨5. Published on CD by
   NASA (USA_NASA_GDAAC_ISLSCP_001 - USA_NASA_GDAAC_ISLSCP_005).

   Sellers, P.J., B.W. Meeson, J. Closs, J. Collatz, F. Corprew, D. Dazlich,
   F.G. Hall, Y. Kerr, R. Koster, S. Los, K. Mitchell, J. McManus, D. Myers,
   K.-J. Sun, P. Try. 1995. An Overview of the ISLSCP Initiative I -- Global
   Data Sets. On: ISLSCP Initiative I Global Data Sets for Land-Atmosphere
   Models, 1987-1988. Volumes 1-5. Published on CD-ROM by NASA. Volume 1:
   USA_NASA_GDAAC_ISLSCP_001. OVERVIEW.DOC.

The support of NASA Headquarters, Office of Mission to Planet Earth, the
Operations, Data and Information Systems Division, and the Science Division
are gratefully acknowledged. Dr. Ghassem Asrar, the EOS program scientist at
NASA HQ was key in providing early support and funding for the workshop that
initiated this activity. Special thanks are due Drs. Robert Murphy and Tony
Janetos whose financial support was critical to the publication of this CD
set. Encouragement was provided by the chair of WCRP-GEWEX, Dr. Moustafa
Chahine, and the Director of WCRP, Dr. Pierre Morel. Both are sincerely
thanked. Drs. Paul Chan and Steven Wharton of the EOS-DIS Goddard DAAC and the
Global Change Data Center also warrant special thanks for their support and
their recognition of the scientific potential encapsulated in these CDs.

In addition, the data sets and the documentation were reviewed by volunteers
from the ISLSCP science community. The participation of the following
individuals is gratefully acknowledged.

Nigel Arnell, Lahouari Bounoua, Chris Brest, Peter Briggs, Jim Collatz, Don
Dazlich, Gerard Dedieu, Bob Dickinson, Han Dolman, John Gash, Barry Goodison,
Forrest Hall, Fred Huemmrich, Alfredo Huete, John Janoviak, Yann Kerr, Jenny
Lean, Jean-Claude Menaut, Joel Noilhan, Michael Raupach, Chet Ropelewski, Bill
Rossow, Steve Running, T.R.E. Thompson, Paul Try, Anne Walker, Ivan Wright,
YongKang Xue.

The quality of the data and documentation that appears on these CDs is in
large part the result of the efforts of these reviewers. Their participation
was instrumental in improving the caliber of the data sets and the
documentation on these CDs. We would especially like to thank those
individuals who participated in more than one phase of the peer review and
data preparation. The generous donation of their time and energies is greatly
appreciated.

The data set authors are heartily thanked for their participation in the
sometimes grueling preparation of data sets for these CDs. The list of
individuals includes:

Vegetation: Land Cover and Biophysics
   Sietse Los, Don Dazlich, Jim Tucker, Chris Justice, Piers Sellers, Nazmi El
   Saleous, Ruth DeFries, Jim Collatz, John Townshend, Ed Harrison.

Hydrology and Soils
   Wolfgang Grabs, Arnold Gruber, J.G. Cogley, Saud Amer, Soroosh Sorooshian,
   Leonard Zobler, Norman Bliss, Dan Braithwaite, Randy Koster, Bruno Rudolf,
   Udo Schneider.

Snow, Ice, and Oceans
   Dudley Foster, David Robinson, Jay Wright, Richard Reynolds, Bob Grumbine.

Radiation and Clouds
   Rachel Pinker, Istvan Laszlo, Wayne Darnell, Charles Whitlock, Bruce
   Barkstrom, Ed    Harrison, Bill Rossow, Bob Schiffer, Jim Brest, W. F.
   Staylor.

Near-Surface Meteorology
   Tony Hollingsworth, Horst Bottiger, Ken Mitchell, Ying Lin.

Finally, several individuals provided assistance and expertise with aspects of
the scientific programming and computer facilities that were required to
produce these CDs. The generous donation of their time and expertise is
greatly appreciated.
   Jeff Love, Lahouari Bounoua, John Vanderpool, Tom Kopp, Andy Griffin,
   Charles Lofton, Wayne Rosen, Ricky Rood, Siegfried Schubert.