Dataset
Fennec automatic weather station (AWS) data from the Saharan Desert between 2011-2013
Abstract
Data were collected under the NERC funded project - Fennec -The Saharan Climate System. The project was lead by the University of Oxford and involved the Universities of Leeds, Reading, Sussex and the UK Met Office. Fennec investigated the Saharan climate system and the role of dust aerosols, involving a unique surface and aircraft field campaign with the FAAM BAe-146.
Various meteorological variables were collected at 3 min 20 second intervals, between 2011 and 2013 at 8 Automatic Weather Stations. Parameters include: 1m pressure, 3 min 20 sec mean 2m windspeed (sonic and cup anemometers), number of windspeeds sampled, variance of windspeed in sample, skew of windspeed in sample, 2m relative humidity, 2 temperature, soil temperature (2 depths), ground flux, shortwave radiation up and down, longwave radiation up and down.
Specific station locations are stated both in the data files and the CEDA platform record. One station had to be moved after the first year, hence there are 9 station locations listed.
Due to harsh environmental conditions a number of the AWS stopped operating after deployment. Additional information regarding instrument issues and missing data can be found in a PDF on the CEDA archive.
Details
| Previous Info: |
No news update for this record
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| Previously used record identifiers: |
No related previous identifiers.
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| Access rules: |
Access to these data is available to any registered CEDA user. Please Login or Register for an account to gain access.
Use of these data is covered by the following licence: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record. |
| Data lineage: |
AWSs were designed and built at the University of Leeds and then deployed to 8 stations in the Sahara. Data were transmitted via satellite link to the University of Leeds where post-processing occurred. Data were then passed to CEDA for long term archival. |
| Data Quality: |
Several instrument issues occurred during the campaign, see additional documentation.
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| File Format: |
The data comprise 22 NetCDF data files and 1 .pdf file which provides additional information about instrument issues.
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Related Documents
Process overview
Instrument/Platform pairings
| Fennec automatic weather station | Deployed on: Fennec automatic weather station (AWS) network |
| Output Description | None |
- units: Pa
- long_name: 1m pressure (sensor A)
- var_id: pressureA
- units: Pa
- long_name: 1m pressure (sensor B)
- var_id: pressureB
- units: 1
- long_name: 2m relative humidity (epluse sensor A)
- var_id: epluseRHA
- units: 1
- long_name: 2m relative humidity (epluse sensor B)
- var_id: epluseRHB
- units: K
- long_name: 2m temperature (epluse sensor A)
- var_id: eplusetempA
- units: K
- long_name: 2m temperature (epluse sensor B)
- var_id: eplusetempB
- units: K
- long_name: 2m temperature (thermistor A)
- var_id: thermistorA
- units: K
- long_name: 2m temperature (thermistor B)
- var_id: thermistorB
- units: V
- long_name: Battery voltage
- var_id: vBatt
- units: W m-2
- long_name: Ground flux
- var_id: ground_flux
- units: K
- long_name: Ground temperature 1
- var_id: ground_temp1
- units: K
- long_name: Ground temperature 2
- var_id: ground_temp2
- units: A
- long_name: Hukseflux ground flux current
- var_id: ground_flux_I
- units: W m-2
- long_name: Longwave downwelling
- var_id: lw_down
- units: W m-2
- long_name: Longwave upwelling
- var_id: lw_up
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Mean wind speed (cup anemometer)
- var_id: cup_van_ws
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Mean wind speed (sonic anemometer)
- var_id: sonic_ws
- long_name: Number of samples (cup anemometer)
- var_id: cup_van_samples
- units:
- long_name: Number of samples (sonic anemometer)
- var_id: sonic_samples
- units:
- long_name: Shortwave Radiation
- gcmd_url: http://vocab.ndg.nerc.ac.uk/term/P141/4/GVAR0755
- gcmd_keyword: Shortwave Radiation
- names: Shortwave Radiation, http://vocab.ndg.nerc.ac.uk/term/P141/4/GVAR0755
- units: W m-2
- long_name: Shortwave downwelling
- var_id: sw_down
- units: W m-2
- long_name: Shortwave upwelling
- var_id: sw_up
- units: K
- long_name: System temperature
- var_id: sysTemp
- units: K
- long_name: Temperature of radiometer
- var_id: rad_temp
- var_id: time
- long_name: Time
- long_name: Wind speed skew (cup anemometer)
- var_id: cup_van_skew
- units:
- long_name: Wind speed skew (sonic anemometer)
- var_id: sonic_skew
- units:
- units: m2 s-2
- long_name: Wind speed variance (cup anemometer)
- var_id: cup_van_var
- units: m2 s-2
- long_name: Wind speed variance (sonic anemometer)
- var_id: sonic_var
Co-ordinate Variables
- units: degree_north
- standard_name: latitude
- var_id: lat
- long_name: Latitude
- units: degree_east
- standard_name: longitude
- var_id: lon
- long_name: Longitude
Temporal Range
2011-05-23T23:00:00
2013-12-31T00:00:00
Geographic Extent
27.3700° |
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-11.5780° |
5.5220° |
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21.3250° |