SNOTEL

SNOTEL

SNOTEL is an automated system of snowpack and related climate sensors operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture in the Western United States.

There are over 600 SNOTEL (or snow telemetry) sites in 13 states, including Alaska. The sites are generally located in remote high-mountain watersheds where access is often difficult or restricted. Access for maintenance by the NRCS includes various modes from hiking and skiing to helicopters.

All SNOTEL sites measure snow water content, accumulated precipitation, and air temperature. Some sites also measure snow depth, wind speed, solar radiation, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. These data are used to forecast yearly water supplies, predict floods, and for general climate research.

History

Installation of SNOTEL began in the mid-1970s. Its use in climate forecasting was not originally envisioned, but it has become the standard climate data for western U.S. locations which are elevated sufficiently to have at least a seasonal snowpack. Ongoing algorithm upgrades correct and backfill missing data, while improvements in communications improve the overall quality of data collection. [ cite web
url = http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/mtnclim/talks/pdf/TheMtnClimProgram.pdf
title = Abstract from MTNCLIM 2006 (Mountain Climate Conference)—SNOTEL Quality Control Using PRISM
author = Jan Curtis
pages = 15
format = PDF
publisher = NRCS National Water & Climate Center, Portland
date = September 192006
accessdate = 2007-09-10
]

Meteor burst technology

SNOTEL uses meteor burst communications technology to collect and communicate data in near-real-time. VHF radio signals are reflected at a steep angle off the ever present band of ionized meteors existing from about 50 to 75 miles (80 to 120 km) above the earth. Satellites are not involved; the NRCS operates and controls the entire system.

Sites are designed to operate unattended and without maintenance for a year. They are battery powered with solar cell recharge. The condition of each site is monitored daily when it reports on 8 operational functions. Serious problems or deteriorating performance trigger a response from the NRCS electronics technicians located in six data collection offices.

The SNOTEL sites are polled by 2 master stations operated by NRCS in Boise, Idaho, and Ogden, Utah. A central computer at the NRCS's National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) in Portland, Oregon controls system operations and receives the data collected by the SNOTEL network.

ystem capabilities

Basic SNOTEL sites have a pressure sensing snow pillow, storage precipitation gauge, and air temperature sensor. However, they can accommodate 64 channels of data and will accept analog and parallel or serial digital sensors. On-site microprocessors provide functions such as computing daily maximum, minimum, and average temperature information. Generally, sensor data is recorded every 15 minutes and reported out in a daily poll of all sites. Special polls are conducted more frequently in response to specific needs.

The new generation of remote sites, master stations, and central computer facilities allows for hourly interrogation of remote sites. The system has the ability to vary the configuration of a remote site by transmitting the appropriate commands telling the remote site what sensors to turn on or what parameters to send.

A variety of calculations can be made on any sensor channel. For example, the user can select maximum, minimum, average, standard deviation, or circular averaging.

Each sensor can be accessed independently at a specific interval. For example, wind speed may be sensed every minute during the day to arrive at an average, while the snow pillow may be accessed every 15 minutes for the accumulated total.

System performance has increased over the years, mainly due to a better understanding of meteor burst communication characteristics and improved equipment. While a 95 percent response to a system-wide poll is the standard, over 99 percent is common.

Data storage, management and accessibility

All data are received by the SNOTEL central computer, which in turn is linked to the Centralized Forecasting System (CFS) in the NWCC where data can be accessed. Once on the CFS, the data are in a relational database, where various analysis and graphics programs are available. Current and historical data and analyses are available by dialing in to the CFS, by disk or tape media, paper copy, and on the Internet.

References

External links

* [http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/ Official site] includes adapted PD source at [http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/factpub/sntlfct1.html]
* [http://www.meteorcomm.com Meteor Communications Corporation]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • SNOTEL — Snow Telemetry (Academic & Science » Meteorology) …   Abbreviations dictionary

  • Meteor burst communications — Meteor scatter propagation as used by SNOTEL Meteor burst communications (MBC), also referred to as meteor scatter communications[1], is a radio propagation mode that exploits the ionized trails of meteors during atmospheric entry to establish… …   Wikipedia

  • Meteorscatter — Meteor am Nachthimmel Meteorscatter ist ein Verfahren zur Steigerung der Reichweite von Ultrakurzwellen mittels Reflexionen an Meteoritenspuren. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Funktionsprinzip …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Snow pillow — A snow pillow is a device for measuring snowpack, especially for automated reporting stations such as SNOTEL.The snow pillow measures the water equivalent of the snow pack based on hydrostatic pressure created by overlying snow. Any discrepancy… …   Wikipedia

  • MMTS (meteorology) — A Maximum Minimum Temperature System or MMTS is a temperature recording system that keeps track of the maximum and minimum temperatures that have occurred over some given time period. [cite web url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lbf/?n=measuring… …   Wikipedia

  • Marion Forks, Oregon — Marion Forks   Unincorporated community   Marion Forks Restaurant …   Wikipedia

  • National Integrated Drought Information System — The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Act was signed into law in 2006 (Public Law 109 430). The Western Governors Association described the need for NIDIS in a 2004 report, Creating a Drought Early Warning System for the 21st …   Wikipedia

  • Левашов, Николай Викторович — В Википедии есть статьи о других людях с такой фамилией, см. Левашов. Николай Викторович Левашов Дата рождения …   Википедия

  • Метеорная радиосвязь — Метеорная радиосвязь  вид радиосвязи, использующий отражение радиосигнала от ионизированных следов метеоров, сгорающих в атмосфере Земли. Обычно используемый частотный диапазон  от 20 МГц до 500 МГц, дальность связи до 2250 км …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”