Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks (2009)

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Appendix B Tables of Surface-Based Observing Systems This Appendix includes two tables of surface-based observing systems. One attempts to summarize all networks in the United States that are potentially useful for mesoscale weather applications. The second table focuses on air-quality measurements. The first table catalogues surface- based meteorological observations in the United States. It comes from a presentation that was given to the Committee by Scot Loehrer and is based on a database that he developed at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR/ NCAR) over the last decade, with Global Energy and Water Cycle Experi- ment (GEWEX)/GEWEX Americas Prediction Project (GAPP) funding. Some of the entries were updated from the National Science Foundation- sponsored database, which is currently being developed to serve the dual purpose of providing users with information about available resources and identifying future observational needs in atmospheric research. The table is not completely up-to-date; the number of networks (500+ documented) is large, and they appear, disappear, and evolve continuously. Some of the entries have been updated based on reviewer comments or other websites. Other useful sources of information appear in the main text. The second table, which focuses on air quality instrumentation, comes from Scheffe (2007).  See  http://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/hydrometnet.  See  http://www.eol.ucar.edu/fadb/. 208 

APPENDIX B 209 TABLE B.1  Inventory of U.S. surface-based observing networks Collective Number of Operating or Archive Network Type Sites Agencies Location Remarks Cooperative 8000 NOAA NCDC Includes ~75 observing modernized sites in climate the northeast U.S. network Climate 80 Federal NCDC Placed to be reference agencies representative of network climate change Aviation ~900 ASOS Mostly federal, Many at ASOS, AWOS, and ~1000 AWOS some state. NCDC, some follow-on AWSS ~15 AWSS MADIS and MesoWest Road 2400 stations Mostly state MADIS RWIS. More states transportation in 34 departments of MesoWest have observations, networks networks transportation, FHWA Clarus but they are not some cities upcoming on the database. Meteorological data plus pavement temperature, etc. (Only meteorological data typically available.) Railway 450 sites Union Pacific MADIS Primarily air networks Railroad MesoWest temperature; winds and water level also of interest Agriculture/ 61 networks, State, local, Some General monitoring evapotranspir- ~1700 universities, MADIS, of weather and ation and stations private sector MesoWest agricultural mesonets (many TV conditions. stations), Meteorological Bureau of plus ET, radiation Reclamation data at some sites. Includes Oklahoma Mesonet, which has 120 stations, plus 35 stations in two rural micronets and 40 stations in the new OKC mesonet (revised August 08) continued 

210 APPENDIX B TABLE B.1  Continued Collective Number of Operating or Archive Network Type Sites Agencies Location Remarks Other weather 10,000 sites Public, private, Non-automatic networks hybrids METAR ~250 CWOP ~3000 sites WCforYou.com ~150 AnythingWx.com ~100 AWS ~6000 Military plus 20 networks, Military Most Weather, sometimes radiation 350 stations agencies and MADIS, radiation monitoring national labs MesoWest Coastal Great NOAA, states, NOAA/NDBC Divided into 11 (meteorology Lakes/Atlantic private makes QC’s regions. Most plus water Coast: 20 met data observations on or level, water networks, available real close to coast quality ~300 sites time tsunami, port Gulf of transportation) Mexico: 13 networks, ~200 sites Pacific Coast (incl. Alaska, Hawaii): 14 networks, ~200 sites Precipitation 12,000 NOAA NCDC COOP plus COOP CoCoRaHS 5,000 NCEP NCAR Precipitation, 150 NWS, FAA, NCDC Source: NOAA severe weather USAF warnings Precipitation, 150 estimated TV stations Estimated severe weather warnings Flood warning 350 Local Precipitation, meteorological streamflow, reservoir stations level, weather 1250 stream gauges 3500 precipitation gauges 

APPENDIX B 211 TABLE B.1  Continued Collective Number of Operating or Archive Network Type Sites Agencies Location Remarks Snow 750 SNOTEL USDA/NRCS, MesoWest Monitor snowpack 175 avalanche MADIS for water supply, avalanche/ski forecast stability, skiing. Air networks centers, ski temperature, snow areas, etc. water equivalent. Some also have meteorology, soil conditions Real time Stream gage USGS, USGS Stream, reservoir, (non real time) 8500 (25000) USACE, groundwater water Groundwater USBR, other conditions resources 1100 (5100) fed, state, local Water quality agencies. 1400 (5700) Fire weather 1700 RAWS USFS, state WRCC, Meteorology plus sites (now forestry MADIS, fuel temperature and 2200) agencies MesoWest moisture Air quality >2000 from EPA, NPS, Pollutants (CO2, 50 networks state and NO2, SO2, C3. local, some PM-2.5, PM-10, NPS, Tribal lead) and/or metals, agencies, organics, inorganics. private sector Near sources or in populous regions. Highly variable. Few include all standard meteorological variables Radiation ~100 total Federal, Solar energy resource, sites universities surface radiation budgets, UVB. Meteorology, direct and diffuse solar; some more detail. Energy/CO2 ARM: 24 Federal, Surface meteorology, flux AmeriFlux: 80 universities latent and sensible OK Mesonet: heat flux, CO2/water 10 vapor flux, surface energy balance NOAA Tall Tower Network upcoming continued 

212 APPENDIX B TABLE B.1  Continued Collective Number of Operating or Archive Network Type Sites Agencies Location Remarks Soil ARM: 22 Federal, Soil temperature, temperature/ ISWS: 20 universities moisture ~ moisture OK Mesonet: meteorology 115 SCAN: 122 AmeriFlux: 80 Ecological LTERS: 22 Federal LTER NEON upcoming networks agencies, universities Radiosondes NOAA: 80 NOAA, state NOAA Vertical profiles of Other: 11 and local temperature, water vapor, wind speed and direction Profilers CAP: 76(50 Public, Private, NOAA Vertical profiles RASS) Hybrid of wind speed and NPN 35 (11 direction, some with RASS) virtual temperature (RASS) and spectrum width. Aerosol AERONET: Variety of AERONET Backscatter, aerosol column 48 agencies optical depth values/aero-sol MPLNet: 5 profiles REALM(7) ARM (3), Shadowband Network GPS-based NOAA/GSD ~150 NOAA, Integrated networks ground-based (estimated USCG/ Precipitable Water; GPS-Met from map) USACE, from NOAA GPS- DOT, Met web site. SuomiNet (UCAR/ COSMIC, universities, NSF funding) NOTE: Some entries were updated March 2008; additional entries noted under “remarks.” SOURCE: Scott Loehrer, April 4, 2007 presentation to the Committee. Work sponsored by GEWEX/GAPP and the National Science Foundation. 

APPENDIX B 213 TABLE B.2  Major routine operational air quality monitoring networks (Some networks listed separately may also serve as subcomponents of other larger listed networks. As a result, some double counting of the number of individual monitors is likely.) Lead Federal Number Measurement Location of Information Network Agency of Sites Initiated Parameters and/or Data NCore1 EPA 75 2008 O3, NO/NO2/ http://www.epa.gov/ttn/ NOy, SO2, amtic/monstratdoc.html CO, PM- 2.5/PM-10- 2.52, PM-2.5 speciation, NH3, HNO3, surface meteorology3 SLAMS1 EPA ~3000 1978 O3, NOx/NO2, http://www.epa.gov/ SO2, PM-2.5/ ttn/airs/airsaqs/aqsweb/ PM-10, CO, aqswebhome.htm Pb STN PM-2.5 EPA 300 1999 PM-2.5, PM- http://www.epa.gov/ 2.5 speciation, ttn/airs/airsaqs/aqsweb/ major ions, aqswebhome.htm metals PAMS EPA 75 1994 O3, NOx/ http://www.epa.gov/ NOy, CO, ttn/airs/airsaqs/aqsweb/ Speciated aqswebhome.htm VOCs, carbonyls, surface meteorology & upper air IMPROVE NPS 110 1988 PM-2.5/PM- http://vista.cira. plus 67 10, major ions, colostate.edu/improve/ protocol metals, light sites extinction, scattering coefficient CASTNet EPA 80plus 1987 O3, SO2, http://www.epa. major ions, gov/castnet/ calculated dry deposition,wet deposition, total deposition for sulfur/ nitrogen, surface meteorology continued 

214 APPENDIX B TABLE B.2  Continued Lead Federal Number Measurement Location of Information Network Agency of Sites Initiated Parameters and/or Data GPMP NPS 33 1987 O3, NOx/NO/ http://www2.nature. NO2, SO2, nps.gov/air/Monitoring/ CO, surface network.cfm#data meteorology, (plus enhanced monitoring of CO, NO, NOx, NOy, and SO2 plus canister samples for VOC at three sites) POMS NPS 14 2002 O3, surface http://www2.nature. meteorology, nps.gov/air/studies/ with CASTNet portO3.cfm protocol filter pack (optional) sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, nitric acid, sulfur dioxide Passive NPS 43 1995 O3 dose http://www2.nature. Ozone (weekly) nps.gov/air/Studies/ Sampler Passives.cfm Monitoring Program NADP/NTN USGS 200plus 1978 Major http://nadp.sws.uiuc. ions from edu/ precipitation chemistry NADP/MDN None 90plus 1996 Mercury from http://nadp.sws.uiuc. precipitation edu/mdn/ chemistry AIRMoN NOAA 8 1984 Major http://nadp.sws.uiuc. ions from edu/AIRMoN/ precipitation chemistry 

APPENDIX B 215 TABLE B.2  Continued Lead Federal Number Measurement Location of Information Network Agency of Sites Initiated Parameters and/or Data IADN EPA 20 1990 PAHs, http://www.epa.gov/ PCBs, and glnpo/monit oring/air/ organochlorine compounds are measured in air and precipitation samples NAPS Canada 152plus 1969 SO2, CO, O3, http://www.etcentre. NO, NO2, org/NAPS/ NOx, VOCs, SVOCs, PM- 10, PM-2.5, TSP, metals CAPMoN Canada 29 2002 O3, NO, NO2, http://www.msc.ec.gc. NOy, PAN, ca/capmon/index_e.cfm NH3, PM-2.5, PM-10 and coarse fraction mass, PM-2.5 speciation, major ions for particles and trace gases, precipitation chemistry for major ions Mexican Mexico 93 O3, NOx, CO, See CEC, 1997 Metropolitan SO2, PM-10, Air Quality TSP Network NATTS EPA 23 2005 VOCs, http://www.epa.gov/ Carbonyls, ttn/airs/airsaqs/aqsweb/ PM-10 aqswebhome.htm metals4, Hg State/Local EPA 250plus 1987 VOCs, http://www.epa.gov/ Air Toxics Carbonyls, ttn/airs/airsaqs/aqsweb/ Monitoring PM10 metals, aqswebhome.htm Hg NDAMN EPA 34 1998 CDDs, CDFs, http://cfpub2.epa.gov/ - 2005 dioxin-like ncea/cfm/recordisplay. PCBs cfm?deid=22423 continued 

216 APPENDIX B TABLE B.2  Continued Lead Federal Number Measurement Location of Information Network Agency of Sites Initiated Parameters and/or Data Tribal5 EPA 120plus 1995 O3, NOx/NO2, http://www.epa.gov/ Monitoring SO2, PM-2.5/ ttn/airs/airsaqs/aqsweb/ PM-10, CO, aqswebhome.htm Pb HRM None 9 1980 O3, ��x, PM- NO http://hrm.radian.com/ Network 2.5/PM-10, houston/how/index.htm CO, SO2, Pb, �� VOCs, surface meteorology ARIES / None 8 1992 O3, NO/NO2/ http://www. SEARCH NOy, SO2, atmosphericresearch. CO, PM-2.5/ com/studies/SEARCH/ PM-10, PM- index.html 2.5 speciation, major ions, NH3, HNO3, scattering coefficient, surface meteorology RadNet— EPA 200plus 1973 Radionuclides http://www.epa. formerly and radiation gov/enviro/html/erams/ ERAMS SASP DHS 41 1963 89Sr, 90Sr, http://www.eml.doe. naturally gov/databases/sasp/ occurring radionuclides, 7Be, 210Pb NEWNET DOE 26 1993 Ionizing gamma http://newnet.lanl. radiation, gov/stations.asp surface meteorolog�� y CTBT DOE 80 1996 Radionuclides http://www.clw. and noble org/archive/coalition/ gases briefv3n14.htm UV Index EPA ~50 2002 Calculated http://www.epa.gov/ EPA Sunwise U.S. UV radiation sunwise/uvindex.html Program cities index UV Net EPA 21 2002 UV solar http://www.epa.gov/ Ultraviolet radiation uvnet/access.html Monitoring (UVB and Program UV-Abands) 

APPENDIX B 217 TABLE B.2  Continued Lead Federal Number Measurement Location of Information Network Agency of Sites Initiated Parameters and/or Data UVB USDA 35 1992 UVB radiation http://uvb.nrel.colostate. Monitoring edu/UVB/jsp/uvb_ and Research climate_network.jsp Program SURFRAD NOAA 7 1993 Solar and http://www.srrb.noaa. infrared gov/surfrad/index.html radiation, direct and diffuse solar PRIMENet NPS 14 1997 Ozone, wet http://www.forestry. and dry umt.edu/research/ deposition, MFCES/programs/ visibility, primenet surface meteorology, and ultraviolet radiation BioWatch DHS >30 2001 Pathogens http://www.fas.org/sgp/ into the air, crs/terror/RL32152. providing html warning to the government and public health community of a potential bioterror event NOTES: 1NCore is a network proposed to replace NAMS as a component of SLAMS; NAMS are cur- rently designated as national trends sites. 2PM-10-2.5–proposed new NAAQS 3Surface meteorology includes wind direction and speed, temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and solar ration (PAMS only). 4PM-10 metals may include arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, nickel, and others. 5The number of sites indicated for tribal monitoring is actually the number of monitors rather than sites. The number of sites with multiple monitors is probably less than 80. SOURCE: Scheffe, 2007.