A Comparison of Temperature Data from Automated and Manual Observing Networks in Georgia and Impacts of Siting Characteristics

• Published in: Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology 2016-07, Vol.33 (7), p.1473-1494
• Main Authors: Allard, Jason, Vincent, Paul C., McElwaney, Jeromy R., Hoogenboom, Gerrit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 20th century; 21st century; Automation; Boundary layers; Climate change; Climatology; Councils; Datasets; Environmental monitoring; Land use; Metadata; Modernization; Outdoor air quality; Precipitation; Summer; Temperature; Trends; Weather
• ISSN: 0739-0572; 1520-0426
• DOI: 10.1175/JTECH-D-15-0161.1

The objectives of this study were to compare average monthly and seasonal maximum and minimum temperatures of the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (AEMN) to those of geographically close (i.e., paired) manual observations from U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) stations and Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) stations for the period 2002–13, and to evaluate the extent to which differences in siting characteristics of paired AEMN–USHCN stations contribute to the temperature differences. Correlations for monthly and seasonal maximum and minimum temperatures of paired AEMN–USHCN and AEMN–COOP stations were high and almost always significant, although the correlations for seasonal minimum temperatures were slightly lower than those of maximum temperatures, especially for summer. Monthly maximum and minimum temperatures and seasonal maximum temperatures of paired AEMN–USHCN and AEMN–COOP stations were significantly different in only a few instances, while seasonal minimum temperatures were more often significantly different, particularly for summer. The stronger relationship between maximum temperatures than minimum temperatures for paired stations is logical given that minimum temperatures typically occur when a shallow, decoupled nocturnal boundary layer is more sensitive to local conditions [e.g., land use/land cover (LULC)]. Stepwise regressions confirmed that a portion of the variance of seasonal minimum temperatures of paired AEMN–USHCN stations was explained by differences in LULC, while the variance in seasonal maximum temperatures was explained better by differences in elevation. Despite the generally close relationships between temperatures of paired stations and a portion of the differences being explained, an abrupt change from manual networks to the AEMN without data adjustments would change the Georgia climate record on monthly and seasonal time scales.