Dataset: Mean monthly rainfall at Rothamsted October 1985-September 2017
- DOI: 10.23637/rmsMMRain10850917
- Experiment: Rothamsted Weather Station
- Files included in the download:
- Mean monthly rainfall at Rothamsted October 1985-September 2017 (xlsx)
- Supporting information: Rothamsted rain updates and errors 1985-2017 (xlsx)
- Version: 1.0
- Created: 2020-03-11
- Keywords: Rothamsted Research - precipitation - climate change - weather - meteorological station - weather data - climate - rain
- Author(s): Sarah Perryman, Tony Scott, Chris Hall
- Publisher: Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK
Summary
This dataset represents the mean monthly rainfall recorded at Rothamsted from October 1985 - September 2017 and is derived from continuous daily records measured at the site.
Methods
Daily rainfall is measured as the total (mm) over the 24-hour period 0900 to 0900 GMT. It includes all precipitation - snow, rain, mist and fog. Rainfall was first recorded at Rothamsted in March 1853, using a copper funnel rain gauge (5 inch / 12.7 cm diameter) and measured using a graduated cylinder. Since 2004 it has been measured using an electronic tipping bucket rain gauge (10 inch / 25.4cm diameter), ARG100, calibrated to tip at 0.2mm (which has since become the minimum amount of rain that can be recorded). The rain gauge is placed within a 30cm deep 1.5m radius turf wall, retained by brick, to reduce wind eddies that may potentially blow rain out of the gauges. Data were collected daily manually until 2004 and since then by Automatic Weather Station using a standard protocol. There are differences in the capture rate between the two gauges, see Rainfall for further information.
Technical Information
Location: Rothamsted Meteorological Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England 51.82 N 0.37 W 128 m asl.
Related Datasets
- Mean monthly temperature at Rothamsted October 1985-September 2017
- Woburn long-term liming experiment crop yields 1962-1996
Contributors
- Sarah Perryman: Data manager
- Margaret Glendining: Data manager
- Andrew Macdonald: Project manager
- Richard Ostler: Project leader
- Tony Scott: Data collector
- Nathalie Castells: Project member
- Chris Hall: Data collector
Dataset Access and Conditions
Rights Holder
Rothamsted Research
License
This dataset is
available under a Creative Commons
Attribution Licence (4.0).
Cite this Dataset
YOU MUST CITE AS: Sarah Perryman, Tony Scott, Chris Hall (2020). Dataset: Mean monthly rainfall at Rothamsted October 1985-September 2017 Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsMMRain10850917
Please review our How to Credit Datasets guidance for more information.
Conditions of Use
Rothamsted relies on the integrity of users to ensure that datasets are used appropriately and Rothamsted Research receives suitable acknowledgment as being the originators of these data. Please review the Conditions of Use before downloading.
The monthly summary data contained in this spreadsheet are derived from daily data measured at Rothamsted Meteorological Station, Harpenden. Total monthly data is determined from daily data using Genstat 19th Edition.
Verification includes checks for instrument errors, for missing data and outliers.
The original raw daily data is available, after registering, from the e-RA database. Please contact the e-RA Curators for an access password and further details.
- The dataset Mean monthly rainfall at Rothamsted October 1985-September 2017 is a published dataset from the e-RA Database. e-RA is part of the Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments - National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (RLTE-NBRI), which also covers maintenance of the Long-Term Experiments, the Rothamsted Sample Archive and Rothamsted's environmental monitoring activities including the weather stations and its role in the UK Environmental Change Network
- The RLTE-NBRI is funded by UK Research and Innovation - Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UKRI-BBSRC) under award BBS/E/RH/23NB0007 (2023-2028). The RLTE-NBRI is also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust. e-RA has been part of a National Capability since 2012, previous awards from the BBSRC were Grants BBS/E/C/00005189 (2012-2017) and BBS/E/C/000J0300 (2017-2022)
For further information and assistance, please contact the e-RA curators, Sarah Perryman and Margaret Glendining using the e-RA email address: era@rothamsted.ac.uk