Dataset: Mean Seasonal Air Temperature and Total Seasonal Rain at Rothamsted 1968-2022
- DOI: 10.23637/rms-RothSeasonTotRainMeanTemp1968-2022
- Experiment: Rothamsted Weather Station
- Files included in the download:
- Seasonal Air Temperature and Total Seasonal Rain at Rothamsted 1968-2022 (xlsx)
- Version: 1.0
- Created: 2023-11-27
- Keywords: air temperature - climate - climate change - meteorological factors - Rothamsted Research - temperature - thermometer - weather - weather data - rain - precipitation
- Author(s): John Addy
- Publisher: Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK
Summary
This dataset comprises the mean seasonal air temperature and the total seasonal rainfall at Rothamsted every year from 1968-2022. Summary data for this dataset are derived from daily data measured at Rothamsted Meteorological Station.
Methods
The mean daily temperature is measured over a 24-hour period 0900 to 0900 GMT and calculated from the daily maximum (Tmax) and minimum temperatures (Tmin); the mean daily temperature = (Tmax = Tmin)/2. First recorded in 1878, Tmax was then measured using a mercury column thermometer and Tmin using a spirit-in-glass with indicator bar minimum thermometer. Since 2004 temperature is recorded by thermistors (electronic temperature probes, Campbell Scientific, type 107).
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 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.
Technical Information
Location: Rothamsted Meteorological Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England 51.82 N 0.37 W 128 m asl.
A correction factor of 1.1 or 10% is applied to RAIN data after 2004 due to a change to an ARG100 rain gauge which captures 5% more rainfall than most traditionally-shaped cylindrical gauges due to its unique aerodynamic shape and reduced evaporation-loss properties. See www.era.rothamsted.ac.uk/station/rms#measurements/ for further detail.
Related Datasets
Contributors
- Sarah Perryman: Data curator
- Tony Scott: Data collector
- 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: John Addy (2023). Dataset: Mean Seasonal Air Temperature and Total Seasonal Rain at Rothamsted 1968-2022 Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK https://doi.org/10.23637/rms-RothSeasonTotRainMeanTemp1968-2022
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.
Table Of Contents
An Excel .xlsx file comprising a ReadMe page and a data sheet.
The seasonal summary data contained in this spreadsheet are derived from daily data measured at Rothamsted Meteorological Station, Harpenden. Total / mean seasonal data is determined from daily data using Genstat 19th Edition.
This data was compiled by John Addy for the publication Addy et. al. 2023.
- The dataset Mean Seasonal Air Temperature and Total Seasonal Rain at Rothamsted 1968-2022 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