Datasets
The recommended datasets to use for verifying the outlooks are:
Sea Surface Temperature:
- 1981-2004: Reynolds et al. (2002).
- 1854-2005: Smith and Reynolds (2003).
It is recommended that verification of SST outlooks be performed using the
Reynolds SST dataset prepared by the Lead Centre. It contains the full set of
monthly Reynolds SST data, converted to the SVSLRF standard 2.5° x 2.5° grid,
in GRIB format (for information on the GRIB format please see below).
The dataset is available by ftp access from
ftp.bom.gov.au
and logging in as user
bom329 (Please contact
the lead centre for the password)
Compressed tar files containing the data are available from the directory
data
(These data are also available from UCAR
and the CDC in
their raw weekly or monthly format.)
Precipitation:
- 1979-2001: GPCP (NASA) Huffman et al.(1997), (note the GPCP is now the preferred
precipitation dataset - this will soon be updated to 2005)
or
- 1979-2002: Xie and Arkin (1997)
It is recommended that verification of Precipitation outlooks be
performed using the Xie-Arkin dataset prepared by the Lead Centre. It contains
the full set of monthly Precipitation data, converted to the SVSLRF standard
2.5° x 2.5° grid, in GRIB format (for information on the GRIB format please
see below).
The dataset is available by ftp access from
ftp.bom.gov.au
and logging in as user
bom329 {Please contact
the lead centre for the password}
Compressed tar files containing the data are available from the directory
data
(Xie Arkin data are also available from
UCAR and the CDC
in their raw monthly format. GPCP data and project information may be found at the
Cooperative Institute for Climate Studies,
the University of Maryland)
Surface Air Temperature Anomaly at screen level (T2m):
- 1960-2000: Mitchell et. al., (2003) (Preferred)
or
- 1958-2002: ECMWF 40 Years Re-Analysis (ERA40) Simmons and Gibson (2000)
It is recommended that verification of T2m outlooks be performed using
UKMO/CRU dataset prepared by the Lead Centre. It contains the full set of monthly
T2m data, converted to the SVSLRF standard 2.5° x 2.5° grid, in GRIB format
(for information on the GRIB format please see below).
The dataset is available by ftp access from
ftp.bom.gov.au
and logging in as user
bom329 {Please contact
the lead centre for the password}
Compressed tar files containing the data are available from the directory
data
(T2m data are also available from the
ECMWF (ERA-40) and the
Climate Research Unit (UKMO/Hadley), University of East Anglia, in their raw monthly
format.)
GRIB data
Information an GRIB data can be found on the NCEP site:
Office Note 388, GRIB
To read GRIB files you will need a GRIB decoder. The most commonly used GRIB decoder is
WGRIB.
ENSO years
A temporary list of ENSO years (1950-2001) is
outlined in the (old) Manual on the Global Data-Processing System starting
(page 15). This will be updated when results from the relevant Expert Team are
known. (NB: The revised (and current) manual no longer contains a list of ENSO years.)
References
Huffman, G. J., R.F. Adler, P. Atkin, A. Chang, R. Ferraro, A. Gruber, J. Janowiak, A. McNab, B.
Rudolf, U. Schneider, 1997: The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) combined
precipitation dataset. Bull. Amer. Met. Soc. 78, pp. 5-20
Mitchell, T.D., Carter, T.R., Jones, P.D., Hulme,M., New, M., 2003: A comprehensive set of
high-resolution grids of monthly climate for Europe and the globe: the observed record
(1901-2000) and 16 scenarios (2001-2100). Journal of Climate: submitted.
Reynolds, R. W., N. A. Rayner, T. M. Smith, and D. C. Stokes, 2002: An improved in situ and
satellite SST analysis for Climate, Journal of Climate, pp. 1609-1625
Simmons, A. J. and J. K. Gibson, 2000: The ERA-40 Project Plan, ERA-40 Project Report Series
No. 1 Available from:
http://www.ecmwf.int/publications/library/ecpublications/_pdf/ERA40_PRS_1.pdf
Smith, M. T., R. W. Reynolds, R.E. Livezey and D.C. Stokes, 1996: Reconstruction of historical
sea-surface temperatures based on COADS Data (1854-1997), Journal of Climate, 16,
1495-1510.
Smith, M. T. and R. W. Reynolds, 2003: Reconstruction of Global
sea-surface temperatures using empirical orthogonal functions, Journal of Climate, pp.
1403-1420
Xie, P. and P. A. Arkin, 1997: Global Precipitation: A 17-Year Monthly Analysis
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