Mar 19 2008
We’re Here Because you are Looking for the Best of the Best of the Best, Sir!
I was looking for quantitative method to find the best surface stations in the USHCN. These stations should be perfectly sited, and not be influenced by the urban heat island. I don’t have the best tools available for this job (none in reality), but I could scavenge off the hard work of others. Luckily, Steve McIntyre and Anthony Watts have both been interested in quantifying the “goodness” of a surface station. Watts has been interested in microscale influences (such as siting issues), and McIntyre with mesoscale issues (such as UHI). For this analysis, I’m going to ignore the microsite issues and focus entirely on UHI.
This is not because microsite issues are unimportant, but because Steve McIntyre at ClimateAudit has collocated data for the USHCN. He has 3 columns related to the urbanization surrounding a station. These columns are labeled as: “lights”, “bright”, and “nightlights”. I don’t know the exact difference between these three variables, but that doesn’t matter. The lights field contains a string describing amount of light: “dark”, “dim”, or “bright”. The bright field contains a number that corresponds to some brightness, and the nightlights also contains a number. After a little messing around looking at random stations, it became apparent that for the darkest stations, I wanted bright to equal zero, and nightlights less than or equal to 2.
I went throught the 1221 USHCN stations to find only the stations where they were reported to be “dark” or “dim” and had a lights number of 0, and a nightlights number less than or equal to 2. There were 272 USHCN stations that fit these parameters. I have included a list of these stations grouped by state at the end of this post. Of these “good” stations, 101 have been currently surveyed by SurfaceStations.org. This represents just over 37% of the dark/dim/good stations. Just over 41% of all stations have been surveyed.
I was surprised to see that many of the listed stations have been identified as being extremely poorly sited. In fact, the surface station at Hay Springs fits the above criteria for “goodness” [see also Watts Up, Atmoz].
Another station that is classified as “good” is Saguache, Colorado. I have previously shown that this station experienced a series of station moves in the 1990s and early 2000s that have not been corrected in the USHCN filnet product. The uncorrected temperature data at this station was likely biased towards higher temperatures for several years.
It would be interesting to know exactly what the three columns represent; “lights”, “bright”, and “nightlights” doesn’t mean much to me. It might also be interesting to relax the restrictions here, and to incorporate microsite ratings into the equation to see how many sites are properly sited and are not influenced by UHI. The data file has a column labeled “Watts”, which I think is probably the rating that was ascribed by the SurfaceStations project.
The Best of the Best?
Alabama
Brewton 3sse, AL
Gainesville Lock, AL
Union Springs 9s, AL
Arizona
Childs, AZ
Fort Valley, AZ
Grand Canyon Natl Park 2, AZ
Lees Ferry, AZ
Roosevelt 1wnw, AZ
Seligman, AZ
Tombstone, AZ
Arkansas
Eureka Springs 3wnw, AR
Rohwer 2nne, AR
Subiaco, AR
California
Brawley 2sw, CA
Cedarville, CA
Cuyamaca, CA
Death Valley, CA
Electra Ph, CA
Fairmont, CA
Fort Bragg 5n, CA
Happy Camp Rs, CA
Independence, CA
Lake Spaulding, CA
Lemon Cove, CA
Needles Faa Ap, CA
Orleans, CA
Susanville Ap, CA
Tejon Rancho, CA
Willows 6w, CA
Yosemite Park Headquarters, CA
Colorado
Cheesman, CO
Collbran, CO
Fort Morgan 2s, CO
Gunnison 3sw, CO
Hermit 7ese, CO
Manassa, CO
Rocky Ford 2se, CO
Saguache, CO
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Belle Glade Exp Stn, FL
Everglades, FL
Inverness 3se, FL
Madison 4n, FL
Tallahassee Wso Ap, FL
Georgia
Bainbridge Int Paper, GA
Blakely, GA
Millen 4n, GA
Talbotton, GA
Idaho
Arrowrock Dam, ID
Cambridge, ID
Fenn Ranger Stn, ID
Glenns Ferry, ID
Lifton Pumping Station, ID
Malad City, ID
Oakley, ID
Porthill, ID
Priest River Experiment Stn, ID
Illinois
Mcleansboro 2ene, IL
Windsor, IL
Indiana
Wheatfield 4nnw, IN
Iowa
Algona 3w, IA
Logan, IA
Mount Ayr 4sw, IA
Kansas
Anthony, KS
Eskridge 1se, KS
Jetmore 12nnw, KS
Norton 9sse, KS
Phillipsburg 1sse, KS
Kentucky
Farmers 2s, KY
Louisiana
Amite, LA
Plain Dealing, LA
Saint Joseph 3n, LA
Winnsboro 5sse, LA
Maine
Acadia National Park, ME
Ripogenus Dam, ME
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Allegan 5ne, MI
Chatham Exp Farm #2, MI
Fayette 4sw, MI
Stambaugh 2sse, MI
Minnesota
Albert Lea 3se, MN
Itasca U Of Mn, MN
Leech Lake Dam, MN
Olivia 3se, MN
Sandy Lake Dam Libby, MN
Winnibigoshish Dam, MN
Mississippi
Forest 3s, MS
Holly Springs 4n, MS
Pontotoc Exp Stn, MS
Woodville 4ese, MS
Missouri
Conception, MO
Doniphan, MO
Spickard 7w, MO
Steffenville, MO
Montana
Augusta, MT
Cascade 5s, MT
Cut Bank Faa Ap, MT
Ekalaka, MT
Flatwillow 4ene, MT
Forks 4nne, MT
Fort Assinniboine, MT
Haugan (deborgia) 3e, MT
Hebgen Dam, MT
Huntley Experiment Station, MT
Livingston 12s, MT
Malta 7e, MT
Medicine Lake 3se, MT
Mildred 5n, MT
Moccasin Experiment Station, MT
Norris Madison Power House, MT
Plevna, MT
Savage, MT
White Sulphur Springs #2, MT
Nebraska
Albion, NE
Auburn 5ese, NE
Beaver City, NE
Fairbury, NE
Genoa 2w, NE
Halsey 2w, NE
Harrison, NE
Hay Springs 12s, NE
Mccook, NE
Merriman, NE
North Loup, NE
Purdum, NE
Saint Paul, NE
Nevada
Austin, NV
Battle Mountain 4se, NV
Golconda, NV
Mina, NV
Winnemucca Wso Ap, NV
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
Bell Ranch, NM
Carrizozo 1sw, NM
Chama, NM
Cimarron 4sw, NM
Gage 4ese, NM
Jemez Springs, NM
Jornada Experimental Range, NM
Las Vegas Sewage Plt, NM
Luna Rs, NM
Mountain Park, NM
Orogrande, NM
San Jon, NM
Tularosa, NM
New York
Allegany State Park, NY
Angelica, NY
Bainbridge 2e, NY
Canton 4se, NY
Chasm Falls, NY
Hemlock, NY
Indian Lake 2sw, NY
Lawrenceville, NY
Maryland 6sw, NY
Mohonk Lake, NY
Morrisville 5sw, NY
Penn Yan 8w, NY
Stillwater Reservoir, NY
Wanakena Ranger School, NY
North Carolina
Cape Hatteras Wso, NC
Highlands, NC
Marshall, NC
North Dakota
Dunn Center 2sw, ND
Fort Yates 4sw, ND
Fullerton 1ese, ND
Hettinger, ND
Langdon Experiment Stn, ND
Moffit 3se, ND
Ohio
Millport 2nw, OH
Oklahoma
Altus Irrigation Res Stn, OK
Carnegie 2ene, OK
Erick 4e, OK
Hammon 3ssw, OK
Hennessey 4ese, OK
Hobart Faa Ap, OK
Jefferson, OK
Kenton, OK
Mangum Research Station, OK
Meeker 4w, OK
Mutual, OK
Webbers Falls 5wsw, OK
Oregon
Astoria Wso Ap, OR
Bly 3nw, OR
Cascadia, OR
Danner, OR
Fremont 5nw, OR
Headworks Portland Wtrb, OR
Malheur Refuge Hdq, OR
Mckenzie Bridge Rs, OR
Moro, OR
Paisley, OR
Prineville 4nw, OR
Prospect 2sw, OR
Three Lynx, OR
Tillamook 1w, OR
Pennsylvania
Towanda 1ese, PA
Wellsboro 4sse, PA
Rhode Island
Block Island State Ap, RI
South Carolina
Beaufort 7sw, SC
Blackville 3w, SC
Saluda, SC
Santuck, SC
Yemassee, SC
South Dakota
Academy 2ne, SD
Canton 4wnw, SD
Cottonwood 2e, SD
Forestburg 3ne, SD
Gann Valley 4nw, SD
Vermillion 2se, SD
Wood, SD
Tennessee
Crossville Experiment Stn, TN
Waynesboro, TN
Texas
Balmorhea, TX
Boys Ranch, TX
Catarina, TX
Danevang 1w, TX
Encinal, TX
Flatonia, TX
Quanah 5se, TX
Utah
Alton, UT
Bluff, UT
Corinne, UT
Deseret, UT
Elberta, UT
Escalante, UT
Hanksville, UT
Hiawatha, UT
Laketown, UT
Loa, UT
Manti, UT
Modena, UT
Morgan Como Springs, UT
Scipio, UT
Thompson, UT
Utah Lake Lehi, UT
Woodruff, UT
Zion National Park, UT
Vermont
Cavendish, VT
Chelsea, VT
Cornwall, VT
Northfield 3sse, VT
Virginia
Bremo Bluff, VA
Burkes Garden, VA
Washington
Cedar Lake, WA
Colville 5ne, WA
Conconully, WA
Longmire Rainier Nps, WA
Northport, WA
Olga 2se, WA
Raymond 2s, WA
Stehekin 4nw, WA
Wilbur, WA
West Virginia
Cairo 3ene N Bend Sp, WV
Glenville 1ene, WV
Mannington 8wnw, WV
Pickens 4sse, WV
Wisconsin
Ashland Experiment Farm, WI
Hatfield Hydro Plant, WI
Lancaster 4wsw, WI
Wyoming
Alta 1nnw, WY
Border 3n, WY
Buffalo Bill Dam, WY
Chugwater, WY
Colony, WY
Diversion Dam, WY
Lake Yellowstone, WY
Laramie Ap, WY
Moran 5wnw, WY
Pathfinder Dam, WY
Pavillion, WY
Pine Bluffs 5w, WY
Riverton, WY
Sheridan Field Station, WY
Wheatland 4n, WY
Yellowstone Park Mammoth, WY
(No Ratings Yet)
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4 Responses to “We’re Here Because you are Looking for the Best of the Best of the Best, Sir!”
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Hi atmoz,
Nigtlights is the code for Imhoff rating. 1 = dark; 2 = dim; 3 = bright. Giss use dark sites to adjust dim and bright. dark is associated with populations of less than 5K, bright with pop greater than 50K. check the ipop feilds as well because sometimes nightlights gave funny answers.
the other codes, have never been explained, but they appear to have come from ghcn.
Your best sites would be: nightlights 1, brightness index =0; and the last code would be dark. Then just take te Rural sites
( ipop code = R) then dump all the airports.
the watts column is the rating applied by aw. if you apply my filter, nightlights=1, lights = dark, bright =0, ipop =R, airport =n,
then sort by the watts column, you’ll find something interesting
i think stevemc uses x for no in the airport column
[Reply: I've condensed your 3 comments into 1, but made no changes.]
I wanted at least a few sites to post about. I imagine if I only looked at nightlights 1, brightness 0, only ‘dark’ sites, no airports, ipop equal rural, and Watts equal to 1 or 2, then I would have very few or no sites left to look at.
yup! you would have less than a dozen. There are lots of
potentially good stations out there that need to be surveyed.
I trust you’re having fun with the data. JerryB, who appears on CA from time to time is a good source for files and insights.
He’s a just the facts kinda guy, no snark, no attitude, just data.
he’s done some TOBS work. anyway, he’s a good resource, when he deigns to appear at CA.
[...] appears to be quite representative of the region. The good news is that this station is already in a list of the best surface stations. I compiled that list by just looking at mesoscale influences. That is, is there any cities or [...]