US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Radiation Monitoring Data (USDARAD)
Information updated on September 17, 2009, 8:57 pm GMT
General Data Description
The USDA UV-B Monitoring and Research Program is a program of the US Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). The program was initiated in 1992, through a grant to Colorado State University, to provide information on the geographical distribution and temporal trends of UVB (ultraviolet -B) radiation in the United States.The SGP ARM site is part of the program's climatological network. All sites are instrumented with both UV and Visible MFRSR shadowband radiometers and broadband UV-B meters.
Data Stream Names
- usdarad - Visible MFRSR data from USDA
netCDF File Header Description (Data Object Design File) - usdaradaux - auxiliary data for the USDA Visible MFRSR
netCDF File Header Description (Data Object Design File) - usdauvmfrsr - UV MFRSR data from USDA
netCDF File Header Description (Data Object Design File) - usdauvmfrsraux - auxiliary data for the USDA UV MFRSR
netCDF File Header Description (Data Object Design File)
Measurement Description
A single record will contain 37 variable-length, comma-delimited fields. A typical record is listed below.
The field order is as follows:
Units ---------------------------------- -------------- Head Identification Integer USDA UVB Program Site Code State code followed by number. Date and Time YY/MM/DD hh:mm:ss in UTC Open total horizontal Watts/m^2 NOTES: 415nm total horizontal Watts/m^2 [1] All angles are reported 500nm total horizontal Watts/m^2 as degrees 610nm total horizontal Watts/m^2 665nm total horizontal Watts/m^2 862nm total horizontal Watts/m^2 940nm total horizontal Watts/m^2 Open diffuse horizontal Watts/m^2 415nm diffuse horizontal Watts/m^2 500nm diffuse horizontal Watts/m^2 610nm diffuse horizontal Watts/m^2 665nm diffuse horizontal Watts/m^2 862nm diffuse horizontal Watts/m^2 940nm diffuse horizontal Watts/m^2 Open direct normal Watts/m^2 415nm direct normal Watts/m^2 500nm direct normal Watts/m^2 610nm direct normal Watts/m^2 665nm direct normal Watts/m^2 862nm direct normal Watts/m^2 940nm direct normal Watts/m^2 humidity % Relative Humidity temperature (see below) degrees C Li-Cor 210SZ photometer Watts/m^2 * unused field * unused field Yankee UVB-1 (see below) Watts/m^2 Yankee UVB-1 dome temperature degrees C Solar azimuth degrees Solar elevation degrees Solar zenith angle degrees Declination degrees Air mass Relative solar distance
The initial passband on the MFRSR is unfiltered and thus serves as a broadband silicon pyranometer. The remaining passbands are constructed with DF-xxx series integrated photodiode-interference filter assemblies manufactured by EG&G Optoelectronics. These are FWHM 10nm passbands.
Temperature and humidity data are derived from a Vaisala model HMP 35A combination probe. Humidity (%RH) is read directly as signal/10 and temperature in degrees C is computed as (signal - 2895) * 0.090). The computation is based upon a custom circuit board employed by the program.
The downward looking Li-Cor 210z signal is reported as Watts/meter-squared using the the manufacturer's furnished instrument specific calibration. As these instruments are downward looking and intended only as an indication of changed ground albedo their are not re-calibrated on a regular basis. The conversion from mv to Watts/meter-squared by the following relation: W/m^2 = 1000/(manufacturer_supplied__calibration_constant * 683)
The Yankee UVB-1 broadband measures global irradiance in the UV-B spectral range of 280-330 nm. The measurement technique employs a combination of colored glass optical filters to block the sun's visible spectra and a UV sensitive flourescent phorsphor to convert the UVB light to visible light. The converted light is then measured with a solid-state photodiode. Signal output is 0-5 volts DC, low Z. Meter output is multiplied by 0.001968 to create watts/m^2 output. This factor follows the manufacturers recommendation. No attempt has been made to verify this relationship. The dome temperature of the Yankee UVB-1 is computed as degrees C by the relationship (signal*0.0479) + 6.6).
sgpusdauvmfrsrX1.00 (before 6/10/2002)
Angular corrections for the UV-MFRSR solar channels have been made and calibration based upon a standard lamp has been applied. Solar calculations of general utility have been added to the end of each record for the convenience of the user. The format and units of each field within a single record is listed below.A single record will contain 37 variable-length, comma-delimited fields. A typical record is listed below.
The field order is as follows: Units ---------------------------------- -------------- Head Identification Integer USDA UVB Program Site Code State code followed by number. Date and Time YYMMDD hh:mm:ss in UTC 300nm total horizontal Watts/meter-squared 305nm total horizontal Watts/meter-squared 311nm total horizontal Watts/meter-squared 317nm total horizontal Watts/meter-squared 325nm total horizontal Watts/meter-squared 332nm total horizontal Watts/meter-squared 368nm total horizontal Watts/meter-squared 300nm diffuse horizontal Watts/meter-squared 305nm diffuse horizontal Watts/meter-squared 311nm diffuse horizontal Watts/meter-squared 317nm diffuse horizontal Watts/meter-squared 325nm diffuse horizontal Watts/meter-squared 332nm diffuse horizontal Watts/meter-squared 368nm diffuse horizontal Watts/meter-squared 300nm direct normal Watts/meter-squared 305nm direct normal Watts/meter-squared 311nm direct normal Watts/meter-squared 317nm direct normal Watts/meter-squared 325nm direct normal Watts/meter-squared 332nm direct normal Watts/meter-squared 368nm direct normal Watts/meter-squared Unused Unused Unused Unused Unused Unused Unused Solar azimuth degrees Solar elevation degrees Solar zenith angle degrees Declination degrees Air mass Relative solar distance
The passbands on the UVMFRSR are constructed with DF-xxx series integrated photodiode-interference filter assemblies manufactured by EG&G Optoelectronics. These are FWHM 2 nm nominal passbands.
sgpusdauvmfrsrX1.00 and sgpusdaradX1.00 (beginning 6/10/2002)
See description of measurements at: USDA site
Sample of the data. sgpusdaradX1.00: Site, SN,UYYY,UM,UD,Uh,Um,Us,LYYY,LM,LD,Lh,Lm,Ls, DoY, Unf(ToT),415(Tot),500(Tot),610(Tot),665(Tot),862(Tot),940(Tot),Unf(Dif), 415(Dif),500(Dif),610(Dif),665(Dif),862(Dif),940(Dif),Unf(Dir),415(Dir), 500(Dir),610(Dir),665(Dir),862(Dir),940(Dir), uvbb, Azi, Elev, Zen, Decl, Airmass, Soldist, Qc Code OK01, 220,2009,07,13,00,00,00,2009,07,12,18,00,00,193.75000,2.02E+02, 1.83E-02,1.18E-01,9.35E-02,4.39E-01,2.26E-01,6.13E-02,7.52E+01,1.46E-02, 7.32E-02,3.02E-02,1.63E-01,6.61E-02,1.64E-02,3.70E+02,1.07E-02,1.30E-01, 1.85E-01,8.09E-01,4.69E-01,1.31E-01,1.53E-02, 282.90, 20.00, 70.00, 21.8400, 2.9027, 1.017,dh1;dh2;dh7;c1; sgpusdauvmfrsrX1.00: Site, SN,UYYY,UM,UD,Uh,Um,Us,LYYY,LM,LD,Lh,Lm,Ls, DoY, 300(ToT),305(Tot), 311(Tot),317(Tot),325(Tot),332(Tot),368(Tot),300(Dif),305(Dif),311(Dif),317(Dif), 325(Dif),332(Dif),368(Dif),300(Dir),305(Dir),311(Dir),317(Dir),325(Dir), 332(Dir),368(Dir), uvaraw, Azi, Elev,Zen, Decl, Airmass, Soldist, Qc Code OK02, 387,2009,07,02,00,00,00,2009,07,01,18,00,00,182.75000,0.00E+00, 1.50E-03,1.58E-02,4.69E-02,9.76E-02,1.23E-01,2.05E-01,0.00E+00,1.43E-03, 1.45E-02,4.24E-02,8.57E-02,1.05E-01,1.51E-01,0.00E+00,1.94E-04,3.60E-03, 1.30E-02,3.43E-02,5.17E-02,1.56E-01,-9.99E+09, 284.22, 20.30, 69.70, 23.0400, 2.8627, 1.017, so;c1; sgpusdauvmfrsrX1.00 and sgpusdaradX1.00 (beginning 7/23/2009)sgpusdaradauxX1.00 and sgpusdauvmfrsrauxX1.00 (beginning 6/10/2002)On 07/23/2009, uvbb was removed from sgpusdaradX1.00 data and uvaraw was removed from sgpusdauvmfrsrX1.00.
See description of measurements at: USDA site
Sample of the data. sgpusdaradauxX1.00: Site, SN,UYYY,UM,UD,Uh,Um,Us,LYYY,LM,LD,Lh,Lm,Ls, DoY, uvbb, Par, RH, T-air, refirad, Pres, uvbhT, TheadVis, UnfBias, 415Bias, 500Bias, 610Bias, 665Bias, 862Bias, 940Bias, Azi, Elev, Zen, Decl, Airmass, Soldist, Qc Code OK01, 220,2009,07,12,00,00,00,2009,07,11,18,00,00,192.75000,8.8703, 9998.0, 25.2, 38.0, 2.0,-9998.0, 45.639, 40.750, 233.000, 25.000, 84.000, 69.000, 102.000, 329.000, 124.000, 283.04, 20.06, 69.94, 21.9800, 2.8956, 1.017, dh1;dh2;dh7; sgpusdauvmfrsrauxX1.00: Site, SN,UYYY,UM,UD,Uh,Um,Us,LYYY,LM,LD,Lh,Lm,Ls, DoY, uvaraw, Par, RH, T-air, refirad, Pres, uvahT, TheadUV, 300Bias, 305Bias, 311Bias, 317Bias, 325Bias, 332Bias, 368Bias, Azi, Elev, Zen, Decl, Airmass, Soldist, Qc Code OK02, 387,2009,07,03,00,00,00,2009,07,02,18,00,00,183.75000,-9.99E+09, 638.5,-9998.0,-9998.0,-9998.0,-9998.0,-9998.000, 41.761, -1.000, 48.000, 365.000, 293.000, 480.000, 401.000, 276.000, 284.12, 20.30, 69.70, 22.9600, 2.8633, 1.017, so; sgpusdaradauxX1.00 and sgpusdauvmfrsrauxX1.00 (beginning 7/23/2009) On 07/23/2009, the sequence of variables were changed. Here are the new headers. sgpusdaradauxX1.00: Site, SN,UYYY,UM,UD,Uh,Um,Us,LYYY,LM,LD,Lh,Lm,Ls, DoY, uvbb, Par, RH, T-air, refirad, Pres, uvbhT, TheadVis, Azi, Elev, Zen, Decl, Airmass, Soldist, UnfBias, 415Bias, 500Bias, 610Bias, 665Bias, 862Bias, 940Bias, Qc Code OK01, 220,2009,09,04,06,00,00,2009,09,04,00,00,00,247.00000,0.00E+00,-9998.0000, 56.4000, 20.6100, 0.0000,-9998.0000, 45.4948, 37.9862, 349.210, -45.710, 135.710, 7.120, -1.000, 1.008, 0.0000, -0.0750, -1.0000, -2.0000, -3.0250, -4.0000, -4.0000, dh1;dh2;dh7; sgpusdauvmfrsrauxX1.00: Site, SN,UYYY,UM,UD,Uh,Um,Us,LYYY,LM,LD,Lh,Lm,Ls, DoY, uvaraw, Par, RH, T-air, refirad, Pres, uvahT, TheadUV, Azi, Elev, Zen, Decl, Airmass, Soldist, 300Bias, 305Bias, 311Bias, 317Bias, 325Bias, 332Bias, 368Bias, Qc Code OK02, 387,2009,07,23,06,00,00,2009,07,23,00,00,00,204.00000,-9.99E+09, 0.8381,-9998.0000,-9998.0000,-9998.0000,-9998.0000,-9998.0000, 41.8930, 349.480, -32.670, 122.670, 20.040, -1.000, 1.016, -3.0000, -2.0000, -16.1000, -0.9750, 5.3000, 2.0000, -0.2500, so;
Temporal Coverage
Datastream | Start Date | End Date |
---|---|---|
sgpusdaradX1.00 | 02/17/1999 | |
sgpusdaradauxX1.00 | 06/10/2002 | |
sgpusdauvmfrsrX1.00 | 02/17/1999 | |
sgpusdauvmfrsrauxX1.00 | 06/10/2002 |
Data are available in daily files at the ARM Archive a few days after data collection.
Area Covered
Data Stream Inputs
Notification Form Link
Related Links
Contacts
- ARM Mentor Richard Wagener
- ARM Software Developer To be determined.
Data Source
- Institution USDA UV-B Monitoring and Research Program
Processing History
Example Data
217,OK01,20021111 13:09:00,5.822985,0.015465,0.013223,0.005211,0.005687, 0.000000,0.000000,5.822985,0.015465,0.013223,0.005211,0.005687,0.000000, 0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000, 0.000000,111.889999,0.510000,89.489998,-17.459999,31.286600,0.990000,
217,OK01,010806 23:51:00,255.749588,0.287717,0.386357,0.329288,0.311042, 0.268259,0.026877,78.570587,0.204029,0.203404,0.125024,0.102836,0.058348, 0.005226,548.231628,0.261901,0.569240,0.636121,0.649618,0.654808,0.072275, 17.000000,38.160000,5.800000,-9998.000000,-9998.000000,0.208608,45.494800, 276.890015,18.850000,71.150002,16.459999,3.069800,1.014200
sgpusdaradauxX1.00
217,OK01,20021111 00:00:00,62.700001,12.690000,0.000000,-9998.000000, -9998.000000,37.447601,38.264065,1.000000,47.000000,-3.000000,-3.000000, -2.000000,-33.000000,-43.000000,253.800003,-7.270000,97.269997,-17.309999, -1.000000,0.990100,bt;
sgpusdauvmfrsrauxX1.00
303,OK02,20021111 00:00:00,-9998.000000,-9998.000000,-9998.000000,-9998.000000, -9998.000000,-9998.000000,41.937222,-3.000000,-1.000000,1.000000,2.000000, -4.000000,0.000000,0.000000,253.809998,-7.270000,97.269997,-17.309999, -1.000000,0.990100,
sgpusdauvmfrsrX1.00 - both before and after 6/10/2002
303,OK02,20021111 13:09:00,0.000000,0.000000,0.000026,0.000303,0.000000, 0.004131,0.008851,0.000000,0.000000,0.000026,0.000303,0.000000,0.004131, 0.008851,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000,0.000000, -9998.000000,111.900002,0.510000,89.489998,-17.459999,31.203899,0.990000,so;co;
299,OK02,010806 00:51:00,0.000035,0.000077,0.000783,0.005853,0.019680,0.032361, 0.052470,0.000035,0.000077,0.000783,0.005811,0.019498,0.032947,0.053159, 0.000028,0.000077,0.000040,0.000387,0.001548,-0.000456,0.000048,-9998.000000, -9998.000000,-9998.000000,-9998.000000,-9998.000000,-98.000000,-9998.000000, 285.540009,7.300000,82.699997,16.730000,7.447700,1.014300
Acronyms
CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service MFRSR Multi-Filter Rotating Shadow-band Radiometer SGP Southern Great Plains USDA US Department of Agriculture UV-B Ultra-violet-B
Citable References
Harrison, L.; Michalsky, J.; Bernt, J.; Automated multi-filter rotating shadow-band radiometer: and instrument for optical depth and radiation measurement. Applied Optics 33(22) 1994.
For more information about the Yankee UVB-1 broadband see: Yankee Environmental Systems, Inc. Bulletin UVB-1S. PO Box 746, Montague Industrial Park, Turners Falls, MA. 01376 USA.