This File:



VEMAP2_aux.txt 





This readme file applies to:



This readme file describes data for the Vegetation/Ecosystem Mapping and 

Analysis Project (VEMAP) as ordered through the University of New Hampshire

EOS-WEBSTER Earth Science Information Partner (ESIP) Program.





Data Policy:



These data products are being distributed free of charge. Recipients have a 

responsibility to: 





1. Acknowledge the University of New Hampshire, EOS-WEBSTER Earth Science 

Information Partner (ESIP) as the data distributor for this dataset.



 

2. Follow the VEMAP 2 DATA POLICY below: 

Use of the VEMAP 2 dataset is subject to the following guidelines and 

restrictions:   



(1) Users are requested to confer with the NCAR VEMAP Data  Group to ensure 

that the intended application of the dataset is consistent with the generation

and limitations of the data. (For example, the VEMAP 2 Historical Climate 

dataset is not designed for rigorous testing of climatic trends and changes

in interannual variability with time.) 



(2) To help us identify dataset errors or inconsistencies, we request that 

users contact the NCAR VEMAP Data Group regarding problems with files,

access, content, etc. 



(3) The HadCM2 Climate Scenario is released only for purposes related to VEMAP 

or the U. S. National Assessment. For any other purposes, users must get

permission directly from David Viner at LINK (d.viner@uea.ac.uk). 





(4) Credit in publications resulting from the use of the VEMAP2 data must be 

given (a) by citation of appropriate VEMAP data papers, and (b) by 

acknowledgement of VEMAP and the Ecosystem Dynamics and the Atmosphere Section, 

National Center for Atmospheric Research for access to the data. 



Description:



Data provided by the Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) 

at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). These data are gridded

monthly time series climate data for the United States at 0.5 x 0.5 degree 

spatial resolution. Datasets within the collection include monthly historical

climate (1895-1993 USA; 1922 - 1996 Alaska), future climate scenarios (1994-

2100 USA; 1997 - 2100 Alaska) and model estimates of ecosystem response, 

assuming either constant or increasing CO2 levels (1895-2100 USA only). 

Scenarios are from the Hadley UK Centre for Climate Prediction and Research

and the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis. Visit the VEMAP

website for complete information about the VEMAP project and datasets. 





EOS-WEBSTER also has VEMAP 1 reference data sets available. Please see the 

EOS-WEBSTER website for more information.





The VEMAP2 Transient Dynamics Data collection contains the following datasets: 



Research for access to the data. 



1.   TClimate - gridded monthly historical climate for the continental USA from 

1895 - 1993, and Alaska from 1922 - 1996. Release: r3 (USA) and r5 (Alaska).

 



2.    TScenario - gridded monthly climate data of possible future values based 

on different model scenarios.

 





VEMAP processed these data as follows: 



temperature fields - for each month, the modeled change in temperature was  

added to the 1961-1990 observational baseline.

 

precipitation fields - for each month the ratio of the modeled change:baseline 

value was multiplied by the 1961-1990 observational baseline.

 

radiation and humidity fields - were based on the temperature and precipitation 

values (from MT-CLIM3) rather than on the actual GCM fields and were not 

produced as ratios or deltas to the baseline period. 



Holdings include the following scenarios: 



Canadian Climate Center --gridded monthly future climate predictions; Canadian 

Climate Center. Model Name: CCCma-CGCM1; Experiment: GHG+A 1;  1% per year 

compounded increase in equivalent CO2 plus IS92A sulphate aerosols;  Ensemble 1.

1994-2100 (USA) and 1997-2100 (Alaska). Release: r4 (USA) and r5 (Alaska).

 



UKMO/Hadley -- gridded monthly future climate predictions; UKMO/Hadley -- 

Model Name: HadCM2; Experiment: HadCM2GSa1; 1% per year compounded increase 

in equivalent CO2 plus IS92A sulphate aerosols; Ensemble 1. 1994 - 2099 (USA)

and 1997 - 2099 (Alaska). Release: r3 (USA) and r5 (Alaska). 

 



3.     TClimate + TScenario - annual historical climate data + possible future 

values based on the above different model scenarios. 





      Holdings include: 



	annual precipitation

	solar radiation

	minimum and maximum temperatures

	relative humidity 







Two Predicted Climate Scenarios Exist:



I.	TClimate + TScenario-CGCM1 - historical climate (1895 - 1993) + Canadian 

        Climate Center (see above) predicted future values (1994 - 2100). 



II.	TClimate + TScenario-HadCM2 - historical climate (1895 - 1993) + UKMO/

        Hadley predicted future values (1994 - 2099) (see above). 



           



4.	TResults - annual and monthly biogeography/biogeochemical model 

   estimates of ecosystem response from 1895 to 2100. Holdings include:





          Canadian Climate Center -- CGCM1 scenario: 

	constant CO2 (1895 level; 294.842 ppm); 1895-2100 

	increasing CO2 (IS92a global yearly dataset); 1895-2100 



          UKMO/Hadley Center -- HadCM2 scenario: 

	constant CO2 (1895 level; 294.842 ppm); 1895-2099 

	increasing CO2 (IS92a global yearly dataset); 1895-2099



The Following Biogeochemical/Biogeography Models are represented in the 

TResults Dataset: 







1) Biome-BGC		NTSG/Univ of Montana	

				http://www.forestry.umt.edu/ntsg/



2) Century		NREL/Colorado State Univ	

				http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/



3) LPJ			Lund-Postdam-Jena		

				http://www.planteco.lu.se/CIG/CIGram.html

				http://www.pik-potsdam.de/

				http://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/



4) MC1			Oregon State University/USDA Forest Service-MAPPS Team	

				http://www.fsl.orst.edu/			



5) TEM			Marine Biological Lab	

				http://www.mbl.edu/





6) GTEC		Global Terrestrial Ecosystem 	Carbon Model, ORNL		

			http://www.esd.ornl.gov/%7Ewmp/GTEC/pgtec.html







Data Range:



All VEMAP2 Transient Dynamics Data are floating-point data and have a fill 

value of -9999. The data units and the range of the data values will vary by 

specific holding.

 



Model Equations & Parameters:



Please refer to the references below or websites listed above.





Projection:



These data are gridded in the geographic projection with 0.5 degree by 0.5 

degree cell sizes. The data are bounded by 49.0 N to 25.0 N latitude, and by

67.0 W to 124.5 W longitude. There are 115 cells in the x-dimension (longitude)

and 48 cells in the y-dimension (latitude) in the original data set, though  

this may vary if you ordered some area less than the full spatial extent.



Alaska Data:



Data are in beta format and have not been user-tested. Please see

http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/vemap/contacts.html for any questions you may have  

about the Alaska data.



Data Source/Author:



The VEMAP Data Group at NCAR (contacts: Nan Rosenbloom and Cristina Kaufman),

VEMAP Participants, and Ben Felzer. National Center for Atmospheric Reasearch 

P.O. Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307-3000. Phone: (303) 497- 1000. See:

http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/vemap/contacts.html



References:



TClimate and TScenario References:



 Kittel, T.G.F., J.A. Royle, C. Daly, N.A. Rosenbloom, W.P. Gibson, H.H. Fisher,

 D.S. Schimel, L.M. Berliner, and VEMAP2 Participants (1997). A gridded

 historical (1895-1993) bioclimate dataset for the conterminous United States.

 Pages 219-222, in: Proceedings of the 10th Conference on Applied Climatology,

 20-24 October 1997, Reno NV. American Meteorological Society, Boston. 



 Kittel, T.G.F., N.A. Rosenbloom, C. Kaufman, J.A. Royle, C. Daly, H.H. Fisher,

 W.P. Gibson, S. Aulenbach, R. McKeown, D.S. Schimel, and VEMAP2

 Participants (2000). VEMAP Phase 2 Historical and Future Scenario Climate

 Database. 





TResults References:



 Schimel, D., J. Melillo, H. Tian, A.D. McGuire, D. Kicklighter, T. Kittel, N.

 Rosenbloom, S. Running, P. Thornton, D. Ojima, W. Parton, R. Kelly, M. Sykes,

 R. Neilson, and B. Rizzo. 2000. Contribution of increasing CO2 and climate to

 carbon storage by ecosystems of the United States. Science 287:2004-2006. 



 VEMAP2 Participants (2000). VEMAP Phase 2 Biogeochemistry and Dynamic

 Vegetation Modelling Results Set.





MT-CLIM3 References: 



 Thornton, P.E., H. Hasenauer, and M.A. White (in review). Simultaneous 

 estimation of daily solar radiation and humidity from observed temperature 

 and precipitation: an application over complex terrain in Austria.  

 Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 





 Thornton, P.E., and S.W. Running, 1999. An improved algorithm for estimating 

 incident daily solar radiation from measurements of temperature, humidity,

 and precipitation. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 93:211-228. 



 Kimball, J.S., S.W. Running, and R. Nemani, 1997. An improved algorithm for 

 estimating surface humidity from daily minimum temperature. Agricultural and

 Forest Meteorology, 85:87-98. 





 Glassy, J.M., and S.W. Running, 1994. Validating diurnal climatology of the 

 MT-CLIM model across a climatic gradient in Oregon. Ecological Applications, 

 4(2):248-257. 



 Running, S.W., R.R. Nemani, and R.D. Hungerford, 1987. Extrapolation of 

 synoptic meteorological data in mountainous terrain and its use for 

 simulating forest evaporation and photosynthesis. Canadian Journal of 

 Forest Research, 17:472-483. 



 Bristow, K.L., and G.S. Campbell, 1984. On the relationship between incoming 

 solar radiation and daily maximum and minimum temperature. Agricultural and

 Forest Meteorology, 31:159-166.