ClimDB/HydroDB Descriptors

Research Area Information
Watershed Spatial Characteristics
Watershed Ecological Characteristics
Watershed Descriptions
Meteorological Station
Hydrologic Gauging Station
Measurement Parameters

Research Area Information

Harvest URL - Option 1: Default harvest URL (formerly for climdb)
Harvest URL -Option 2: Optional harvest URL (formerly for hydrodb)
Site URL: Homepage URL for Site; used for hyperlinks from ClimHy web pages
Site north bounding coordinate (decimal degree): in decimal degrees - 5 decimal places
Site west bounding coordinate (decimal degree): in decimal degrees - 5 decimal places
Site south bounding coordinate (decimal degree): in decimal degrees - 5 decimal places
Site east bounding coordinate (decimal degree): in decimal degrees - 5 decimal places
Site Climate URL: URL of the research site's webpage location covering relevant climate research
Site Watershed URL: URL for the research site's webpage location covering relevant watershed studies
Site Map URL: URL of the research site's webpage location showing a topographic map of the research site and the associated gauged watersheds
Experimental Design: Experimental design
Publications: Publications or References or URL if list is online
USGS Harvest URL: Do not change this URL. It is set up to harvest USGS data, if site is participating.

Watershed Spatial Characteristics

North bounding coordinate (decimal degrees): Watershed north bounding coordinate
West bounding coordinate (decimal degrees): Watershed west bounding coordinate
South bounding coordinate (decimal degrees): Watershed south bounding coordinate
East bounding coordinate (decimal degrees): Watershed east bounding coordinate
Area (hectares): Size of watershed
Aspect (degrees azmuth): General direction watershed faces
Minimum watershed elevation (meters; a.m.s.l): meters; a.m.s.l.
Maximum watershed elevation (meters; a.m.s.l): meters; a.m.s.l.
Test Descriptor Value: Used to test

Watershed Ecological Characteristics

Mean annual precipitation (millimeters): millimeters
Mean annual radiation (Megajoules per square meter per day): Megajoules per square meter per day
Slope (Percent): Basin-wide, average hillslope gradient.
Slope description: specify methods (e.g., sampling of DEM or topographic map)
Channel length (meters): Channel length (meters) of entire stream network in watershed
Channel length description: Specify perennial and/or intermittent and define criteria for differentiating. Specify how channel head, hence length, is defined, and method used.
Drainage density (km/km2): channel length/drainage area
Mean snowpack description: depth (meters or mm water equivalent) or percent of precipitation falling as snow; specify units

Watershed Descriptions

Pre-treatment vegetation: species and cover types
Pre-treatment description: stocking density (stems/ha), basal area (m2/ha), or LAI of dominant species; give geographic pattern, if relevant (e.g., riparian vs. upland).
Soil description: soil type (to family level of USDA soil classification system), depth (m) and porosity.
Geology description: include surficial geology.
Treatment History: history of treatments and natural disturbances in control/treated watersheds, both pre- and post-experimental manipulations (including fire history).
Succession description: hydrologically-relevant information on vegetation change (e.g., succession)
Comparison description: relationship with control watershed (e.g., similarities, dissimilarities, physical distance between control and experimental weirs and met stations, any disturbance that occurred in "control" watershed.

Meteorological Station

Latitude (decimal degrees): Latitude of meteorologic station in decimal degrees (+/-90 degrees, 4 decimal places)
Longitude (decimal degrees): Longitude of meteorologic station in decimal degrees (+/-180 degrees, 4 decimal places)
Elevation (meters; a.m.s.l.): Height of meteorologic station above mean sea level
Exposure (degrees): Angle from horizontal to top of nearest obstruction (from meteorologic station)
Wind Exposure (degrees azimuth): Direction of prevailing precipitation-bearing winds (from where the wind is blowing; i.e., 360 degrees is blowing from north to south)
Begin Date: Date of establishment of meteorologic station
End Date: Date of removal of meteorologic station (enter 'Present' for continuing measurements)
Topography: General topographical location of meteorologic station (e.g., valley, on a slope, etc.)
Surface (): Surface over which air temperature sensors are placed under non-snow convered conditions (e.g., grass, mineral soil)
Area Description: Description of area within 100 meters of meteorologic station (e.g., nearby structures, vegetation, etc.)
History: Meteorologic station history (e.g., changes in location, growth of nearby vegetation, heat sources such as cabins, known changes to exposure, significant gaps in the record, etc.)
Photo URL: URL of the research site's webpage location showing a photograph of the meteorologic station

Hydrologic Gauging Station

Latitude (decimal degrees): Latitude of gauging station in decimal degrees (+/-90 degrees, 4 decimal places)
Longitude (decimal degrees): Longitude of gauging station in decimal degrees (+/-90 degrees, 4 decimal places)
Elevation (meters; a.m.s.l.): Elevation of gauging station (meters; a.m.s.l.)
Begin Date: Date of establishment of gauging station
End Date: Date of removal of gauging station (enter 'Present' for continuing measurements)
Watershed Area (hectares): Area or watershed captured by gauge (hectares)
Associated Watershed: Watershed within which the gauging station is located
Associated meteorological station: Identify precipitation gauging and ambient air temperature measurement location/name that best represents conditions in the watershed monitored by this gauging station
Photo URL: URL of the research site's webpage location showing a photograph of the gauging station
History: Gauging station history (e.g., changes in location, structure modification, significant gaps in the record, etc.)
Weir Description: Physical structure of the weir
Weir Calibration and Modification History: Dates of major modifications or recalibrations, include discussion of rating curve development; if documented in site records, give directions to that information

Measurement Parameter Descriptors

Begin Date: Beginning date of measurement
End Date: End date of measurement (enter 'Present' for continuing measurements)
Data Logger Sampling Interval: e.g., 15 second, 1 minute
Summary Interval: finest time step output for data (i.e., 15 minute, hourly, daily)
Data Accuracy: e.g., +/-0.1 degrees C
Instrument Height: meters above (or below) ground of sensor
Instrumentation Description: type and brand of instrumentation
Methods Description: Field collection methods (include the type of data logger and describe any manual methods), data aggregation algorithms and quality assurance methods
Sensor History: History of sensor-related changes (e.g., date and description of changes in location, instrument height, instrument type, or observation method)
Calibration History: Date of current and all previous calibrations
Minimum QC Threshold: minimum value use for QC upon data harvest
Maximum QC Threshold: maximum value use for QC upon data harvest

Measurement Parameters

Consult user guide for specific parameter guidelines.

Air Temperature (degree celsius)
Atmospheric Pressure (hectopascals)
Dewpoint Temperature (degree celsius)
Global Radiation (megajoules per square meter per day)
Precipitation (millimeters)
Relative Humidity (percent)
Snow Depth (millimeters)
Soil Moisture (megapascal)
Soil Temperature (degree celsius)
Stream Discharge (liters per second)
Water Temperature (degree celsius)
Water Vapor Pressure (hectopascals)
Wind Direction and Resultant Wind Direction (degrees azimuth)
Wind Speed and Resultant Wind Speed (meters per second)