Abstract:

These date represent 5 climate variables deemed important for wetland health (u and v wind components at 10 meters, 2-m temperature, skin temperature (a proxy for SST over ocean), and mean sea level pressure). The data are derived from monthly mean North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data files, valid from January 2009 through December 2010, from a regional domain encompassing the study area (roughly -91E to -89E, 29N to 31N). The dataset includes 46 gridpoints of climate information in the study domain, spaced at 32 km intervals. These data were used to generate time-series of climate information over the study area to estimate climate impacts on the wetland health. The data are provided on a Lambert-conformal projection using the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) 221 grid configuration. These data were also collected using funding from a GoMRI Year One Grant and are registered as Y1.x103:000:0003.

Suggested Citation:

Mercer, Andrew. 2015. Northern Gulf of Mexico Salt Marsh Climate Data: Temperature, Pressure, and Wind Characteristics 2009-2010. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7CJ8BW5

Purpose:

This study intended to allow the identification of ‘hotspots’ of marsh degradation and the extent of recovery (if any) post Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The overall goal of the proposed research was to quantify and map the ecological impact of the oil spill on the photosynthetic activity, physiological status, and primarily productivity of the coastal salt marshes to facilitate the prioritization of future restoration actions. The specific questions to be answered through study was: Was some of the damage due to local climatic perturbation and early senescence rather than the spill?

Data Parameters and Units:

Latitude (decimal degrees) Longitude (decimal degrees) 2m Temperature, the average maximum temperature at 2 m above the ground for the month (degrees Kelvin) Skin Temperature, average land surface skin temperature for the month (degrees Kelvin) MSLP, average mean sea level pressure for the month (Pascals) 10m U-wind, average east-west wind velocity measured 10m above the ground (meters/second) 10 m V-wind,average north-west wind velocity measured 10m above the ground (meters/second)

Methods:

This dataset was generated using numerically processed gridded climate data (the North American Regional Reanalysis dataset downscaled to 500 m resolution, native is 32 km resolution). Weather Research and Forecasting model initialization downscaled the data to a high resolution to be compared to the marsh characteristics.

Provenance and Historical References:

2009 and 2010 data from the Normth American Regional Reanalysis http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/mmb/rreanl/

Individual Files: