Global Change Master Directory (GCMD)

Data Sets

Services / Tools

Ancillary Descriptions

Are you using a browser that doesn't support JavaScript or have you disabled JavaScript?

If you have disabled JavaScript, you must re-enable JavaScript to use this page.
Or you can view this record using the Text Only Format.

Global Surface Summary of the Day - GSOD

Entry ID: gov.noaa.ncdc.C00516

[ Get Data ]
[ Update this Record ]

Summary

Abstract: Global Surface Summary of the Day is a product archived at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). It is produced by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, NC and is derived from The Integrated Surface Hourly (ISH) dataset, DSI-3505 (C00532). The ISH dataset includes global data obtained from the USAF Climatology Center, located in the Federal Climate Complex with NCDC. The ... latest daily summary data are normally available 1-2 days after the date-time of the observations used in the daily summaries. The online data files begin with 1929 and are at the time of this writing at the Version 8 software level. Over 9000 stations' data are typically available. The daily elements included in the dataset (as available from each station) are: Mean temperature (.1 Fahrenheit) Mean dew point (.1 Fahrenheit) Mean sea level pressure (.1 mb) Mean station pressure (.1 mb) Mean visibility (.1 miles) Mean wind speed (.1 knots) Maximum sustained wind speed (.1 knots) Maximum wind gust (.1 knots) Maximum temperature (.1 Fahrenheit) Minimum temperature (.1 Fahrenheit) Precipitation amount (.01 inches) Snow depth (.1 inches) Indicator for occurrence of: Fog, Rain or Drizzle, Snow or Ice Pellets, Hail, Thunder, Tornado/Funnel Cloud Global summary of day data for 18 surface meteorological elements are derived from the synoptic/hourly observations contained in USAF DATSAV3 Surface data and Federal Climate Complex Integrated Surface Hourly (ISH). Historical data are generally available for 1929 to the present, with data from 1973 to the present being the most complete. For some periods, one or more countries' data may not be available due to data restrictions or communications problems. In deriving the summary of day data, a minimum of 4 observations for the day must be present (allows for stations which report 4 synoptic observations/day). Since the data are converted to constant units (e.g, knots), slight rounding error from the originally reported values may occur (e.g, 9.9 instead of 10.0). The mean daily values described below are based on the hours of operation for the station. For some stations/countries, the visibility will sometimes 'cluster' around a value (such as 10 miles) due to the practice of not reporting visibilities greater than certain distances. The daily extremes and totals--maximum wind gust, precipitation amount, and snow depth--will only appear if the station reports the data sufficiently to provide a valid value. Therefore, these three elements will appear less frequently than other values. Also, these elements are derived from the stations' reports during the day, and may comprise a 24-hour period which includes a portion of the previous day. The data are reported and summarized based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, 0000Z - 2359Z) since the original synoptic/hourly data are reported and based on GMT.

Purpose: To make a wide range of climatic data available to researchers and the public.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: data set

CURRENTNESS REFERENCE: Ground Condition

Fees, if applicable, are displayed on the web page for obtaining these data; fees are also dependent on customer order specifications. Please contact NCDC for further information on fees and terms for retrieving these data.

Related URL

Link: GET DATA

Description: More information and pricing for this dataset

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: 90.0

S: -90.0

E: 180.0

W: -180.0

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce

Dataset Title: Global Surface Summary of the Day - GSOD

Dataset Release Date: Unknown

Dataset Release Place: Asheville, NC

Dataset Publisher: National Climatic Data Center

Data Presentation Form: Tabular Digital Data

Online Resource: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/res40.pl?page=gsod.html ftp://ftp....

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1929-01-01

Location Keywords

GEOGRAPHIC REGION > GLOBAL

Science Keywords

ATMOSPHERE > AIR QUALITY > VISIBILITY

ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY > LIGHTNING

ISO Topic Category

CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

Platform

METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS

Instrument

ALTIMETERS

ANEMOMETERS

Project

ESIP > Earth Science Information Partners Program

Quality ATTRIBUTE ACCURACY REPORT: The input data undergo extensive automated QC to correctly 'decode' as much of the synoptic data as possible, and to eliminate many of the random errors found in the original data. Then, these data are QC'ed further as the summary of day data are derived. However, we expect that a very small % of the errors will remain in the summary of day data.

LOGICAL CONSISTENCY REPORT: Unknown

COMPLETENESS REPORT: Completeness information not available.

LINEAGE/PROCESS STEP:
PROCESS DESCRIPTION: Not derived from another source
PROCESS DATE: Unknown

Access Constraints ACCESS CONSTRAINTS: None

DISTRIBUTION LIABILITY: Every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of current NOAA quality control procedures. NOAA can only certify that the data provided to its customers is an authentic copy of the records which were accepted for inclusion in NOAA archives. NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

Use Constraints None

Ancillary Keywords

GLOBAL

GOSIC

G3OS/

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Data Center

National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce

Data Center URL: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/

Data Center Personnel
Name: NCDC CUSTOMER SERVICE Phone: 828-271-4800 Fax: 828-271-4876 Email: ncdc.orders at noaa.gov Contact Address: 151 Patton Avenue, Room 120 City: Asheville Province or State: NC Postal Code: 28801-5001 Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Format: ASCII

Fees: Please See Summary

Personnel

NCDC CUSTOMER SERVICE

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Phone: 828-271-4800

Fax: 828-271-4876

Email: ncdc.orders at noaa.gov

Contact Address:

151 Patton Avenue, Room 120

City: Asheville

Province or State: NC

Postal Code: 28801-5001

Country: USA

NCDC METADATA SERVICES

Role: DIF AUTHOR

Phone: 828-271-4800

Fax: 828-271-4876

Email: ncdc.metadata at noaa.gov

Contact Address:

151 Patton Avenue

Room 468

City: Asheville

Province or State: North Carolina

Postal Code: 28801-5001

Country: USA

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2007-10-23

Last DIF Revision Date: 2011-07-21

Reformat as FGDC document

View Text Only Format

[ Update this Record ]