Assessment of Global Solar and Meteorological Data Derived From Satellite Observations and the NASA GEOS Assimilation Model.

Many of the environmental parameters required by Agricultural Decision Support Systems software are available through a combination of assimilation models and satellite observations supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.  NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) is one of NASA’s Applications Project that has as one of its objectives the development of user-friendly data products for agricultural applications and to make these products readily accessible to the user community. 

The POWER project currently provides a database of meteorological parameters and surface solar energy fluxes on a global 1-degree latitude/longitude grid.  The data products are freely available through the POWER data portal (http://power.larc.nasa.gov) and consist of daily surface solar radiation, daily averaged dew point temperature, daily maximum and minimum temperatures, and daily precipitation.  The solar data has been inferred from satellite observations that cover the time period from July 1, 1983 to within 1 week of current time; the temperature parameters are from the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) analyses, and cover the time period from January 1, 1983 to December 31, 2007 (GEOS-4) and from January 1, 2008 to within 4 days current time (GEOS-5); and the daily averaged precipitation is based upon a merge of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project 1-degree daily products and the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission daily data for the time period from January 1, 1997 to within about two-months of current time. 

Results from comparisons between the parameters contained in the Agroclimatology section of the POWER web site and observations from ground stations will be presented that illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the satellite/model meteorological and solar parameters. Comparisons will include observations from automated agricultural weather stations (e.g. the AgriMet and High Plains Research Climate Center networks in the US northwest and central plains states), as well as observations from US research networks.