[Project Goals] [Sponsors] [Data Sources] [Update Information] 

[Retrieve Data] [Other Data Sets] [More Information]


Project Goals 


  • collect rainfall and other data from a variety of sources in a data-poor region of the world;
  • combine information from various sources into a standard format which can be easily shared and used by the research community;
  • develop an extensive set of metadata corresponding to measurement sites;
  • make data available in an easy-to-use format which allows a client to tailor data formats to particular research needs.

Sponsors 

 
The Comprehensive Pacific Rainfall Data Base (PACRAIN) was developed under a research grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of Global Programs (OGP). The research is currently funded by the joint NOAA/NASA Enhanced Data Set activity, which is managed by the Climate Change Data and Detection program.

The PACRAIN project has been supplemented by an extensive collection of rainfall data from schools across the Pacific in the Schools of the Pacific Rainfall Climate Experminet (SPaRCE). Each participating school is sent a raingage, instructional manuals and videotapes, and data sheets. Students at the schools record daily rainfall measurements and return the forms to the University of Oklahoma, where they are entered as a part of the PACRAIN database.

 Additional data analysis and qualtity-assurance technique development is provided by the Environmental Verification and Analysis Center (EVAC), located at the University of Oklahoma. One of the goals of EVAC is to validate remote sensing data and in situ data to provide researchers with a better understanding of error characteristics of the data sets which they use.

Data Sources 


The Comprehensive Pacific Rainfall Database consists of daily and monthly rainfall records from many sites located on atolls and islands. The database is updated monthly. Data comes from the following sources:

Update Information 


Last Update:  3 June 2013

US - area stations (American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Marianas, Palau) May 1917* through
April 2013
New Zealand - area stations ( Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Western Samoa) January 1890* through
December 2011
French Polynesia February 1952* through
December 2000
SPaRCE sites 1993 through
March 2013
Taylor's Atlas sites January 1874* through
December 1972*
*Only monthly data are available for this date.


Retrieving Data 


* Significant changes were made to the PACRAIN database as of 15 February 2012.

* Perform a database query, or download the full dataset (gzip/tar zip) or the most recent update (gzip/tar zip).

More Information


For a copy of a technical report (Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 93-003) or questions about the data, contact:
Michael Klatt
Environmental Verification and Analysis Center (EVAC) 
100 E. Boyd Street, SEC 410
Norman, OK 73019
(405) 325-8870
mdklatt@ou.edu 

For more information about the PACRAIN or related projects, contact the Principal Investigator:

Dr. Mark Morrissey
Environmental Verification and Analysis Center (EVAC) 
100 E. Boyd Street, SEC 410
Norman, OK 73019
(405) 325-8870
mmorriss@ou.edu 

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3 June 2013