Global Historical Climatology Network - Monthly (GHCN-M), Version 2

Dataset Identification:

Resource Abstract:
**Please note, the temperature portion of this dataset has been superseded by a newer version. Users should not use this version except in rare cases (e.g., when reproducing previous studies that used this version). The precipitation subset of this dataset is still the latest version available.** The Global Historical Climatology Network Monthly (GHCN-M) Version 2 dataset created by the NCDC contains historical temperature, precipitation, and pressure data for thousands of land stations worldwide. The period of record varies from station to station, with several thousand extending back to 1950 and several hundred being updated monthly. Both historical and near-real-time GHCN-M data undergo rigorous quality assurance reviews. These reviews include pre-processing checks on source data, time series checks that identify spurious changes in the mean and variance, spatial comparisons that verify the accuracy of the climatological mean and the seasonal cycle, and neighbor checks that identify outliers from both a temporal and a spatial perspective. Only one file for the temperature data is available from the archive (file is for period of record ending in 2011), but precipitation data has been archived daily since 2012.
Citation
Title Global Historical Climatology Network - Monthly (GHCN-M), Version 2
publication  Date   1997-01-01
revision  Date   2011-01-01
Edition Version 2
presentationForm  tableDigital
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
position Name User Engagement and Services Branch
Contact information
Telephone
Voice +1 (828) 271-4800
Fax +1 (828) 271-4876
Address
151 Patton AvenueVeach-Baley Federal Building, Room 468, Asheville, NC, 28801-5001 Country USA
electronic Mail Address ncei.orders@noaa.gov
hoursOfService 8:00 - 6:00 Eastern
cited responsible party -
organisation Name  
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name GHCN-Monthly Website
URL: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ghcnm/
protocol HTTP
link function information
Description Visit the website for more information about the current GHCN-Monthly products.
target application profile  Information
Topic Category:  climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere
Keywords:
Theme keywords (theme):
EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE > SEA LEVEL PRESSURE
EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE > AIR TEMPERATURE
EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE
EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE > MAXIMUM/MINIMUM TEMPERATURE
EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > PRECIPITATION > PRECIPITATION AMOUNT
thesaurus name >
Title Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science and Services Keywords
revision  Date   2015-08-04
Edition Version 8.1
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/GCMD > Global Change Master Directory, Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name NASA GCMD Keyword Community Page
URL: https://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/learn/keywords.html
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description Overview of the NASA GCMD Keywords.
target application profile  Web Browser
Location keywords:
GEOGRAPHIC REGION > GLOBAL
thesaurus name >
Title Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
revision  Date   2015-04-07
Edition Version 8.1
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/GCMD > Global Change Master Directory, Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name NASA GCMD Keyword Community Page
URL: https://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/learn/keywords.html
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description Overview of the NASA GCMD Keywords.
target application profile  Web Browser
Stratum keywords:
VERTICAL LOCATION > LAND SURFACE
thesaurus name >
Title Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
revision  Date   2015-04-07
Edition Version 8.1
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/GCMD > Global Change Master Directory, Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name NASA GCMD Keyword Community Page
URL: https://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/learn/keywords.html
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description Overview of the NASA GCMD Keywords.
target application profile  Web Browser
instrument Keywords
RAIN GAUGES
THERMOMETERS
BAROMETERS
thesaurus name >
Title Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
revision  Date   2015-10-02
Edition Version 8.1
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/GCMD > Global Change Master Directory, Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name NASA GCMD Keyword Community Page
URL: https://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/learn/keywords.html
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description Overview of the NASA GCMD Keywords.
target application profile  Web Browser
platform Keywords
METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS
thesaurus name >
Title Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords
revision  Date   2015-09-23
Edition Version 8.1
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/GCMD > Global Change Master Directory, Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name NASA GCMD Keyword Community Page
URL: https://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/learn/keywords.html
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description Overview of the NASA GCMD Keywords.
target application profile  Web Browser
dataCenter Keywords
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
thesaurus name >
Title Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
revision  Date   2015-10-02
Edition Version 8.1
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/GCMD > Global Change Master Directory, Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name NASA GCMD Keyword Community Page
URL: https://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/learn/keywords.html
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description Overview of the NASA GCMD Keywords.
target application profile  Web Browser
Theme keywords (theme):
Climatology
thesaurus name >
Title Science Domain > Climatology
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
METEOROLOGICAL STATION
thesaurus name >
Title Equipment > Platform
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
NOAA
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC
thesaurus name >
Title Organization > GOVERNMENT AGENCIES-U.S. FEDERAL AGENCIES
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
Previous Study
thesaurus name >
Title Feature > Marine Feature
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
Comparison
thesaurus name >
Title Method > information processing
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
Temperature
Pressure
Centered
thesaurus name >
Title Property > Measure
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
Dataset
Time Series
thesaurus name >
Title Resource Type > Dataset
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
BAROMETERS
RAIN GAUGE
thesaurus name >
Title Equipment > Instrument
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Department of Commerce
thesaurus name >
Title Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) Corporate Names
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
Theme keywords (theme):
Precipitation
thesaurus name >
Title Process > Atmospheric Process
publication  Date   2018-12-15
other Citation Details  Cinergi keyword enhanced.File generated at Sat Dec 15 05:00:11 UTC 2018
purpose:
To monitor long-term trends in temperature and precipitation.
Resource language:  eng; USA
Resource progress code:  completed
Resource Maintenance Information
maintenance or update frequency:  daily
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
use constraint:  otherRestrictions
Other constraints
**Please note, the temperature portion of this dataset has been superseded by a newer version. Users should not use this version except in rare cases (e.g., when reproducing previous studies that used this version). The precipitation subset of this dataset is still the latest version available.**
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
use constraint:  otherRestrictions
Other constraints
Users must cite this dataset as: Thomas C. Peterson and Russell S. Vose (1997): Global Historical Climatology Network - Monthly (GHCN-M), Version 3. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5X34VDR [access date].
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
use constraint:  otherRestrictions
Other constraints
NCEI 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. NCEI makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Resource extent
Geographic Extent
Geographic Bounding Box
westBoundLongitude  -180.0
eastBoundLongitude  180.0
northBoundLatitude  -90.0
southBoundLatitude  90.0
Temporal Extent
1701-01-01 present
point of contact - pointOfContact
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
position Name GHCN-M Product Team
Contact information
Telephone
Voice +1 (828) 271-4800
Fax +1 (828) 271-4876
Address
151 Patton AvenueVeach-Baley Federal Building, Room 468, Asheville, NC, 28801-5001 Country USA
electronic Mail Address ncdc.ghcnm@noaa.gov
hoursOfService 8:00 - 6:00 Eastern
point of contact - pointOfContact
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
position Name Customer Engagement Branch
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 1-828-271-4800
Fax 1-828-271-4876
Address
151 Patton AvenueVeach-Baley Federal Building, Room 468, Asheville, NC, 28801-5001 Country USA
electronic Mail Address ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Linkage for online resource
name NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description NCEI home page with information, data access and contact information.
target application profile  Web Browser
hoursOfService 8:00 - 6:00 Eastern
Back to top:

Scope of quality information
scope level  dataset
Resource lineage description
Lineage statement
GHCN-Monthly Version 2 has significant improvements over version 1: more data (e.g., the precipitation data set has data from over 20,000 stations) from more sources (over 30 different sources including the Colonial Era Archive Project contributed to version 2), more elements (mean monthly maximum and minimum temperature data as well as mean temperature), better Quality Control, homogeneity adjustments, and a wider selection of station metadata. GHCN-Monthly Version 2 currently provides precipitation data that is available from 20,590 stations and sea level pressure data for 2,668 stations. The [now superseded] temperature product contains mean temperature data for 7,280 stations and maximum/minimum temperature data for 4,966 stations (available until 2011). All stations have at least 10 years of data. The archive also contains homogeneity-adjusted data for a subset of this network (5,206 mean temperature stations and 3,647 maximum/minimum temperature stations). The homogeneity-adjusted network is somewhat smaller because at least 20 years of data were required to compute reliable discontinuity adjustments and the homogeneity of some isolated stations could not be adequately assessed.

Scope of quality information
scope level  repository
Level Description
other component described  NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Resource lineage description

Resource distribution information

Distributor
distributor contact - distributor
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
position Name Customer Engagement Branch
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 1-828-271-4800
Fax 1-828-271-4876
Address
151 Patton AvenueVeach-Baley Federal Building, Room 468, Asheville, NC, 28801-5001 Country USA
electronic Mail Address ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Linkage for online resource
name NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description NCEI home page with information, data access and contact information.
target application profile  Web Browser
hoursOfService 8:00 - 6:00 Eastern
Format
Format name XML
Format version 
Standard ordering process
fees In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free, however fees may apply for data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Digital Transfer Options
transfer Size 
Linkage for online resource
name Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN), Version 2
URL: https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.ncdc:C00835
protocol HTTP
link function information
Description Dataset landing page with general information and access links for the dataset.
target application profile  Web Browser
Distributor
distributor contact - distributor
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
position Name Customer Engagement Branch
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 1-828-271-4800
Fax 1-828-271-4876
Address
151 Patton AvenueVeach-Baley Federal Building, Room 468, Asheville, NC, 28801-5001 Country USA
electronic Mail Address ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Linkage for online resource
name NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description NCEI home page with information, data access and contact information.
target application profile  Web Browser
hoursOfService 8:00 - 6:00 Eastern
Format
Format name ASCII Text
Format version 
Standard ordering process
fees In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free, however fees may apply for data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Digital Transfer Options
transfer Size 
Linkage for online resource
name NCEI Public FTP Server
URL: ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/ghcn/v2/
protocol FTP
link function download
Description Access to the data via FTP. (Precipitation product only)
target application profile  Download
Distributor
distributor contact - distributor
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
position Name Customer Engagement Branch
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 1-828-271-4800
Fax 1-828-271-4876
Address
151 Patton AvenueVeach-Baley Federal Building, Room 468, Asheville, NC, 28801-5001 Country USA
electronic Mail Address ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Linkage for online resource
name NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description NCEI home page with information, data access and contact information.
target application profile  Web Browser
hoursOfService 8:00 - 6:00 Eastern
Format
Format name PDF
Format version 
Standard ordering process
fees In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free, however fees may apply for data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Digital Transfer Options
transfer Size 
Linkage for online resource
name TD Dataset Documentation
URL: https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/documentlibrary/tddoc/td9100.pdf
protocol FTP
link function information
Description Documentation for Dataset 9100 - Global Historical Climatology Network
target application profile  Download

Metadata data stamp:  2017-04-24
Resource Maintenance Information
maintenance or update frequency:  asNeeded
notes: Bulk metadata change applied on 2017-04-24. See version control repository history for metadata change details.
Metadata contact - pointOfContact
organisation Name  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
position Name ISO 19115 Metadata Contact
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 1-828-271-4800
Fax 1-828-271-4876
Address
151 Patton AvenueVeach-Baley Federal Building, Room 468, Asheville, NC, 28801-5001 Country USA
electronic Mail Address ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Linkage for online resource
name NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov
protocol HTTPS
link function information
Description NCEI home page with information, data access and contact information.
target application profile  Web Browser
hoursOfService 8:00 - 6:00 Eastern
Metadata scope code  dataset
Metadata language  eng; USA
Metadata character set encoding:   utf8
Metadata standard for this record:  ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data
standard version:  ISO 19115-2:2009(E)
Metadata record identifier:  gov.noaa.ncdc:C00835

Metadata record format is ISO19139-2 XML (MI_Metadata)