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Meteorology data from the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) terrestrial sites. Variables measured include albedo (ground and sky), temperature (dry bulb, wet bulb and soil (at 10cm and 30cm)), relative humidity, radiation (net. and solar), rainfall, surface wetness, soil moisture, wind direction and wind speed). These data are collected by Automatic Weather Stations at all of ECN's terrestrial sites using a standard protocol. They represent continuous hourly records from 1992 to 2012. ECN is the UK's long-term environmental monitoring programme. It is a multi-agency programme sponsored by a consortium of fourteen government departments and agencies. These organisations contribute to the programme through funding either site monitoring and/or network co-ordination activities. These organisations are: Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru - Natural Resources Wales, Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Llywodraeth Cymru - Welsh Government, Natural England, Natural Environment Research Council, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage.
Data are collected by Automatic Weather Stations at all of ECN's terrestrial sites using a standard protocol. Prior to deposit of the data in the EIDC, data are managed by the ECN Data Centre at CEH Lancaster according to defined protocols.
Verification steps include numeric range checks (i.e. checking if a value falls within a specified range), categorical checks (e.g. checking that a species code appears on the standard code list), formatting (i.e. that the dataset conforms to the specified data format) and logical integrity checks (i.e. checking the data make sense, e.g. that the dates in one dataset match those in a related dataset).
Appropriate range settings for ECN variables have been selected following discussion with specialists in each field. Where data fall outside these ranges, a cautious approach has been adopted towards discarding data on the principle that apparent errors may be valid outliers. Such values are discarded only if there is a clear explanation (e.g. an instrumentation error) and corrections are made where possible. If the reason is unclear, the values are stored, but are qualified using pre-defined quality codes or free-text descriptions. Data providers also use these codes or free text to describe factors affecting sampling outside their control, instrument damage or site management effects.
Citations
Chandler, K. R., Stevens, C. J., Binley, A., & Keith, A. M. (2018). Influence of tree species and forest land use on soil hydraulic conductivity and implications for surface runoff generation. Geoderma, 310, 120-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.08.011
Pozsgai, G., Baird, J., Littlewood, N. A., Pakeman, R. J., & Young, M. R. (2018). Phenological changes of the most commonly sampled ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) species in the UK environmental change network. International Journal of Biometeorology, 62(6), 1063–1074. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-018-1509-3
Moody, C.S., & Worrall, F. (2017). Modeling rates of DOC degradation using DOM composition and hydroclimatic variables. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 122(5), 1175–1191.https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JG003493
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Martay, B., Monteith, D.T., Brewer, M.J., Brereton, T., Shortall, C.R., & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. (2016). An indicator highlights seasonal variation in the response of Lepidoptera communities to warming. Ecological Indicators, 68, 126–133.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.01.057
Rennie, S.C. (2016). Providing information on environmental change: Data management, discovery and access in the UK Environmental Change Network Data Centre. Ecological Indicators, 68, 13–20.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.01.060
Monteith, D., Henrys, P., Banin, L., Smith, R., Morecroft, M., Scott, T., … Watson, H. (2016). Trends and variability in weather and atmospheric deposition at UK Environmental Change Network sites (1993–2012). Ecological Indicators, 68, 21–35.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.01.061
Cowan, N., Levy, P., Drewer, J., Carswell, A., Shaw, R., Simmons, I., … Skiba, U. (2019). Application of Bayesian statistics to estimate nitrous oxide emission factors of three nitrogen fertilisers on UK grasslands. Environment International, 128, 362–370.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.04.054
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