Saskatchewan Solid Precipitation Inter-Comparison Experiment (SPICE) Data

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Solid Precipitation Inter-Comparison Experiment (SPICE) officially began in the (Northern Hemisphere) Fall of 2012 with the objective of characterizing and providing guidance on the performance of automated systems for the in situ measurement of solid precipitation (Nitu et al., 2012). Environment and Climate Change Canada hosted three intercomparison sites as contributions to SPICE, two of which (Bratt’s Lake and Caribou Creek) are located in Saskatchewan. The Caribou Creek site is located in the southern Boreal forest, approximately 100 km North East of Prince Albert. The Bratt’s Lake site is located in the central prairies, approximately 30 km south of Regina. Each of the sites provides a different perspective for measuring precipitation. The Caribou Creek site exhibits a relatively longer and colder winter season but with lower wind speeds due to less exposure. The Bratt’s Lake site is drier and has a shorter accumulation season but experiences relatively high wind speeds due to exposure which makes accurate measurement of solid precipitation more challenging. Each of the Saskatchewan intercomparison sites measured accumulating precipitation with several gauge and wind shield configurations. Ancillary meteorological measurements of air temperature and wind speed at various heights were also made. This data set (October through April) begins in the fall of 2013 and continues through to the spring of 2017 and includes the two SPICE and two post-SPICE winters. The data consists of the core reference precipitation (WMO Double Fence Automated Reference and single Alter shielded gauges) and meteorological measurements (wind speed and air temperature). The precipitation and meteorology data were collected at a frequency of 1 minute, quality controlled and processed, and aggregated to 30 minute periods. Manual snow surveys were completed monthly (or bi-monthly) during the winter at the Caribou Creek site (with the exception of the 2015/2016 winter season). More information about this data set is included in the metadata.

Basic view

Metadata Record Information

File Identifier
63773b5b-5529-4b1e-9150-10acb84d59f0 XML
Date Stamp
2022-06-29T17:13:31
Metadata language

eng; CAN
Character set
UTF8
Hierarchy Level
Series
Author
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada - Environment and Climate Change Canada ( Public inquiries centre )
Fontaine Building 12th floor, 200 Sacré-Coeur Blvd , Gatineau , Quebec , K1A 0H3 ,
1-800-668-6767
http://ec.gc.ca
 

Service Identification (19119)

Date (Creation)
2018-05-10
Date (Publication)
2018-06-04

Keywords

Theme

  • Solid Precipitation

  • Observation/Measurement

  • Intercomparison

  • Snow

Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus

  • Precipitation

  • Snow

external.theme.EC_Information_Category

  • Weather and Climate

external.theme.EC_Functions

  • Provide Climate Information Products and Services

  • Expand Scientific Knowledge for Climate Monitoring and Prediction

external.theme.EC_Branch

  • Science and Technology Branch

external.theme.EC_Directorate

  • Atmospheric Science and Technology

external.theme.GC_Security_Level

  • Unclassified

external.place.GC_Geographic_Scope

  • Prairie - Saskatchewan (SK)
 
 

Data identification

Date (Creation)
2018-05-10
Date (Publication)
2018-06-04
Status
On going
Metadata language

eng; CAN
Metadata language

fra
Character set
UTF8
Topic category
  • Climatology, meteorology, atmosphere
Maintenance and Update Frequency
As needed
Spatial representation type
Text, table
Principal investigator
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; S&TB/ASTD/CRD - Craig D. Smith ( Physical Science Specialist )
11 Innovation Blvd , Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , S7N 3H5 , Canada
(306) 975-5793
Hours of Service

8:00-16:00 EST
Principal investigator
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; S&TB/WSTD/WERD - Daqing Yang ( Research Scientist )
University of Victoria - W-CIRC, 3800 Finnerty Road , Victoria , British Columbia , V8P 5C2 , Canada
(205) 363-3681

Keywords

Theme

  • Solid Precipitation

  • Observation/Measurement

  • Intercomparison

  • Snow

Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus

  • Precipitation

  • Snow

external.theme.EC_Information_Category

  • Weather and Climate

external.theme.EC_Functions

  • Provide Climate Information Products and Services

  • Expand Scientific Knowledge for Climate Monitoring and Prediction

external.theme.EC_Branch

  • Science and Technology Branch

external.theme.EC_Directorate

  • Atmospheric Science and Technology

external.theme.GC_Security_Level

  • Unclassified

external.place.GC_Geographic_Scope

  • Prairie - Saskatchewan (SK)
 
Use Limitation

Open Government Licence - Canada ( http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)

Access Constraints
Unrestricted
Use Constraints
Unrestricted
Begin Date
2013-10-01
End Date
2017-04-30

Extent

N
S
E
W
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Ref. system Reference Systems

Reference system identifier
EPSG / 4326 /
 

Distribution

Distribution Formats

Distribution format
  • ZIP ( 6.3.4 )

  • DOCX ( 14.0.7197.5000 (2010) )

 
Distributor
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada - Environment and Climate Change Canada ( Public inquiries centre )
Fontaine Building 12th floor, 200 Sacré-Coeur Blvd , Gatineau , Quebec , K1A 0H3 ,
1-800-668-6767
http://ec.gc.ca
 
 

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