Publication Date

12-2014

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Rezaul Mahmood (Director), Stuart Foster, Josh Durkee

Degree Program

Department of Geography and Geology

Degree Type

Master of Science

Abstract

Station siting, exposure, instrumentation, and time of observations influence longterm climatic records. This thesis compared and analyzed temperature data from four Kentucky Mesonet stations located in Fayette (LXGN), Franklin (LSML), Clark (WNCH), and Bullitt (CRMT) counties to two nearby Automated Surface Observation Systems (ASOS) stations in Kentucky. The ASOS stations are located at Louisville International Airport (Standiford Field - KSDF) and at Lexington Airport (Blue Grass Field - KLEX). The null hypothesis states that there is no significant difference in temperature measurements between the two types of stations. To quantify the differences in temperature measurements, geoprofiles and the following statistical procedures were used: coefficient of determination (R2), coefficient of efficiency (E), index of agreement (d), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). Geoprofiles were developed using GIS, and take into account elevation, slope, hillshading, land use, and aspect for each site to help better understand the influence of local topography. It was found that temperature differences could be related to the advancement of weather patterns, vegetation growth and decay, and changes in the landscape at the stations. KSDF consistently recorded higher temperatures than those at CRMT. The positive bias ranged between 0.27 and 2.41 ºC during the time period of September 2009 to August 2010. KLEX was found to be warmer or cooler, with temperature differences that ranged from -1.42 to 0.22 ºC for LXGN, LSML, and WNCH. The index of agreement at KSDF for mean hourly temperatures, when compared to the Bullitt County mesonet station, ranged from 0.88 to 0.99. Meanwhile, the index of agreement at KLEX was 0.96 to 1.00 when compared to the Franklin, Fayette, and Clark mesonet stations. KLEX recorded temperatures that were higher or lower compared to the Franklin, Fayette, and Clark mesonet stations. At the seasonal scale, fall and summer showed larger differences between the Mesonet and ASOS observations. KSDF consistently recorded higher temperatures ranging up to 2.41 °C during the summer. The index of agreement at KSDF in the fall, when compared to the Bullitt County mesonet station average temperatures, ranged from 0.89 to 0.95, while in the summer it was 0.88 to 0.96. The d index indicates a good agreement between ASOS and mesonet stations in winter. KLEX indicates that the index of agreement, RMSE, and MAE are best during winter for all three stations, while in the fall and summer the agreement was not as strong when compared to the Franklin, Fayette, and Clark mesonet stations. In summary, results indicate that the Kentucky Mesonet and ASOS temperature measurements show significant differences throughout the year; therefore, the alternative hypothesis is accepted. These differences are attributed to biases associated with ASOS observations, nearby artificial sources of heating, equipment/maintenance procedures, and land use and land cover at the site.

Disciplines

Environmental Monitoring | Geographic Information Sciences | Geology | Physical and Environmental Geography | Remote Sensing

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