This page describes and gives options for manipulating the
OSU PRISM dataset. We start with the
options for manipulating, because once you are comfortable with the
system, they are the most useful.
Dataset Options
- Help/Terse
- switches back and forth between this relatively
descriptive page that contains extended explanations, and the page that just has the information.
- Expert Mode
- switches into a mode that lets you access
several datasets at the same time, and enter data-manipulating
commands directly as text rather than clicking on a series of pages.
When in Expert Mode there is a list of active datasets at the top of
the page, followed by a text window containing the command equivalent
of the current page. These commands can be edited or extended.
Note that there will be many more options once you have picked a
particular variable, because the server is currently more adept at manipulating
single variables than it is at manipulating datasets (e.g. collections
of variables).
Dataset Description
We start with a quick reminder of where you are in the collection of datasets.
As you go from left to right, the datasets listed get more and more
specific, ending with the current dataset, OSU PRISM. Datasets with documentation are marked (*): the * links to the documentation directly.
OSU PRISM
OSU PRISM from SOURCES: the IRI/LDEO collection of climate data.Documents
give additional information about the current dataset.- overview
- shows an overview of the different parts of this dataset (the parts shown are sub-datasets, see below).
Variables (also called data or dependent variables) are sets of numbers, along with the grids (independent variables) that place those numbers in space and time, and the additional information (such as units) that render the data meaningful. Datasets are collections of variables and datasets. This will become clearer once you look at the outline.
References
Daly, C., R.P. Neilson, and D.L. Phillips, 1994: A Statistical-Topographic Model for Mapping Climatological Precipitation over Mountainous Terrain. J. Appl. Meteor., 33, 140-158.
Daly, C., W. P. Gibson, G.H. Taylor, G. L. Johnson, P. Pasteris. 2002. A knowledge-based approach to the statistical mapping of climate. Climate Research, 22, 99-113.
