Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Climate observation data, modeled soil moisture and reconstructed soil moisture model outputs from June 800 through 2021 (NCEI Accession 0241207)

Preview graphic

This data archive contains gridded and regionally averaged records of North American climate and soil moisture as well as the 1,498 tree-ring width index (RWI) chronologies used for gridded soil-moisture reconstructions across western North America.

Dataset Citation

Cite as: Williams, A. Park (2022). Climate observation data, modeled soil moisture and reconstructed soil moisture model outputs from June 800 through 2021 (NCEI Accession 0241207). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/8pt9-hz08. Accessed [date].

Dataset Identifiers

ISO 19115-2 Metadata

gov.noaa.nodc:0241207

Full Text · XML

Download Data	HTTPS (download) Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. FTP (download) These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP).
Distribution Formats	netCDF File Compression: HDF5 ASCII Text PNG
Ordering Instructions	Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information +1-301-713-3277 NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov

Time Period	0800-06-01 to 2021-12-31
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates	West: -170.125 East: -51.875 South: 10.875 North: 72.625
Spatial Coverage Map

General Documentation

NCEI Dataset Landing Page
Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.
Descriptive Information
Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.

Associated Resources

Williams, A. Park; Cook, Edward R.; Smerdon, Jason E.; Cook, Benjamin I.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Bolles, Kasey; Baek, Seung H.; Badger, Andrew M.; Livneh, Ben (2020). Large contribution from anthropogenic warming to an emerging North American megadrought (NCEI Accession 0209529). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/2vbe-8092.
- https://doi.org/10.25921/2vbe-8092
  A superset of accession 0241207
Williams, A. P., Cook, B. I., & Smerdon, J. E. (2022). Rapid intensification of the emerging southwestern North American megadrought in 2020–2021. Nature Climate Change, 12(3), 232–234. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01290-z
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01290-z
  related journal article

Publication Dates	publication: 2022-02-05
Data Presentation Form	Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status	Complete - production of the data has been completed Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency	As needed
Supplemental Information	Submission Package ID: N5850A This archival information package is an update of the original climate data, modeled soil moisture dataset, and reconstructed soil moisture dataset found in NCEI accession 0209529. The original dataset included data produced for a large number of sensitivity analyses that were not repeated for this update. For example, a big contribution of the large size of NCEI accession 0209529 was inclusion of daily meteorological and soil-moisture records that were used by, or generated from, an alternate hydrological model for a sensitivity analysis. That sensitivity analysis was not conducted or included in this update.
Purpose	The datasets were developed for an evaluation of 21st century soil-moisture drought in southwestern North America. The goals of the study were to (1) evaluate the severity of mean soil-moisture Deficits in 2000-2021, as well as the single-year deficits in 2021, in the context of the full range of variability established over the past 1200 years, with comparisons to the infamous “megadroughts” of ~CE 800-1600s and (2) evaluate the potential role of anthropogenic climate change in promoting the 21st-century drought conditions.
Use Limitations	accessLevel: Public Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, 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.

Dataset Citation	Cite as: Williams, A. Park (2022). Climate observation data, modeled soil moisture and reconstructed soil moisture model outputs from June 800 through 2021 (NCEI Accession 0241207). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/8pt9-hz08. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors	Williams, A. Park University of California - Los Angeles
Principal Investigators	Park Williams University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA)
Contributors	University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA)
Resource Providers	Park Williams Columbia University; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA)
Publishers	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Acknowledgments	Related Funding Agency: National Science Foundation Related Funding Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Theme keywords	NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS in situ laboratory analyses model output WMO_CategoryCode actinometry aerology agriculturalMeteorology airPollution airplaneObservation climatology glaciology hydrology landHydrology landMeteorologyClimate landPollution landWaterPollution meteorology pollution satelliteObservation synopticMeteorology weatherForecasts weatherObservations Provider Keywords Model-Calibrated Drought Index Palmer's Z-index monthly fraction of mean 0-200 cm soil moisture plus snow-water equivalent monthly mean downward solar radiation at the surface monthly mean maximum daily temperature monthly mean minimum daily temperature monthly mean relative humidity monthly mean vapor pressure monthly mean wind speed monthly precipitation total monthly saturation vapor pressure monthly total Penman-Monteith reference evapotranspiration reconstructed summer 0-200 cm soil moisture plus snow-water equivalent tree-ring width index
Data Center keywords	NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS University of California - Los Angeles NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS University of California - Los Angeles
Instrument keywords	Provider Instruments microscope and measurement stage satellites tree rings weather stations
Keywords	NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER 0241207

Use Constraints	Cite as: Williams, A. Park (2022). Climate observation data, modeled soil moisture and reconstructed soil moisture model outputs from June 800 through 2021 (NCEI Accession 0241207). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/8pt9-hz08. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints	Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees	In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	2022-02-05T01:27:17Z - NCEI Accession 0241207 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets	NCEI Accession 0241207 v1.1 NCEI Accession 0241207 v1.1 (download) published 2022-02-05T01:27:17Z

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	Parameter or Variable: monthly mean maximum daily temperature (measured); Units: degrees Celsius; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: NOAA Climgrid Data for Canada and Mexcio: CRU 4.05 for 1901-2020, WCMWF ERA5 for Jan-Jun 2021, North American Regional Reanalysis for Jul-Aug 2021.. Parameter or Variable: monthly mean minimum daily temperature (measured); Units: degrees Celsius; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: NOAA Climgrid Data for Canada and Mexcio: CRU 4.05 for 1901-2020, WCMWF ERA5 for Jan-Jun 2021, North American Regional Reanalysis for Jul-Aug 2021.. Parameter or Variable: monthly precipitation total (measured); Units: mm; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: NOAA Climgrid Data for Canada and Mexcio: CRU 4.05 for 1901-2020, WCMWF ERA5 for Jan-Jun 2021, North American Regional Reanalysis for Jul-Aug 2021.. Parameter or Variable: monthly saturation vapor pressure (calculated); Units: hectopascal; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly means of daily maximum and minimum temperature and bias corrected for non-linear effects based on regression parameters calculated from hourly meteorological forcing data produced by the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) v2. Outside of the NLDAS domain, 3-hourly data from the v3 of the Princeton Global Forcing dataset were used to determine the bias-correction coefficients.. Parameter or Variable: monthly mean vapor pressure (measured); Units: hectopascal; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: Oregon State PRISM dataset, bias corrected for non-linear relationship between monthly mean dew point (provided by PRISM) and monthly mean vapor pressure using coefficients derived from hourly NLDAS2 data. Data from Canada and Mexcio: Princeton Global Forcing (PGF) v2 for 1901-1947, PGF v3 for 1948-2016, North American Regional Reanalysis for 2017-2021.. Parameter or Variable: monthly mean relative humidity (calculated); Units: percent; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly means of saturation vapor pressure and actual vapor pressure and bias corrected for non-linear relationship between actual monthly mean relative humidity and that calculated from monthly means of saturation and actual vapor pressure using hourly NLDAS2 data in the NLDAS region and 3-hourly Princeton Global Forcing v3 data outside the NLDAS domain.. Parameter or Variable: monthly mean wind speed (calculated); Units: meters per second; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from daily PGVv2 for 1901-1947, daily PGFv3 for 1948-1978, and 3-hourly North American Regional Reanalysis for 1979-2021. In the NLDAS region, monthly mean wind speed is calculated from hourly NLDAS2 data for 1979-2021.. Parameter or Variable: monthly mean downward solar radiation at the surface (calculated); Units: watts per meter squared; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: weather stations and satellites; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from PGVv2 for 1901-1947, PGFv3 for 1948-1978, and North American Regional Reanalysis for 1979-2021. In the NLDAS region, calculated from NLDAS2 data for 1979-2021.. Parameter or Variable: monthly total Penman-Monteith reference evapotranspiration (calculated); Units: mm; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly means of daily maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature, saturation vapor pressure, actual vapor pressure, 2-m wind speed, and downward solar radiation at the surface. Method used is the short-grass reference evapotranspiration calculation described by Allen et al (1998): http://www.fao.org/3/X0490E/X0490E00.htm. Parameter or Variable: Palmer's Z-index (calculated); Units: unitless; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly totals of precipitation and reference evapotranspiration. This index represents standardized monthly changes in the local soil moisture.. Parameter or Variable: Model-Calibrated Drought Index (calculated); Units: unitless; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Standardized proxy for monthly mean soil-moisture calculated from the Palmer Z-index, where each month's MCDI value is a weighted combination of last month's MCDI value and the current month's Palmer Z-index value. Methods were developed and described by Williams et al. (2017): https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027523. Parameter or Variable: monthly fraction of mean 0-200 cm soil moisture plus snow-water equivalent (calculated); Units: fraction; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Monthly fraction of mean soil moisture (SMf) is estimated as a linear function of MCDI, where the linear regression coefficients were determined using monthly mean soil moisture data simulated by the NCAR Community Noah land-surface model through the Global Land Data assimilation system over 1950-2010.. Parameter or Variable: reconstructed summer 0-200 cm soil moisture plus snow-water equivalent (calculated); Units: fraction; Observation Category: other; Sampling Instrument: tree rings; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Annual records of fraction of mean summer (June-August) 0-200 cm soil moisture (SMf) gridded to 1/2 degree latitude x longitude for 800-1983 CE.; Data Quality Method: Gridded reconstructions were developed using principal component regression to estimate gridded records of observation-based SMf from many tree-ring records.. Parameter or Variable: tree-ring width index (measured); Units: ring-width index; Observation Category: laboratory analysis; Sampling Instrument: microscope and measurement stage.

Lineage information for: dataset

Processing Steps

Parameter or Variable: monthly mean maximum daily temperature (measured); Units: degrees Celsius; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: NOAA Climgrid Data for Canada and Mexcio: CRU 4.05 for 1901-2020, WCMWF ERA5 for Jan-Jun 2021, North American Regional Reanalysis for Jul-Aug 2021..
Parameter or Variable: monthly mean minimum daily temperature (measured); Units: degrees Celsius; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: NOAA Climgrid Data for Canada and Mexcio: CRU 4.05 for 1901-2020, WCMWF ERA5 for Jan-Jun 2021, North American Regional Reanalysis for Jul-Aug 2021..
Parameter or Variable: monthly precipitation total (measured); Units: mm; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: NOAA Climgrid Data for Canada and Mexcio: CRU 4.05 for 1901-2020, WCMWF ERA5 for Jan-Jun 2021, North American Regional Reanalysis for Jul-Aug 2021..
Parameter or Variable: monthly saturation vapor pressure (calculated); Units: hectopascal; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly means of daily maximum and minimum temperature and bias corrected for non-linear effects based on regression parameters calculated from hourly meteorological forcing data produced by the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) v2. Outside of the NLDAS domain, 3-hourly data from the v3 of the Princeton Global Forcing dataset were used to determine the bias-correction coefficients..
Parameter or Variable: monthly mean vapor pressure (measured); Units: hectopascal; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Data from US: Oregon State PRISM dataset, bias corrected for non-linear relationship between monthly mean dew point (provided by PRISM) and monthly mean vapor pressure using coefficients derived from hourly NLDAS2 data. Data from Canada and Mexcio: Princeton Global Forcing (PGF) v2 for 1901-1947, PGF v3 for 1948-2016, North American Regional Reanalysis for 2017-2021..
Parameter or Variable: monthly mean relative humidity (calculated); Units: percent; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly means of saturation vapor pressure and actual vapor pressure and bias corrected for non-linear relationship between actual monthly mean relative humidity and that calculated from monthly means of saturation and actual vapor pressure using hourly NLDAS2 data in the NLDAS region and 3-hourly Princeton Global Forcing v3 data outside the NLDAS domain..
Parameter or Variable: monthly mean wind speed (calculated); Units: meters per second; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: weather stations; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from daily PGVv2 for 1901-1947, daily PGFv3 for 1948-1978, and 3-hourly North American Regional Reanalysis for 1979-2021. In the NLDAS region, monthly mean wind speed is calculated from hourly NLDAS2 data for 1979-2021..
Parameter or Variable: monthly mean downward solar radiation at the surface (calculated); Units: watts per meter squared; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: weather stations and satellites; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from PGVv2 for 1901-1947, PGFv3 for 1948-1978, and North American Regional Reanalysis for 1979-2021. In the NLDAS region, calculated from NLDAS2 data for 1979-2021..
Parameter or Variable: monthly total Penman-Monteith reference evapotranspiration (calculated); Units: mm; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly means of daily maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature, saturation vapor pressure, actual vapor pressure, 2-m wind speed, and downward solar radiation at the surface. Method used is the short-grass reference evapotranspiration calculation described by Allen et al (1998): http://www.fao.org/3/X0490E/X0490E00.htm.
Parameter or Variable: Palmer's Z-index (calculated); Units: unitless; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Calculated from monthly totals of precipitation and reference evapotranspiration. This index represents standardized monthly changes in the local soil moisture..
Parameter or Variable: Model-Calibrated Drought Index (calculated); Units: unitless; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Standardized proxy for monthly mean soil-moisture calculated from the Palmer Z-index, where each month's MCDI value is a weighted combination of last month's MCDI value and the current month's Palmer Z-index value. Methods were developed and described by Williams et al. (2017): https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027523.
Parameter or Variable: monthly fraction of mean 0-200 cm soil moisture plus snow-water equivalent (calculated); Units: fraction; Observation Category: model output; Sampling Instrument: none; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data gridded to 1/4 degree latitude x longitude for Jan 1901-Aug 2021; Data Quality Method: Monthly fraction of mean soil moisture (SMf) is estimated as a linear function of MCDI, where the linear regression coefficients were determined using monthly mean soil moisture data simulated by the NCAR Community Noah land-surface model through the Global Land Data assimilation system over 1950-2010..
Parameter or Variable: reconstructed summer 0-200 cm soil moisture plus snow-water equivalent (calculated); Units: fraction; Observation Category: other; Sampling Instrument: tree rings; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Annual records of fraction of mean summer (June-August) 0-200 cm soil moisture (SMf) gridded to 1/2 degree latitude x longitude for 800-1983 CE.; Data Quality Method: Gridded reconstructions were developed using principal component regression to estimate gridded records of observation-based SMf from many tree-ring records..
Parameter or Variable: tree-ring width index (measured); Units: ring-width index; Observation Category: laboratory analysis; Sampling Instrument: microscope and measurement stage.

Last Modified: 2024-03-27T12:43:29Z
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov

Climate observation data, modeled soil moisture and reconstructed soil moisture model outputs from June 800 through 2021 (NCEI Accession 0241207)

Follow us

Contact us