Meteorological data from benchmark stations at the Andrews Experimental Forest, 1957 to present

A three-level hydro-climatological network for data monitoring was established in 1994. The networks at each level are nested to form a coordinated program of data acquisition and measurement. A future vision of linking the benchmark meteorological stations with regional weather stations to expand the future scope of studies was also considered in designing this network. The first-level in this top-down approach consists of Benchmark Meteorological Stations (BMS) and Benchmark Stream Stations. The BMS are designed to represent the environment across the Andrews. These stations are intended to provide complete, long-term, high temporal resolution, meso-scale hydroclimatological data. The location of the BMS network is based on factors such as elevation, aspect, vegetation gradients, and accessibility. Collected meteorological parameters are generally standardized across the BMS as well as methods and instrumentation. Secondary Meteorological Stations also follow standardized methods and serve similar purposes but are somewhat limited in meteorological parameters collected. The Primary Meteorological Station (PRIMET), Central Meteorological Station (CENMET), Upper Lookout Meteorological Station (UPLMET), and Vanilla Leaf Meteorological Station (VANMET) are the four Benchmark Stations, Climatic Station at Watershed 2 (CS2MET) and the Hi-15 Meteorological Station (H15MET) are Secondary Stations.