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Global GIS : Global Climate Database : Cloud coverage
- Identification Information
- Data Quality Information
- Spatial Data Organization Information
- Spatial Reference Information
- Entity and Attribute Information
- Distribution Information
- Metadata Reference Information
- Identification Information
- Citation
- Originator
- International Institute of Applied Systems Analyses
- Originator
- Leemans, Rik
- Originator
- Cramer, Wolfgang P.
- Originator
- Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygi???ne (Netherlands)
- Originator
- National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (Netherlands)
- Publication Date
- 2003
- Title
- Global GIS : Global Climate Database : Cloud coverage
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- vector digital data
- Collection Title
- Global GIS : global coverage
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- [Alexandria, VA]
- Publisher
- American Geological Institute
- Online Linkage
- https://hgl.harvard.edu/catalog/harvard-glb-clclo
- Abstract
- This datalayer is a point shapefile that shows long-term (1931-1960) mean monthly values for cloud cover on a global terrestrial grid at 0.5 degree longitude/latitude spatial resolution. The dataset is a derived portion of the Global Climate Database (May 15, 1996) which is an updated version of the IIASA database for mean monthly values of temperature, precipitation and cloudiness on a global terrestrial grid (1991), first produced by Rik Leemans and Wolfgang Cramer, and published by the International Institute of Applied Systems Analyses and also distributed by the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (Netherlands). This version of the datalayer appears as part of the USGS Global GIS : global coverage database (2003). Cloud Coverage or Cloudiness is defined as the actual number of bright sunshine hours over the potential number, and is thus expressed as a percentage figure. A high percentage means more sunshine and fewer clouds. The USGS Global GIS database contains a wealth of USGS and other public domain data, including global coverages of elevation, landcover, seismicity, and resources of minerals and energy at a nominal scale of 1:1 million. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and The American Geological Institute (AGI) announced a cooperative agreement that will focus on making the USGS Global Geographic Information System (GIS) database readily available to educators and the general public in the form of a DVD based world atlas.
- Purpose
- This data is a general purpose cloud coverage datalayer designed to support Geographic Information Systems applications. This layer is intended for researchers, students, and policy makers for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production. This layer will provide a basemap for layers related to socio-economic and political anaylsis, statistical enumeration and analysis, or to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data. More advanced user applications may focus on demographics, urban and rural land use planning and related areas including defining boundaries, managing assets and facilities, integrating attribute databases with geographic features, spatial analysis, and presentation output.
- Supplemental Information
- Portions of this metadata are taken directly from the American Geological Institute, Global GIS, Web pages: http://www.agiweb.org/pubs/globalgis/
- Temporal Extent
- Currentness Reference
- ground condition
- Time Period
- Beginning
- 19310101
- End
- 19601231
- Bounding Box
- West
- -180.000000
- East
- 179.500000
- North
- 83.000000
- South
- -56.000000
- Theme Keyword
- Cloudiness
- Clouds
- Sunshine
- Meteorology
- Climatology
- Atmosphere
- Theme Keyword Thesaurus
- LCSH
- ISO Topic Category
- climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere
- Place Keyword
- Earth
- Northern Hemisphere
- Southern Hemisphere
- Eastern Hemisphere
- Western Hemisphere
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia
- Europe
- North America
- South America
- Place Keyword Thesaurus
- LCSH
- Temporal Keyword
- Access Restrictions
- None.
- Use Restrictions
- For educational non-commercial use only. Harvard University makes no claims, no representations, and no warranties, express or implied, concerning the validity, the reliability or the accuracy of the GIS data and GIS data products furnished, including the implied validity of any uses of such data.
- Status
- Complete
- Maintenance and Update Frequency
- Unknown
- Point of Contact
- Contact Person
- Rik Leemans
- Delivery Point
- Centre for Water and Climate
- Delivery Point
- Environmental System Analysis Group
- City
- Wageningen
- Postal Code
- 6709 PA
- Country
- The Netherlands
- Contact Telephone
- 0317 48 49 19
- Contact Electronic Mail Address
- Rik.Leemans@wur.nl
- Native Data Set Environment
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 4; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.1.0.722
- Collection
- Originator
- American Geological Institute
- Originator
- Geological Survey (U.S)
- Originator
- Environmental Systems Research Institute (Redlands, Calif.)
- Originator
- Hearn, Paul P.
- Publication Date
- 2003
- Title
- Global GIS : global coverage
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- digital data
- Series Information
- Series Name
- U.S. Geological Survey digital data series
- Issue Identification
- DDS-62A-H
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- [Alexandria, VA]
- Publisher
- American Geological Institute
- Other Citation Details
- 1 DVD-ROM; Developed by the U.S. Geological Survey; Published by the American Geological Institute; by P. Hearn ... [et al.].
- Cross-Reference
- Originator
- Leemans, Rik.
- Originator
- Cramer, Wolfgang P.
- Originator
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
- Publication Date
- 1991
- Title
- The IIASA database for mean monthly values of temperature, precipitation, and cloudiness on a global terrestrial grid
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- document
- Series Information
- Series Name
- Research report (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis)
- Issue Identification
- RR-91-18
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- Laxenburg, Austria
- Publisher
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
- Data Quality Information
- Attribute Accuracy Report
- The cloudiness database shows slight distortions that are likely to be caused by the interpolation routine. In the high latitude areas some unexpected patterns occur, which can not be explained by the underlying data. Few stations were available for these areas and larger parts had to be extrapolated leading to more distortions. (Leemans, R. and W.P. Cramer, 1991. The IIASA database for mean monthly values of temperature, precipitation and cloudiness of a global terrestrial grid. p. 16.) The quality has been improved by using stringent station selection criteria for the climatic normal period 1931-1960. The database is now based on c. high-quality 16000-20000 stations world wide. The interpolation methodology has been improved by using a empirical correction scheme with locally derived lapse rates. This scheme works well for both temperature and precipitation.
- Logical Consistency Report
- See process description for IIASA Database (1991).
- Completeness Report
- A global terrestrial 0.5 degree longitude and latitude grid was created. Using the variable 'percentage land' in this data set, terrestrial cells were defined as having at least 60% land. See the process description for IIASA Database (1991) for further details.
- Lineage
- Source
- Originator
- United States. Weather Bureau
- Publication Date
- 1959
- Title
- World weather records
- Edition
- 1941/1950
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- document
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- Washington, D.C.
- Publisher
- Government Printing Office
- Type of Source Media
- paper
- Source Temporal Extent
- Time Period Information
- Range of Dates/Times
- Beginning Date
- 1941
- Ending Date
- 1950
- Source Currentness Reference
- publication date
- Contribution
- Attribute data
- Source
- Originator
- Walter, Heinrich, 1898-
- Originator
- Lieth, Helmut
- Publication Date
- 1960-1967
- Title
- Klimadiagramm-Weltatlas
- Edition
- 1960-1967
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- document
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- Stuttgart
- Publisher
- Gustav Fischer Verlag
- Type of Source Media
- paper
- Source Temporal Extent
- Time Period Information
- Range of Dates/Times
- Beginning Date
- 1960
- Ending Date
- 1967
- Source Currentness Reference
- ground condition
- Contribution
- Attribute data
- Source
- Originator
- M???lller, Manfred J.
- Publication Date
- 1982
- Title
- Selected climatic data for a global set of standard stations for vegetation science
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- document
- Series Information
- Series Name
- Tasks for vegetation science
- Issue Identification
- 5
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- The Hague ; Boston
- Publisher
- Dr. W. Junk Publishers
- Type of Source Media
- paper
- Source Temporal Extent
- Time Period Information
- Single Date/Time
- Calendar Date
- 1982
- Source Currentness Reference
- publication date
- Source
- Originator
- Bradley, Raymond S., 1948-
- Originator
- United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Energy Research.
- Publication Date
- 198501
- Title
- A Climatic data bank for northern hemisphere land areas, 1851-1980
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- document
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- Washington, D.C.
- Publisher
- United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Energy Research.
- Other Citation Details
- prepared by Raymond S. Bradley ... [et al.].
- Type of Source Media
- paper
- Source Temporal Extent
- Time Period Information
- Range of Dates/Times
- Beginning Date
- 1851
- Ending Date
- 1980
- Source Currentness Reference
- ground condition
- Source
- Originator
- Great Britain. Meteorological Office.
- Publication Date
- 1966-1983
- Title
- Tables of temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and sunshine for the world
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- document
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- London
- Publisher
- H.M. Stationery Off.
- Other Citation Details
- pt. 1 (1980), pt. 2 (1978), pt. 3 (1972), pt. 4 (1983), pt. 5 (1966), pt. 6 (1973) ; Editions for 1958, 1960, and 1966 published under title: Tables of temperature, relative humidity and precipitation.
- Type of Source Media
- paper
- Source Temporal Extent
- Time Period Information
- Range of Dates/Times
- Beginning Date
- 1966
- Ending Date
- 1983
- Source Currentness Reference
- publication date
- Source
- Originator
- Thornthwaite, C. W. (Charles Warren), 1899-1963.
- Originator
- Mather, John Russell, 1923-
- Publication Date
- 1957
- Title
- Instructions and tables for computing potential evapotranspiration and the water balance
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- document
- Series Information
- Series Name
- Laboratory of Climatology (C.W. Thornthwaite Associates). Publications in climatology
- Issue Identification
- v. 10, no. 3
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- Centerton, N.J.
- Publisher
- Laboratory of Climatology
- Type of Source Media
- paper
- Source Temporal Extent
- Time Period Information
- Single Date/Time
- Calendar Date
- 1957
- Source Currentness Reference
- publication date
- Source
- Originator
- Leemans, Rik
- Originator
- Cramer, Wolfgang P.
- Originator
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
- Originator
- Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygi???ne (Netherlands)
- Originator
- National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (Netherlands)
- Publication Date
- 1991
- Title
- The IIASA database for mean monthly values of temperature, precipitation, and cloudiness on a global terrestrial grid
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- raster digital data
- Publication Information
- Publication Place
- Laxenburg, Austria
- Publisher
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis ;
- Other Citation Details
- Average monthly cloudiness data
- Type of Source Media
- magnetic tape
- Source Temporal Extent
- Time Period Information
- Range of Dates/Times
- Beginning Date
- 19310101
- Ending Date
- 19601231
- Source Currentness Reference
- ground condition
- Spatial Data Organization Information
- Direct Spatial Reference Method
- Vector
- Point and Vector Object Information
- SDTS Terms Description
- SDTS Point and Vector Object Type
- Entity point
- Point and Vector Object Count
- 62483
- Spatial Reference Information
- Horizontal Coordinate System Definition
- Geographic
- Latitude Resolution
- 0.000001
- Longitude Resolution
- 0.000001
- Geographic Coordinate Units
- Decimal degrees
- Geodetic Model
- Horizontal Datum Name
- North American Datum of 1927
- Ellipsoid Name
- Clarke 1866
- Semi-major Axis
- 6378206.400000
- Denominator of Flattening Ratio
- 294.978698
- Vertical Coordinate System Definition
- Altitude System Definition
- Altitude Datum Name
- unknown
- Altitude Resolution
- 1.000000
- Altitude Distance Units
- unknown
- Altitude Encoding Method
- Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
- Entity and Attribute Information
- Entity Type
- Entity Type Label
- Global GIS Cloudiness
- Entity Type Definition
- Actual number of bright sunshine hours over the potential number.
- Entity Type Definition Source
- American Geological Institute
- Attributes
- LON
- Longitute (degrees (2 decimals), lower left corner of the 0.5 degree cells). (-180 to 180 decimal degrees)
- Definition Source
- American Geological Association
- LAT
- Latitude (degrees (2 decimals), lower left corner of the 0.5 degree cells). (-90 to 90 decimal degrees)
- Definition Source
- American Geological Institute
- ELEV
- Altitude (meters above sea level) (-50 to 6033 meters)
- Definition Source
- American Geological Society
- JAN
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for January. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number. (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- FEB
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for February. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- MAR
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for March. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- APR
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for April. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- MAY
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for May. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- JUN
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for June. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- JUL
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for July. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- AUG
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for August. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- SEP
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for September. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- OCT
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for October. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- NOV
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for November. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- DECEMBER
- Mean monthly cloudiness (% sunshine) for December. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- LONGITUDE
- Longitute (degrees (2 decimals), center of the 0.5 degree cells). (-180 to 180 decimal degrees)
- Definition Source
- None
- LATI
- Latitude (degrees (2 decimals), center of the 0.5 degree cells). (-90 to 90 decimal degrees)
- Definition Source
- None
- MAR_MAY
- Mean quarterly cloudiness (% sunshine) for March-May. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- SEP_NOV
- Mean quarterly cloudiness (% sunshine) for September-November. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- DEC_FEB
- Mean quarterly cloudiness (% sunshine) for December-February. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- JUN_AUG
- Mean quarterly cloudiness (% sunshine) for June-August. The actual number of bright sunshine hours in percent of its potential number (1 to 100 percentage)
- Definition Source
- IIASA
- SHAPE
- Feature geometry. (Coordinates defining the features.)
- Definition Source
- ESRI
- SHAPE.FID
- Internal feature number. (Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.)
- Definition Source
- ESRI
- Distribution Information
- Format Name
- SHAPE
- Distributor
- Harvard Geospatial Library
- Online Access
- http://hgl.harvard.edu/
- Name
- Metadata Reference Information
- Metadata Date
- 20060228
- Metadata Contact
- Contact Information
- Contact Organization Primary
- Contact Organization
- Harvard Geospatial Library
- Contact Position
- Geospatial Resources Cataloger
- Contact Address
- Address
- Harvard University Library
- Address
- Office For Information Systems
- Address
- 1280 Massachusetts Avenue
- City
- Cambridge
- State or Province
- MA
- Postal Code
- 02138
- Country
- USA
- Contact Voice Telephone
- 617-495-2417
- Contact Facsimile Telephone
- 617-496-0440
- Contact Electronic Mail Address
- hgl_ref@hulmail.harvard.edu
- Hours of Service
- Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm EST-USA
- Metadata Standard Name
- FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
- Metadata Standard Version
- FGDC-STD-001-1998
- Metadata Extensions
- Online Linkage
- http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html
- Profile Name
- ESRI Metadata Profile
