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Evaluation of OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gage versus Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780 for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program

By Mary L. Tumbusch

Report availability: Portable Document Format (PDF).

Abstract

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program, a cooperative effort supported by Federal, State, and local agencies, and Indian Tribes, was established in 1977 to study atmospheric deposition and its impact on the environment. The program's National Trends Network now includes wet-deposition networks at more than 250 sites across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Precipitation amounts are currently measured using a Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780, which involves technology that is more than 50 years old.

In 1999, a three-phase study was begun to evaluate several weighing, all-weather precipitation gages to find a possible replacement for the Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780. One gage that performed consistently well in phase I and II testing was the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gage. Phase III of the study, discussed herein, was to determine the accuracy and comparability of the data sets collected by the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gages and the existing Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780. Seven OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gages were installed at six National Trends Network sites across the country for a data-collection period of approximately 18 months. The NovaLynx Model 260-2510 Standard Rain and Snow Gage also was used, as a reference, at two of the sites. Paired t-tests analysis showed no significant differences in precipitation measurements between the Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780 and the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gages at three of the six sites. When the false positives were removed from the precipitation-event data sets, the gages at all sites were in agreement and the paired t-tests showed the gage measurements were not significantly different. A false positive is defined as a zero response from the Belfort Universal Precipitation Gage 5-780 concurrent with a recorded response from the OTT PLUVIO Precipitation Gage.


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