Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data at Amargosa Desert Research Site in Nye County near Beatty, Nevada, 1998-2000

Open-File Report 2002-348
By: , and 

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Abstract

Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data were collected at the Amargosa Desert Research Site adjacent to a low-level radioactive waste and hazardous chemical waste facility near Beatty, Nev., 1998-2000. Data were collected in support of ongoing research studies to improve the understanding of hydrologic and contaminant-transport processes in arid environments. Micrometeorological data include precipitation, air temperature, solar radiation, net radiation, relative humidity, ambient vapor pressure, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, soil temperature, and soil-heat flux. All micrometeorological data were collected using a 10-second sampling interval by data loggers that output daily mean, maximum, and minimum values, and hourly mean values. For precipitation, data output consisted of daily, hourly, and 5-minute totals. Soil-moisture data included periodic measurements of soil-water content at nine neutron-probe access tubes with measurable depths ranging from 5.25 to 29.75 meters. The computer data files included in this report contain the complete micrometeorological and soil-moisture data sets. The computer data consists of seven files with about 14 megabytes of information. The seven files are in tabular format: (1) one file lists daily mean, maximum, and minimum micrometeorological data and daily total precipitation; (2) three files list hourly mean micrometeorological data and hourly precipitation for each year (1998-2000); (3) one file lists 5-minute precipitation data; (4) one file lists mean soil-water content by date and depth at four experimental sites; and (5) one file lists soil-water content by date and depth for each neutron-probe access tube. This report highlights selected data contained in the computer data files using figures, tables, and brief discussions. Instrumentation used for data collection also is described. Water-content profiles are shown to demonstrate variability of water content with depth. Time-series data are plotted to illustrate temporal variations in micrometeorological and soil-water content data. Substantial precipitation at the end of an El Ni?o cycle in early 1998 resulted in measurable water penetration to a depth of 1.25 meters at one of the four experimental soil-monitoring sites.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data at Amargosa Desert Research Site in Nye County near Beatty, Nevada, 1998-2000
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2002-348
DOI 10.3133/ofr2002348
Edition Version 1.3: March, 2007
Year Published 2002
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Sruvey
Contributing office(s) Nevada Water Science Center, Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
Description vi, 21 p.
Time Range Start 1998-01-01
Time Range End 2000-12-31
Country United States
State Nevada
County Nye County
City Beatty
Other Geospatial Amargosa Desert Research Site
Additional Online Files (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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