Sample data for the RAINMAN package (Station)
Data are provided in 7 files:
- A Readme.txt file containing information about the data format; and
- 6 data files containing rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures, evaporation, vapour pressure and solar radiation.
The data files have the format:
yyyymmdd valueS
where value is the datum and S is a source code. The source code may be:
- G, indicating good original data; or
- k, indicating an interpolated data value; or
- A, indicating that a rainfall total accumulated over more than one day has been split into daily values.
The codes G, k and A may occur in Patched Point data sets, but all the data from the DataDrill have code “k” because all DataDrill values are interpolated.
There are three possible origins of data with code “k”. These are:
- interpolated from daily observations (1957 onwards, based on many stations);
- interpolated from daily observations using an anomaly interpolation. Input data were obtained from the CLIMARC Project (pre-1957, less than 100 stations across Australia); or
- interpolated long-term averages (calculated from 1957 onwards; no nearby stations recording in the early years).
Example 1 - "Readme.txt"
DAILY CLIMATE FILES OBTAINED FROM SILO FOR USE WITH THE RAINMAN PACKAGE
You will need to rename the accompanying files before they can be analysed with Rainman. Please read below for information about how to rename files, and about data quality, lists of long-term climate stations, and how to import the data into Rainman. You will also need Rainman StreamFlow Version 4.3 to analyse rainfall, or Version 4.3+ to analyse the other climate elements listed below. (See Help at the end of this document for contacts).
1. Renaming files
SILO has sent you six files. The files are:
XYZ.alpha_01.drn, containing daily rainfall (mm)
XYZ.alpha_21.ddg, containing daily maximum temperatures (degrees C)
XYZ.alpha_22.ddg, containing daily minimum temperatures (degrees C)
XYZ.alpha_24.ddg, containing daily Class A pan evaporation (mm)
XYZ.alpha_35.ddg, containing daily water vapour pressure (hectoPascals)
XYZ.alpha_37.ddg, containing daily solar radiation (MegaJoules).
where XYZ is the user specified filename tag. If you did not specify a tag when ordering the data, XYZ will be set to "silo".
Files to be imported into Rainman StreamFlow Version 4.3 and 4.3+ must be renamed in the format Unnnnn.drn for daily rain, and Unnnnn.ddg for all the other data types, where U indicates a “user” file and nnnnn is a number with five digits, e.g. U12345.drn. As you cannot have two files with the same name, we recommend that you use the first three digits for your location, and keep the last two digits to indicate the type of data. Thus for Patched Point data for Dalby Post Office (station no. 41023), U41001.drn could be the file for daily rain and U41021.ddg for daily maximum temperatures. [You can use any numbering system you like, as long as you do not create different files with identical names for Rainman]. The file ending “.ddg” means “daily data general”. For Datadrill data, there are no station numbers, so make up your own using the Unnnnn formats above. If you accidentally duplicate a file name, Rainman will warn you during importing.
2. Data quality
The letter after a data value is a quality code, and it may be:
G, indicating good original data,
k, indicating an interpolated (estimated) data value, or
A, indicating that a rainfall total accumulated over more than one day has been split into daily values.
The codes G, k and A may occur in Patched Point data sets, but all the data from the Datadrill have code “k” because all values are interpolated.
There are three possible origins of data with code “k”. These are:
– interpolated from daily observations (1957 onwards, based on many stations)
– interpolated from daily observations using anomaly interpolation for data from the CLIMARC Project (pre-1957, less than 100 stations across Australia)
– interpolated long-term averages (calculated from 1957 onwards; no nearby stations recording in the early years).
The user should also note:
– an empirical estimate of Class A Pan evaporation is used instead of interpolated estimates for days prior to 1/1/1970. The synthetic pan evaporation technique is described in a technical report that is available on our website at:
https://silo.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/publications-and-references
– FAO56 potential evapotranspiration is calculated using the FAO Penman-Monteith formula which is described in: "FAO Irrigation Drainage paper 56", which is available at:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0490E/X0490E00.htm. The user should note that the FAO56 formula requires windspeed; wind data are not available so a value of 2m/s is used.
– to determine the interpolation technique used to generate each daily value, you can order the same data in "Programmer's data for comparison" format. This format contains more descriptive source codes which are documented on the SILO web page.
The resolution of interpolations (but not necessarily their accuracy) is:
– rain 0.1 mm
– temperatures 0.5 degrees C
– evaporation 0.2 mm
– vapour pressure 1.0 hPa
– solar radiation 1.0 MJ.
3. Lists of long-term daily climate stations
The list of stations computerised in the CLIMARC Project is shown on the web site http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/how/climarc_sites.shtml. The project is described on http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/how/climarc.shtml.
4. How to import these files into Rainman
* Firstly, save your renamed files into a suitable area, e.g. C:\Program Files\Rainman43\.
* With Rainman running, select [File], [Import data], then ensure that the Explorer window highlights the folder where your files are saved.
* Then click on the list of file types and select Daily Data Files (U*.drn) for daily rain or Daily Data General (U*.ddg) for the other types. This will reveal a list of files of that type in the Name window.
* Highlight the file or files to be imported and select [OK]. A message will appear to say that the import was successful.
To choose a file for analysis:
* Select [File], then [New Location].
* Click on the tab entitled “User Locations – rainfall/streamflow” (above the world map) to view a list of your imported daily rainfall files, or click on the tab entitled “User Locations – general data” to view your other types of daily files.
* Highlight a location, then select [OK].
* On the next screen select [Research] or [Standard] to view the first analysis, which is “Date of first event”.
* Make your selections on the left panels and use the “Settings” button if you want to change Seasonal Forecast Settings and Rainfall Event Settings.
5. Personal help
For help with SILO, email us at silo@.dsiti.qld.gov.au.
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Example 2 - "RAINMANPPD.alpha_01.drn"
40004 AMBERLEY AMO lat. -27.63 long. 152.71 elev. 24 m BOM=" " D=100 M=100 G= 01 Daily rainfall (mm) This data file is for importing into Rainman Streamflow version 4.3+. The data are copyright to the Bureau of Meteorology and the Queensland Government Source: SILO Patched Point Dataset file extracted from SILO on 20170914". Lat/long is deg.minutes. Codes: blank=good, G=good, k=patched/raster, A=deAccumulated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20000101 0.0G 20000102 2.8G 20000103 0.0G 20000104 0.0G 20000105 5.6G 20000106 0.0G 20000107 0.0G 20000108 0.0G 20000109 0.0G 20000110 0.0G 20000111 0.0G 20000112 0.0G 20000113 0.0G 20000114 1.0G 20000115 6.8G 20000116 1.4G 20000117 0.2G 20000118 16.2G 20000119 0.0G 20000120 0.0G 20000121 0.0G 20000122 0.0G 20000123 0.0G 20000124 0.0G 20000125 0.0G 20000126 0.0G 20000127 0.0G 20000128 20.4G 20000129 3.0G 20000130 0.0G 20000131 0.0G 20000201 0.0G 20000202 5.8G 20000203 0.0G 20000204 0.4k 20000205 0.0G 20000206 0.0G 20000207 4.2G 20000208 1.2G 20000209 0.0G 20000210 0.0G 20000211 0.0G 20000212 0.0G 20000213 0.0G 20000214 7.6G 20000215 0.2G 20000216 0.0G 20000217 0.0G 20000218 0.0G 20000219 0.0G 20000220 0.0G 20000221 0.0G 20000222 0.0G 20000223 0.0G 20000224 0.0G 20000225 3.8G 20000226 0.0G 20000227 0.0G 20000228 0.0G 20000229 1.2G
Last updated: 9 July 2019
