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Yosemite Hydroclimate Network: Distributed stream and atmospheric data for the Tuolumne River watershed and surroundings

September 1, 2016

Regions of complex topography and remote wilderness terrain have spatially varying patterns of temperature and streamflow, but due to inherent difficulties of access, are often very poorly sampled. Here we present a data set of distributed stream stage, streamflow, stream temperature, barometric pressure, and air temperature from the Tuolumne River Watershed in Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA, for water years 2002–2015, as well as a quality-controlled hourly meteorological forcing time series for use in hydrologic modeling. We also provide snow data and daily inflow to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for 1970–2015. This paper describes data collected using low-visibility and low-impact installations for wilderness locations and can be used alone or as a critical supplement to ancillary data sets collected by cooperating agencies, referenced herein. This data set provides a unique opportunity to understand spatial patterns and scaling of hydroclimatic processes in complex terrain and can be used to evaluate downscaling techniques or distributed modeling. The paper also provides an example methodology and lessons learned in conducting hydroclimatic monitoring in remote wilderness.

Publication Year 2016
Title Yosemite Hydroclimate Network: Distributed stream and atmospheric data for the Tuolumne River watershed and surroundings
DOI 10.1002/2016WR019261
Authors Jessica D. Lundquist, James W. Roche, Harrison Forrester, Courtney Moore, Eric Keenan, Gwyneth Perry, Nicoleta Cristea, Brian Henn, Karl Lapo, Bruce McGurk, Daniel R. Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Water Resources Research
Index ID 70180252
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization National Research Program - Western Branch