Enhancements to the CLIGEN weather generator for mountainous or custom applications

Scheele, D.L.; Elliot, W.J.; Hall, D.E. 2001. Enhancements to the CLIGEN weather generator for mountainous or custom applications. Presented January 3-5, 2000, Honolulu, HI. In: Ascough II, J.C.; Flanagan, D.C., eds. Soil erosion for the 21st century: proceedings of the international symposium. St. Joseph, MI: ASAE. 392-395. ASAE Pub. No. 701P0007.

Keywords: WEPP, CLIGEN, Climate generation, PRISM, Stochastic weather generator.

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Abstract: The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model is a state-of-the-art soil erosion model applicable to a wide range of vegetation, soil, and climatic conditions. The CLIGEN weather generator is distributed with WEPP. The CLIGEN database contained some errors and did not include many climate stations in mountainous areas where most forests are located and where climate is highly variable. Errors in the database were identified and corrected. The database was expanded from 1,100 stations to more than 2,600. In addition, the ability to modify the statistics for a climate station has been developed to allow users to enter their own weather station statistics into a web-based computer interface. Users can enter specific values, change existing values by a percentage, modify the annual amount, or adjust temperatures with elevation. The PRISM monthly precipitation database was incorporated into the interface to aid users in predicting climates at remote sites. The designated changes are made to an existing CLIGEN parameter file to generate a modified climate file. The modified climate file may be selected for use with a Forest Service WEPP interface, or it may be used to generate a climate file for use with the WEPP model. The enhancements can be accessed from a web site.

Moscow FSL publication no. 2001e