The PRISM approach to mapping precipitation and temperature

Publication Type:

Conference Paper

Authors:

Daly, Christopher; Taylor, George H.; Gibson, Wayne P.

Source:

Proceedings of the 10th AMS Conference on Applied Climatology, October 20–23, 1997, American Meteorological Society, Reno, NV, p.10-12 (1997)

Call Number:

U97DAL01IDUS

Abstract:

PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) is a climate analysis system that uses point data, a digital elevation model (DEM), and other spatial datasets to generate gridded estimates of annual, monthly and event-based climatic parameters. Originally developed in 1991 for precipitation estimation, PRISM has been generalized and applied successfully to temperature, snowfall, growing degree-days, and weather generator parameters, among others. It has been used extensively to map precipitation and minimum and maximum temperature over the United States, Canada, and other countries. PRISM development and application are the focus of a growing research program at Oregon State University aimed at producing environmental maps with unprecedented accuracy and detail. The rapid development of new capabilities within the OSU climate analysis program has been due largely to the fact that PRISM is not a statistical "black box" with a restrictive set of numerical routines. Rather, it is a coordinated set of rules, decisions, and calculations, designed to approximate the decision-making process an expert climatologist would invoke when creating a climate map. Humans are incredibly adaptive and changeable creatures, assimilating experience and knowledge at a rapid rate. We have attempted to keep PRISM as open and changeable as possible, so it can continue to reflect our current state of knowledge. In our ongoing attempts to produce physically realistic and detailed climate maps, PRISM has had to accommodate many difficult situations in innovative ways. We present our current approaches to some of these situations and discuss plans for further improvements.

Notes:

Reference Code: U97DAL01IDUS

Full Citation: Daly, C., G. H. Taylor, and W. P. Gibson. 1997. The PRISM approach to mapping precipitation and temperature. Proceedings of the 10th AMS Conference on Applied Climatology, Reno, Nevada, October 20–23, 1997. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. pp. 10-12.

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