Spatial and temporal correlation among Oklahoma Mesonet and OASIS surface-layer measurements

A major challenge in meteorology is determining the manner and scale at which the land surface interacts with the atmosphere. A majority of field programs, designed to address this issue, have been limited in space and time and thus have been unable to span the seasonal cycle across a regional to a statewide area. In an effort to address this problem, data for one year were collected and archived from 89 sites during 2000 from the Oklahoma Mesonet and Oklahoma Atmospheric Surface-Layer Instrumentation System (OASIS). Mean and variance estimates of radiation, air and skin temperature, relative humidity, surface fluxes, and soil moisture were investigated. Site-to-site correlation coefficients of these variables also were examined. Furthermore, Hovmoeller diagrams of atmospheric and surface variables were plotted and were discussed in relation to statewide patterns of rainfall, vegetation, and topography. The data revealed complex interactions among the more slowly varying parameters, such as soil wetness and vegetation greenness, and the more rapidly changing variables, such as atmospheric temperature and moisture.