Precipitation has been measured using rain gauges located in or around each watershed since 1956. Three types of rain gauges have been used: standard, mechanical weight recording, and electronic weight recording. Between 1956 and 2014, precipitation was measured weekly at standard gages located at 24 stations in or near gaged watersheds and at the headquarters building. Weight-recording gages were located at 7 of the 24 stations and capture a continuous strip-chart record. Weekly totals were prorated using daily totals from the nearest recording gage. Beginning in 2011, electronic weighing rain gauges began being implemented to measure 15-minute precipitation. The number of precipitation stations was reduced to 10, when each station was fully converted to an electronic gauge for measuring 15-minute and daily precipitation beginning in 2015 (Green et al. 2018).
These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.
Publications related to this dataset:
Bailey, Amey Schenck; Hornbeck, James W.; Campbell, John L.; Eagar, Christopher. 2003. Hydrometeorological database for Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: 1955-2000. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-305. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 36 p.
Green, M.B., Campbell, J.L., Yanai, R.D., Bailey, S.W., Bailey, A.S., Grant, N., Halm, I., Kelsey, E.P. and Rustad, L.E., 2018. Downsizing a long-term precipitation network: Using a quantitative approach to inform difficult decisions. PLoS one, 13(5), p.e0195966.