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Data Base Requirements for Meteorological Modeling 
R.A. Pielke 
Colorado State University 
USA 
Atmospheric data has been collected and archived for years associated with numerical weather 
prediction and synoptic meteorological analyses. Summaries of these data can be found in Kalnay 
and Jenne (1991) and Kalnay et al. (1995). This weather information includes surface observations, 
routine 12-hour frequency radiosonde data, satellite and radar imagery, and numerical model 
prediction output. 
Recently, it has become recognized that land surface characteristics such as vegetation state, land use, 
and soil moisture and type need to be included as a forcing mechanism within meteorological models. 
Such information regarding the land appears to be as important for weather forecasting and changing 
climate research as ocean surface temperature information. Examples of data sets needed and the 
reason that they are important are reported in Lee et al. (1993) and Pielke et al. (1995). In addition, 
elevation data is needed at a spatial resolution which permits accurate characterization of the 
partitioning of precipitation into evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, and runoff. 
References 
Kalnay, E. and R. Jenne, 1991: Summary of the NMC/NCAR reanalysis, workshop of April 1991. 
Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 72, 1897-1904. 
Kalnay, E., M. Kanamitsu, R. Kistler, W. Collins, D. Deaven, L.Gandin, M. Iredell, S. Saha, G. 
White, J. Woollen, Y. Zhu, M. Chelliah, W. Ebisuzaki, W. Higgins, J. Janowiak, K.C. Mo, 
C.Ropelewski, J. Wang, A. Leetmaa, R. Reynolds, R. Jenne, and D. Joseph, 1995: The 
NMC/NCAR Reanalysis Project. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.(submitted). 
Lee, T.J. and R.A. Pielke, 1993: GIS and atmospheric modeling: A case study. Proceedings, 
Second International Conference/Workshop on Integrating GIS and Environmental Modeling. 
Breckenridge, Colorado, September 26-29, 1993. 
Pielke, R.A., TJ. Lee, J.H. Copeland, J.L. Eastman, C.L.Ziegler, and C.A. Finley, 1995: Use of 
USGS-provided data to improve weather and climate simulations. Ecological Applications, 
(accepted).