1. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Utilization of GIS Technology for
Agrometeorological Applications
Robert Stefanski and Ray Motha
World Meteorological Organization
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
World Agricultural Outlook Board

2. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Introduction
Several analytical techniques are used to monitor crop weather worldwide
time series analyses
Historical analog comparisons
static maps
Depiction of ET, soil moisture
Until recently, many maps were static and depicted just one variable, making it difficult to:
overlay data sets
visualize and evaluate relationships
easily assess crop weather conditions
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have helped overcome these hurdles
World Agricultural Outlook Board

3. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
GIS Described
Simple GIS
GIS defined: method for organizing, displaying, and analyzing spatial data and their relationships using computers and compatible technologies
GIS incorporates quantitative data directly into the system, helping users:
overlay multiple data sets
create precise maps
perform spatial analyses
Numerous organizations use GIS to study, monitor, and model processes
Robust GIS
World Agricultural Outlook Board

4. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
GIS Users
USDA Forest Service
GIS used to map wildfire burn severity and to
focus efforts to minimize flooding and erosion
World Agricultural Outlook Board

5. GIS used to map crop areas
annually for selected states

6. GIS used to delineate field boundaries,
map land use, and calculate acreages

7. GIS used to map various climatic parameters

8. Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model
PRISM
Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model
Generates gridded estimates of climatic parameters
Moving-window regression of climate vs. elevation for each grid cell
Uses nearby station observations
Spatial climate knowledge base weights stations in the regression function by their climatological similarity to the target grid cell

9. W = f {Wd, Wz, Wc, Wf, Wp, Wl, Wt, We}
Station Weighting
Combined weight of a station is:
W = f {Wd, Wz, Wc, Wf, Wp, Wl, Wt, We}
Distance
Elevation
Clustering
Topographic Facet (orientation)
Coastal Proximity
Vertical Layer (inversion)
Topographic Index (cold air pooling)
Effective Terrain Height (orographic profile)

11. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
GIS used to track tropical cyclones

12. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
GIS used to map flooding associated
with a landfalling hurricane

13. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
WAOB GIS
Software
ArcView 3.x
ArcGIS 9.x
Hardware
7 Pentium IV desktop computers
Processing speed 2.4 to 2.8 GHz
512 MB RAM
Windows 2000/XP operating system
PCs connected via local area network
Oracle 9i database

14. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Data
U.S. National Weather Service
synoptic/cooperative observer data
WMO data important
NWS/WMO data archived in DBMS
Data describing extreme weather
tropical cyclone wind/coordinate data
mesonetwork temp./precip. data
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) crop production, yield, and area data
NASS weekly crop progress/condition data

15. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
USDA Agrometeorological GIS Applications
WAOB GIS regularly used to create a variety of agricultural weather analyses
Products grouped into three categories:
Manual, single-parameter applications
Automated, single-parameter applications
Manual, multiple-parameter applications

16. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Manual, Single-Parameter Applications
Refer to those WAOB products that map one agricultural or meteorological parameter and are generally labor-intensive to create
Created by manually converting raw data into GIS-compatible formats and then using a GUI to import and display these data in the GIS
GUI also used to add text and legends to the crop and weather maps, and thus create the finished products

18. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Crop Production Data – Internet
U.S. Corn

19. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Crop Production Data – Excel
U.S. Corn

20. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Crop Production Data – ArcView
U.S. Corn

22. Weather Analyses – Text File
Text file, comma-delimited WMO data
Note latitude/longitude data in addition to weather data

23. Weather Analyses – GIS Table

24. Weather Analyses – Data Plotted

25. Weather Analyses – Data Contoured

26. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Automated, Single-Parameter Applications
Similar to manual, single-parameter applications in that one agricultural or meteorological parameter is displayed and analyzed on each map, however, the process for creating these products has been automated
Product creation process can be time consuming and tedious if a large number of products are desired and these products are created manually
Automation significantly reduces the time and labor required to produce these products

28. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Avenue Scripts
Object-oriented programming language, enables users to automate various tasks associated with mapping
Examples of automation:
loading data
spatial analysis (e.g., contouring)
defining map scale/extent
annotation
creating a map legend
exporting/printing a map
World Agricultural Outlook Board

29. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Daily Plot Maps
Green number = precipitation
Red number = maximum temperature
Blue number = minimum temperature
Empty, partially filled, and completely filled green circles symbolize precipitation amounts
World Agricultural Outlook Board

31. Color Contour Maps

32. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
Manual, Multiple-Parameter Applications
Refer to those WAOB products that map two or more agrometeorological parameters and are generally labor-intensive to create
Demonstrate the significant overlay capabilities of GIS, specifically the ability to visualize – and quantify – the percent of agriculture affected by various types of weather
Often typify the special crop weather assessments prepared by WAOB meteorologists in response to extreme or severe weather
World Agricultural Outlook Board

33. Crop Weather Analyses – Hurricane Frances

34. Crop Weather Analyses – Hurricane Ivan

38. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
U.S. Drought Monitor – Background
In 1999, government and university scientists began working together to produce the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), a weekly product designed to provide a single snapshot of the spatial extent and intensity of drought in U.S.
Drought experts from four agencies are responsible for coordinating USDM production each week
On a rotating basis, an individual from one of these agencies serves as product author for the week, and typically authors the product for 2 weeks.
World Agricultural Outlook Board

39. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
U.S. Drought Monitor - Methodology
Each Monday, author consults data from numerous sources
quantitative observational networks
model output
satellite and radar imagery
subjective reports
Author uses these data to prepare a first draft of the USDM for that week
Draft distributed via list-server to approximately 150 people, including fellow authors and climate and water experts from around the country.
1st draft
2nd draft
3rd draft
FINAL
1st draft
2nd draft
3rd draft
FINAL
1st draft
2nd draft
3rd draft
FINAL
1st draft
2nd draft
3rd draft
FINAL
World Agricultural Outlook Board

40. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
U.S. Drought Monitor - Methodology
Members of drought list provide author feedback, used to refine USDM
Through iterative process, author prepares and distributes 2-3 drafts of the USDM during Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of each week to obtain the best product possible.
Final product and an accompanying text summary posted every Thursday at 0830 LT on the USDM web site: (
World Agricultural Outlook Board

42. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY
U.S. Drought Monitor - Software
Originally prepared using CorelDraw
unable to overlay indices
quantitative analysis not possible
USDM authors switched to ArcGIS
Authors obtained professional training
draw drought areas
annotate map
print/export product
Initial difficulties using GIS blamed on
author inexperience
deadlines limiting troubleshooting time
World Agricultural Outlook Board

43. Thank You !