[ NOTE – 2022/05/06: this dataset is superseded by an updated version https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1526433 ]
The dataset contains 15-minute mean weather data from the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Laboratory (CPRL), Soil and Water Management Research Unit (SWMRU) research weather station, Bushland, Texas (Lat. 35.186714°, Long. -102.094189°, elevation 1170 m above MSL) for all days in 2016. The data are from sensors deployed at standard heights over grass that is irrigated and mowed during the growing season to reference evapotranspiration standards. Sensors are duplicated at each height, and data from a duplicate sensor may be used to fill gaps in data from the primary sensor using appropriate regression relationships. Gap filling may also be accomplished using sensors deployed at one of the four large weighing lysimeters immediately west of the weather station. The primary paper describes details of the sensors used and methods of testing, calibration and use. The weather data include air temperature (C) and relative humidity (%), wind speed (m/s), solar irradiance (W m-2) and precipitation. Because the large (3 m by 3 m surface area) weighing lysimeters are better rain gages than are tipping bucket gages, the 15-minute precipitation data are derived for each lysimeter from changes in lysimeter mass. The land slope is <1% and flat. The mean annual precipitation is ~470 mm, the 20-year pan evaporation record indicates ~2,600 mm Class A pan evaporation per year, and winds are typically from the South and Southwest. The climate is semi-arid with ~70% (350 mm) of the annual precipitation occurring from May to September, during which period the pan evaporation averages ~1520 mm.