The meteorological stations maintained by WERC are primarily in three regions of northern Alaska: a research basin in the Tanana-Yukon uplands about 40 km northeast of Fairbanks, the North Slope region (from the Brooks Range to Prudhoe Bay), and the Seward Peninsula. The observed parameters vary from station to station, but most have temperature, relative humidity, and wind information from one or more levels above the ground. Some stations also have instruments to observe long and short wave radiation, snow depth, and precipitation. The network also includes two web-cams.
Data from the WERC sites has been used by forecasters as an aid in monitoring and verifying northern Alaska weather conditions. However, some caution is advised in that the data displayed on the internet is considered preliminary and unofficial. Differences exist between the standard systems (ASOS, AWOS, etc.) deployed at airport locations and the remote observing systems installed by WERC. These differences include: the type and model of instruments used, the height above ground of the instruments, and the sample rate and time-averaging algorithms used to derive the readings. Therefore, it is important to have communication between research groups who provide such data and the auxiliary users who benefit from its availability. This will increase awareness of supplementary data sources and ensure their appropriate use.
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