The Western Climate Mapping Consortium (WestMap), a joint research-stakeholder collaboration, has developed a prototype web-based interactive access and resource interface to optimize public dissemination and usage of fine-scale spatial climate time series for the western United States. The western U.S. focus reflects the complex climate interactions and diverse geography that make resource management, policy considerations, and climate research challenging in this region. WestMap has evolved in direct response to a multitude of requests to the WRCC and the RISAs from public and private stakeholder communities for lengthy time series of fine-scale spatial climate aggregated to user-specified domains, and related user-friendly web-based access and analysis tools. Consortium membership is comprised of scientists and stakeholders from the University of Arizona Department of Geography and Regional Development, UA/CLIMAS, the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC)/Desert Research Institute, and the PRISM group at Oregon State University, along with collaborators at Scripps Institute of Oceanography/California Applications Project, NOAA Climate Diagnostics Center, and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

The prototype WestMap interactive data access and analysis resource interface is designed to link three stakeholder-driven components, 1) climate data development and operations (access, maintenance); 2) error assessment, data analysis, diagnostics, and related tools; and (3) data access, visualization, and educational resources. The 100-year PRISM 4km monthly temperature and precipitation series serve as the initial data archive, updating automatically once in operational mode. Operational user components are designed to allow direct stakeholder access to user-specified data and resources most relevant to current needs in a timely manner. Requested resources currently available include clickable maps, basic statistical analysis, time series visualization, and download/print capability. Additional options such as regional aggregate and space-time composite capabilities, error assessment, and dynamic, web-based GIS maps are in development and internal testing stages. Phased prototype testing will continue with increasingly broader stakeholder participation. Operational release of the prototype interface is planned for late Spring 2008.

At this meeting, we will share the latest developmental version of the WestMap interface with participants and invite feedback to help maximize the utility of the interface for the greater interdisciplinary climate community having interests in the western United States.