7.5
INTERNET TOOLS FOR DELIVERY OF WEATHER DATA AND APPLICATIONS

Gerrit Hoogenboom, Univ. of Georgia, Griffin, GA; and G. Georgiev, B. Clarke, D. Gresham, and G. Harbers

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Georgia established the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (AEMN) in 1991. The objective of the AEMN is to collect reliable weather information for agricultural and environmental applications. Each station monitors air temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, solar radiation, wind speed, wind direction, soil temperature, open pan evaporation and various other variables. Data are summarized at 15-minute intervals and at midnight a daily summary is calculated. A microcomputer at the Georgia Experiment Station in Griffin initiates telephone calls to all stations periodically and downloads the recorded data. This information is delivered to end users via fax, electronic mail and regular mail. Increasing demand for near real-time weather information, as well as historical data needs from different customers, led to the development of a World Wide Web Site for the AEMN. The pages of this web site are dynamically updated with near real-time weather information on a continuous basis. In addition a customer can define specific data requests or weather applications, which are calculated dynamically and delivered immediately. In this paper the structure of the system is described. During the last year a careful analysis of specific tasks, user interest and user needs has been made. Results show a strong increase in use through the number of hits. County Extension Agents and consultants have instant access to the weather data through the WWW. They can then disseminate this information to producers and other customers. These weather-based Internet tools will be further expanded based on needs by farmers and others interested in weather information.

The 23rd Conference on Agricultural and Forest Meteorology