The need for a surface based, dense meteorological observation network in Florida has long been recognized. In 2002, scientists across the state of Florida joined together with the National Science Foundation, the REALM Project, the Florida State University, and other agencies to create the Miami-Dade Mesonet. This research is a study of the instruments used in the Miami-Dade Mesonet (the Davis Vantage Pro Weather Instruments) and of the data collected by the mesonet. The goal is to prove that though the Davis Weather Instruments are inexpensive, and the placement of the instruments in the mesonet do not meet all the operational standards and procedures for surface observing, that the mesonet can still produce accurate and practical observations. This research will present an overall assessment of the accuracy and quality of the data collected. First, an internal examination of three Davis weather instruments was conducted on the roof of the James J. Love Math-Meteorology building on the FSU campus, in order to evaluate the integrity of the equipment in a controlled setting with varying parameters. Next, quality assurance procedures were run on the actual data from the Miami-Dade Mesonet to determine how well the mesonet compares with Automatic Surface Observing Systems (ASOS). Then, four case studies were conducted to examine the ability of the instruments to detect specific types of weather events, including a tornado outbreak, a record high temperature in mid-winter, a heavy rainfall event, and a sea breeze passage case. Each study evaluated a different aspect of the mesonet stations, leading to positive results proving that the systems provide operationally significant observations. The REALM Project was extended in the summer of 2005 through the Florida Panhandle and parts of central Florida, which will greatly increase observational coverage in data sparse regions in rural areas, especially in northwest Florida. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Meteorology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2006. / November 1, 2005. / Mesonet, Miami-Dade Mesonet, Florida Mesonet, Fsu Meteorology, Rooftop Weather Stations, Rooftop Weather Systems, Davis Instruments, Mesoscale Meteorology, Mesoscale Network / Includes bibliographical references. / Paul Ruscher, Professor Directing Thesis; Carol Anne Clayson, Committee Member; Robert Hart, Committee Member; Andrew I. Watson, Outside Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182261 |
| Contributors | Hicks, Ashlee Caroline (authoraut), Ruscher, Paul (professor directing thesis), Clayson, Carol Anne (committee member), Hart, Robert (committee member), Watson, Andrew I. (outside committee member), Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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