Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #260058
Title: U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Mahantango Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania, United States: long-term precipitation database

Author
item Buda, Anthony
item Veith, Tameria - Tamie
item Folmar, Gordon
item Feyereisen, Gary
item Bryant, Ray
item Church, Clinton
item Schmidt, John
item Dell, Curtis
item Kleinman, Peter

Submitted to: Water Resources Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/7/2011
Publication Date: 8/20/2011
Citation: Buda, A.R., Veith, T.L., Folmar, G.J., Feyereisen, G.W., Bryant, R.B., Church, C., Schmidt, J.P., Dell, C.J., Kleinman, P.J.A. 2011. U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Mahantango Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania, United States: long-term precipitation database. Water Resources Research. 47. DOI: 10.1029/2010WR010058.

Interpretive Summary: The Mahantango Creek Watershed, monitored since 1967 by USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit at University Park, Pennsylvania, is a 420 km**2 subwatershed of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Daily precipitation records of 29 to 40 years from three weather stations within the watershed provide information valuable in understanding climatic trends within Northeast U.S. and are a key component for comparing the effects of current and alternative agricultural management practices through computer simulation modeling. These precipitation data have been quality controlled, documented, and summarized in this manuscript and the accompanying database. This report includes collection and recording methods, presentation of general trends, and a review of studies that have used these data. This report is one in a series of four that document and describe the long-term Mahantango Creek Watershed data archived in the USDA-ARS – STEWARDS Watershed Data System (http://arsagsoftware.ars.usda.gov/stewards/) in response to the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project and to the desire to facilitate scientifically-sound use and interpretation of these data.

Technical Abstract: A long-term precipitation database has been developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit (PSWMRU) to support intensive hydrologic and water quality research within WE-38, a 7.3 km**2 experimental watershed located in east-central Pennsylvania. Daily precipitation data were collected at three sites, with record lengths of 40 years (1968-2007) at two sites and 29 years (1979-2007) at a third site. Data are available electronically on the USDA-ARS STEWARDS (Sustaining the Earth’s Watersheds – Agricultural Research Data System) website (http://arsagsoftware.ars.usda.gov/stewards/).