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HMS: Hydrologic Micro Services

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Meteorology - Precipitation

This page contains detailed information for the meteorology precipitation component.

On this page:

Description

Precipitation is one of the main processes in the global hydrological cycle. Precipitation is highly variable and influences vegetation, droughts, floods, and the movement of nutrients, sediment, minerals, chemicals and other contaminants. In agriculture and urban areas, precipitation is the driver in contaminant and nutrient transport in water systems due to runoff. Precipitation data is an integral input for many watershed, air, erosion, and agricultural models as well as climate predicting projects. The data can be used in applications such as determining flood/drought conditions, hydrologic transportation of contaminants, best management practices, and regulations. Precipitation data is generated through direct observation as well as modeling. Click on the “Data Algorithms” tab to view details of precipitation data available through HMS. Input and output parameter descriptions are available below in the “Input Paraments” and “output Parameters” panels. Precipitation data request can be submitted using one of the following two methods:

1. Click on the “Data Request” tab on this page, fill input parameter values, and then click on the “Submit” button. A successful submit makes “Output” tab active and the user is provided a data request task ID. It is recommended that the user copy the task ID. The user has the option to wait until output data is displayed on the tab. For longer running data requests the user has the option to copy the task ID and leave the page. The user can come back later, click on the “Retrieve Data” tab, enter the task ID, and retrieve output data. Outputs are cached for 24 hours.
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2. Programmatically access RESTful API. Please navigate to documentation on the “Web Service Details” and “Code Samples” panels on this page. Swagger implementation can be accessed by clicking on the “API Documentation” node on the left pane and then navigating to the “WSPrecipitation” service.

Capabilities

Version - 0.1

  1. Capability 1.
  2. Capability 2.
  3. Capability 3.
  4. Capability 4.
  5. Capability 5.

Input Parameters

Attributes of the HMS precipitation input object
ParameterDataTypeDescriptionComments
SourceDrop-down listTime-series data sourceValid sources: nldas, gldas, daymet, ncei, prism, trmm
NCEI Station IDStringNOAA NCEI station identification number e.g. GHCND:USW00013874Used only when “ncei” is selected for “Source”. Station identifiers can be obtained from NOAA’s tool at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datatools/findstation
Start DateStringStart date for the output timeseries. e.g., 01/01/2010
Data Availability

nldas: hourly 1/1/1979 – Present (~4-day lag); North America @ 0.125 deg resolution.
gldas: 3-hourly 1/1/2000-Present (~1-month lag); Global @ 0.250 deg resolution.
daymet: daily 1/1/1980-Present (~1-year lag); North America @ 1-km resolution.
ncei: depends upon selected station. By default, 'GHCND' stations are provided at daily timesteps, 'COOP' stations are povided at hourly timesteps.
prism: daily 1/1/1981-Present (~6-month lag); Conterminous U.S. @ 4-km resolution.
trmm: daily 12/31/1997-11/30/2019; Global 50 deg South and 50 deg North latitudes @.250 deg resolution.
End DateStringEnd date for the output timeseries. e.g., 01/01/2010
Location OptionDrop-down listLocation of interest options.Valid options: Latitude/Longitude, Catchment Centroid. Output time-series is returned for the latitude/longitude at the centroid of the NHDPlusV2.1 catchment when 'catchment (COMID)' is selected.
LatitudeNumberLatitude coordinate for the output timeseries. e.g., 33.925575Used only when 'Latitude/Longitude' is selected for 'Location Option'.
LongitudeNumberLongitude coordinate for the output timeseries. e.g., -83.356893Used only when 'Latitude/Longitude' is selected for 'Location Option'.
Catchment COMIDStringNHDPlusV2.1 catchment COMID.Used only when 'catchment Centroid' is selected for 'Location Option'.
Local TimeDrop-down listTime zone for the timestamp in output time-series.Valid options: yes, GMT. All data sources can be returned in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) but only ncei, nldas, gldas, and trmm time-series can be returned in local time.
Temporal ResolutionDrop-down listTemporal resolution/timestep of the output time-series.Valid options: hourly, 3-hourly, daily, monthly. Daily and Monthly resolution is available for all data sources. Hourly resolution is available only for nldas. 3-hourly resolution is available for gldas, and trmm.
Output Date FormatStringFormat of the returned numeric values.Valid options: E E0, E1, E2, E3, e, e0, e1, e2, e3, F, F0, F1, F2, F3, G, G0, G1, G2, G3, N, N0, N1, N2, N3, R. Details are available in the table below.

Output Data Format Options
Format SpecifierNameExample
"E" or "e"Exponential (Scientific).
Exponential notation.		"E": 1052.0329112756 -> 1.052033E+003
"e": 1052.0329112756 -> 1.052033e+003
"E2": -1052.0329112756 -> -1.05E+003
"e2": -1052.0329112756 -> -1.05e+003
"F"Fixed-point.
Integral and decimal digits with optional negative sign.		"F": 1234.567 -> 1234.57
"F1": 1234 -> 1234.0
"F4": -1234.56 -> -1234.5600
"G"General.
The more compact of either fixed-point or scientific notation.		"G": -123.456 -> -123.456
"G4": 123.4546 -> 123.5
"G": -1.234567890e-25 -> -1.23456789E-25
"N"Number.
Integral and decimal digits, group separators, and a decimal separator with optional negative sign.		"N": 1234.567 -> 1, 234.57
"N1": 1234 -> 1, 234.0
"N3": -1234.56 -> -1, 234.560
"R"Round-trip.
A string that can round-trip to an identical number.		"R": 123456789.12345678 -> 123456789.12345678
"R": -1234567890.12345678 -> -1234567890.1234567

Output Parameters

Attributes of the HMS precipitation output object
ColumnDataTypeDescription
datasetStringPrimary dataset of the requested timeseries. Some API calls return more than one dataset, either for a workflow API or other relevent dataset.
dataSourceStringPrimary source of the requested timeseries.
metaDataDictionaryMetadata for the output timeseries, includes metadata from the source as well as HMS metadata.
dataDictionaryOutput timeseries data is returned as a dictionary, where the key is the datetime stamp and value is a list of values for the source/dataset.

Web Service Details

Swagger UI


HTTP API

MethodURL
POSThttps://qed.epa.gov/hms/rest/api/v3/meteorology/precipitation/

Change Log

Version: 0.1 Beta : May 29, 2019

  1. Production UI and documentation initial setup.

Code Samples

Usage Title 1

Problem Statement: NA 1.

Desired Information: NA 1.

Information Returned from Service: NA 1.

Sample code for accessing API