Unlocking pre-1850 instrumental meteorological records: A global inventory

• Authors: BRÖNNIMANN Stefan; ALLAN Rob; ASHCROFT Linden; BAER Saba; BARRIENDOS Mariano; BRÁZDIL Rudolf; BRUGNARA Yuri; BRUNET Manola; BRUNETTI Michele; CHIMANI Barbara; CORNES Richard; DOMÍNGUEZ-CASTRO Fernando; FILIPIAK Janusz; FOUNDA Dimitra; GARCÍA HERRERA Ricardo; GERGIS Joelle; GRAB Stefan; HANNAK Lisa; HUHTAMAA Heli; JACOBSEN Kim; JONES Phil; JOURDAIN Sylvie; KISS Andrea; LIN Kuanhui Elaine; LORREY Andrew; LUNDSTAD Elin; LUTERBACHER Jürg; MAUELSHAGEN Franz; MAUGERI Maurizio; MAUGHAN Nicolas; MOBERG Anders; NEUKOM Raphael; NICHOLSON Sharon; NOONE Simon; NORDLI Oyvind; ÓLAFSDÓTTIR Kristín Björg; PEARCE Petra; PFISTER Lucas; PRIBYL Kathleen; PRZYBYLAK Rajmund; PUDMENZKY Christa; RASOL Dubravka; DELIA REICHENBACH Delia Reichenbach; ŘEZNÍČKOVÁ Ladislava; RODRIGO Fernando; ROHR Christian; SKRYNYK Oleg; SLONOSKY Victoria; THORNE Peter; VALENTE Maria Antónia; VAQUERO José; WESTCOTTT Nancy; WILLIAMSON Fiona; WYSZYŃSKI Przemysław
• Year of publication: 2019
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Web: https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0040.1
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0040.1
• Keywords: early instrumental meteorological measurements; global inventory
• Description: Instrumental meteorological measurements from periods prior to the start of national weather services are designated “early instrumental data.” They have played an important role in climate research as they allow daily to decadal variability and changes of temperature, pressure, and precipitation, including extremes, to be addressed. Early instrumental data can also help place twenty-first century climatic changes into a historical context such as defining preindustrial climate and its variability. Until recently, the focus was on long, high-quality series, while the large number of shorter series (which together also cover long periods) received little to no attention. The shift in climate and climate impact research from mean climate characteristics toward weather variability and extremes, as well as the success of historical reanalyses that make use of short series, generates a need for locating and exploring further early instrumental measurements. However, information on early instrumental series has never been electronically compiled on a global scale. Here we attempt a worldwide compilation of metadata on early instrumental meteorological records prior to 1850 (1890 for Africa and the Arctic). Our global inventory comprises information on several thousand records, about half of which have not yet been digitized (not even as monthly means), and only approximately 20% of which have made it to global repositories. The inventory will help to prioritize data rescue efforts and can be used to analyze the potential feasibility of historical weather data products. The inventory will be maintained as a living document and is a first, critical, step toward the systematic rescue and reevaluation of these highly valuable early records. Additions to the inventory are welcome.