Providing rapid updates of gridded precipitation fields is difficult due to the degradation of the station network. Starting about 1990, many stations in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and Canada closed. Canada is also seeing a trend toward automation. In recognition, we are providing updated fields using statistical techniques. This reconstruction technique has also been used to compile fields back to 1980 to provide a period of overlap with gridded fields based on interpolation of monthly station precipitation and daily disaggregation (see DAILY PRECIPITATION, FROM MONTHLY STATION RECORDS AND DISAGGREGATION). The reconstructions employ a four-step approach. As part of the data processing of ArcticRIMS (http://RIMS.unh.edu) based at the Water Systems Analysis Group, University of New Hampshire all data sets have been aggregated to multiple temporal and spatial resolutions.

The data is presented in 24 sub-datasets of different spatial and temporal aggregations.