############################################### THE NAME GIS DATABASE: Geographical Information System (GIS) Data Layers for the North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) README file Created: May 3, 2004 Initial Construction/Compilation: Dave Gochis Email: gochis@rap.ucar.edu ################################################ OVERVIEW: This tarfile contains a variety of spatial data layers compiled in support of research activities associated with the NAME research program. With a few exceptions (noted below) the data layers have each been imported and projected to a common geographic coordinate system into the ESRI ArcGIS geographcial information system. Data for the GIS database were collected beginning in 2001 and remain as an ongoing project. REQUIREMENTS: 1. a minimum of 1.2Gb storage space 2. ESRI ArcGIS, ArcView or ARC/INFO (2a. knowledge of how to operate a GIS) 3. a file unzipping utility: gzip, pkzip, winzip 4. a way to extract files from a UNIX tarfile DISCLAIMER: To the degree possible metadata, links to metadata and projection information have been included. However, this project has been purely voluntary and NO methodical attempt has been made to verify the accuracy of the base and derived data layers. The data distributed in this tarfile have been acquired mostly via personal communication and through downloading free data available on the internet. Thus while the data will be useful for general use and some scientific research it is NOT considered sufficiently accurate for detailed engineering/design studies or risk assessment. Since this data is being distributed freely neither the author nor the author's home institution bear any responsibility on how the data is used or to any injury that may be incurred due to improper use of the data. D. Gochis, May 3, 2004 National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO USA USE: The NAME GIS database is being distributed via a gzipped tarfile. While the data layers were created within ArcGIS v8.2 on a MSWindows platform, the data archive was created on a LINUX platform. The first thing to do in order to use this data is to unzip (decompress) the tarfile. This can be done using a variety of applications on MSWindows (e.g. pkzip, winzip) or by the following LINUX/UNIX command: gunzip NAME_GIS_data_4_30_04.tar.gz You can then view a listing of the datafiles contained in the tarfile by using the following LINUX/UNIX command: tar tvf NAME_GIS_data_4_30_04.tar This command will dump a complete listing of every directory and file contained in the tarfile to the screen. Once the file has been unzipped you will then need to 'untar' the file using the following LINUX/UNIX command: tar xvf NAME_GIS_data_4_30_04.tar This command will extract every directory and file from the tarfile and create a copy in your present working directory. Note: the tarfile will not be erased so you will effectively always have a backup of the entire database UNLESS YOU ERASE THE TARFILE!!! FILES: ArcGIS creates a number of files for each actual data layer. Most of the data contained in the NAME GIS database is either of shapefile or grid format. Note: these are proprietary formats used within ArcGIS. If you require a different format, such as ASCII, you will NOT find it in this archive. Please contact the author for obtaining the data in an alternative format. Depending on the request and the author's schedule, he may or may not be able to accommodate your request. :) Projection: Except where noted, the data is projected into the the NADCON1983 Geographic Coordinate System. In some instances the WGCS1984 coordinate system is used. Please refer to the projection information in each file for specification. Below is a listing of the data layers: NHWG_Arc_data/ Main directory NHWG_Arc_data/states_MEX.shp Shapefile; Mexican states NHWG_Arc_data/states_US.shp Shapefile; US states NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_Tier1_box.shp Shapefile; NAME Tier I domain NHWG_Arc_data/lakes_MEX.shp Shapefile; Mexican lakes NHWG_Arc_data/roads_MEX.shp Shapefile; Mexican roads NHWG_Arc_data/rivers_MEX.shp Shapefile; Mexican rivers NHWG_Arc_data/cities_MEX.shp Shapefile; Mexican towns and cities NHWG_Arc_data/cities_US.shp Shapefile; US towns and cities NHWG_Arc_data/nwbasins.shp Shapefile; Selected watersheds in NW Mexico NHWG_Arc_data/LULC/ Land-use/land-cover data directory this data is in UTM coordinates (zones 11,12,13) it is tiled into regions by individual shapefiles NHWG_Arc_data/dem_nwmex/ Grid; 1km DEM of SW North America, taken from the USGS 1km North American Dataset NHWG_Arc_data/nwmexdem_90m/ Grid; 90m DEM of limited domain in NW Mexico source and accuracy unkown NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/ Directory of NAME/EOP 2004 Instrument Platforms NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/EOP_PIBALS.shp NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/EOP_PROFILERS.shp NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/EOP_Radars.shp NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/EOP_SFC_MET.shp NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/EOP_Soundings.shp NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/EOP_T_RH.shp NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/EOP_ship.shp NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/NERN.shp -NAME Event Raingauge Network NHWG_Arc_data/NAME_04_instruments/NOAA_P3.shp NHWG_Arc_data/hydrgags.shp Shapefile; Mexican Streamgaging stations NHWG_Arc_data/soils_MEX.shp Shapefile; Mexican Soils classification !!!NOTE: There is an unresolved projection problem with this data. NHWG_Arc_data/Suelos_250/ Raw Mexican soils data (used to create shapefile above) data is believed to be in Lambert Conic Conformal projection but projection parameters are unkown. NHWG_Arc_data/name_soil_moist_map.tif Tiff image of a map of the NAME domain with most of the datalayers contained in the tarfile plotted END