Comments on “Use of Mesoscale Climatology in Mountainous Terrain to Improve the Spatial Representation of Mean Monthly Temperatures”

Abstract

Pielke and Mehring have recently recommended a method for contouring temperature fields in mountainous terrain. In attempting to extend this method to the more complex terrain on the prototype, federal, oil shale leaseholds it was found that 1) it is difficult to find climatically homogeneous regions with enough climatic stations for meaningful analyses; 2) the method of contouring a height field in terms of a temperature statistic could be generalized to include cases where second-order statistical models are required; and 3) denser data networks increase the probability of finding climatically homogeneous regions?an advantage which outweighs, at least in this region, the usual disadvantages of increased resolution.