| description abstract | The Kansas Mesonet is a multipurpose network consisting of 62 automated environmental monitoring stations (as of 2019) covering the state of Kansas. Each station is equipped with research-grade instrumentation and measures precipitation, air temperature, air relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, solar radiation, soil temperature, and soil moisture. Observations are transferred to dedicated computer servers every five minutes via cellular modems. Data are archived and subjected to periodic quality control tests and disseminated in near-real time through a dedicated web portal. The observations collected by the Kansas Mesonet are widely used for irrigation water management, crop modeling, pest management, wildland fire management, drought monitoring, wind energy production, environmental research, and animal management. This manuscript provides a technical overview of the Kansas Mesonet and includes a complete description of the instrumentation, siting criteria, instrument verification procedures, and value-added products. | |
