Stream and air temperature are measured in tandem at stream gauging stations and other selected locations and stream confluences within the Andrews Forest. Air temperature is generally measured over the stream or alongside. Currently, mean, max and min water and air temperature data are collected every 5 minutes at the gauging stations and instantaneous temperatures every 15 minutes at all other sites. Most measurements were collected hourly commencing in the later 1990s, but a few sites have daily data beginning in the late 1970s. Historic data collected 1949 to 1981 at Lookout Creek stream gauge are included with the daily summary data.
Other Andrews Forest related databases: Long term air temperature data from the reference and benchmark climate stations are also available in MS001. Previous high resolution stream temperature data at some of the small watershed stream gages are available in HT001 and stream temperature data throughout the Andrews Forest stream networks during several years are available in HT002.
Adam M Kennedy, Christopher Daly, Craig Creel, Donald L. Henshaw, Greg Downing, Greg M Cohn, John Moreau, Randall C. Wildman, Sherri L. Johnson, Stanley V. Gregory, Stephanie A Schmidt
Stream temperature is a critical parameter in stream ecosystems and controls rates of multiple processes, such as metabolism, growth, decomposition, and solubility of gases, as well as biotic interactions. Measuring stream temperature at stream gages allows examination of long term responses to forest dynamics and forest harvest. These stream and air temperature data also are relevant to research on nutrient dynamics, stream flow, invertebrate and vertebrate responses to microclimate conditions.