PRISM AN81m Spatial Climate Data Extracted by USGS 12-Digit Hydrologic Units of the Conterminous United States (1895-2017)

Publication Date

2023-09-05

Start Date

1895-01-01

End Date

2017-12-31

Silknetter, S.C., Benson, A.L., Smith, J.A., and Mims, M.C., 2023, PRISM AN81m Spatial Climate Data Extracted by USGS 12-Digit Hydrologic Units of the Conterminous United States (1895-2017): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9IFBQCM.

Type: Online Link

High quality climate data is essential for many large-scale biological and geospatial analyses. PRISM climate data is an example, and this dataset is publicly available in 4 square kilometer (km^2) grid cells for the conterminous United States. While this a convenient spatial grain from an organizational standpoint, this grain size is not highly biologically relevant. To remedy this issue, we have extracted PRISM climate data from the original 4km^2 grain size to 12-digit Hydrologic Units (HUC-12 basins). HUC-12 basins are considered ‘subwatersheds’ by the USGS, and represent fine-scale spatial grains that have demonstrated utility for hierarchical watershed assessments, such as stream restoration (Merovich, Jr. et al. 2013). These data can be used to evaluate the climate conditions associated with HUC-12 basins at the spatial extent of the conterminous United States. Merovich Jr, G.T., J.T. Petty, M.P. Strager, and J.B. Fulton. 2013. Hierarchical classification of stream condition: a house–neighborhood framework for establishing conservation priorities in complex riverscapes. Freshwater Science, 32(3), pp.874-891.

• USGS Data Release Products