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United States Climate Reference Network (USCRN) Raw Data Transmitted from Satellite

Published by DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: April 12, 2026 at 09:11 PM | Dataset Last Updated: September 30, 2017 at 12:00 AM
USCRN Raw Transmitted Data is level 0 data received from the USCRN stations that are transmitted continuously. The data values are ingested with a unique 18-bit format due to satellite transmission limitations (documentation will be archived along with data); code is also included to read the bit format and parse out values for a stream. As of 2017, there are 26 possible stream format versions over the history of the USCRN network; format versions are dependent on hardware/software upgrades to the USCRN network and may increase over time. The data stream includes observations taken by USCRN stations for temperature, precipitation, etc., but users are encouraged to use downstream, processed versions of the data, due to the complexity of reading the satellite-encoded format (see documentation for more information). As of 2017, data are ingested via various mechanisms, including: an LRGS receiver connected to the NOAA and EDDN satellite networks, a domestic communications satellite (DOMSAT) receiver located at NCEI, and parsed data from NOAAPort. Numerous data files from different sources (usually with a distinct filenaming convention based on source) are collected throughout the month and are separated into subdirectories based on the date of ingest into the CRN database. Files from all sources and all days for the month are packaged together into a monthly archive file.

Resources

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  • NCEI Dataset Landing Page

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  • NCEI Customer Support Service Page

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  • U.S. Climate Reference Network Website

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  • Functional Specification

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  • NCEI Landing Page for United States Climate Reference Network (USCRN) Raw Observations from Datalogger

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  • NCEI Landing Page for United States Climate Reference Network (USCRN) Processed Data from the Version 2 USCRN Database

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  • NCEI Landing Page for United States Climate Reference Network (USCRN) Quality Controlled Datasets

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  • Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Keywords

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  • GCOS Essential Climate Variables

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  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

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Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Maximum/Minimum Temperature Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Amount Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Humidity Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Winds > Surface Winds Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Incoming Solar Radiation Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Solar Radiation

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
contactPoint 
                                            {
  "fn": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:ncei.orders@noaa.gov"
}
describedByType application/octet-steam
description USCRN Raw Transmitted Data is level 0 data received from the USCRN stations that are transmitted continuously. The data values are ingested with a unique 18-bit format due to satellite transmission limitations (documentation will be archived along with data); code is also included to read the bit format and parse out values for a stream. As of 2017, there are 26 possible stream format versions over the history of the USCRN network; format versions are dependent on hardware/software upgrades to the USCRN network and may increase over time. The data stream includes observations taken by USCRN stations for temperature, precipitation, etc., but users are encouraged to use downstream, processed versions of the data, due to the complexity of reading the satellite-encoded format (see documentation for more information). As of 2017, data are ingested via various mechanisms, including: an LRGS receiver connected to the NOAA and EDDN satellite networks, a domestic communications satellite (DOMSAT) receiver located at NCEI, and parsed data from NOAAPort. Numerous data files from different sources (usually with a distinct filenaming convention based on source) are collected throughout the month and are separated into subdirectories based on the date of ingest into the CRN database. Files from all sources and all days for the month are packaged together into a monthly archive file.
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/aim/iso/xml/C00309.xml
issued 2000-11-15T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
                                            [
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Maximum/Minimum Temperature",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Amount",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Humidity",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Winds > Surface Winds",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Incoming Solar Radiation",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Solar Radiation",
  "Earth Science > Land Surface > Surface Thermal Properties > Skin Temperature",
  "Earth Science > Land Surface > Soils > Soil Moisture/Water Content",
  "Earth Science > Land Surface > Soils > Soil Texture",
  "Earth Science > Land Surface > Surface Thermal Properties > Land Surface Temperature",
  "Atmospheric - Surface - Air Temperature",
  "Atmospheric - Surface - Wind Speed And Direction",
  "Atmospheric - Surface - Precipitation",
  "Atmospheric - Surface - Surface Radiation Budget",
  "Atmospheric - Surface - Water Vapour",
  "Terrestrial - Soil Moisture",
  "Terrestrial - Land Surface Temperature",
  "Geographic Region > Polar",
  "Geographic Region > Mid-Latitude",
  "Continent > North America",
  "Continent > North America > United States Of America",
  "Continent > North America > United States Of America > Hawaii",
  "Continent > North America > United States Of America > Alaska",
  "Vertical Location > Land Surface",
  "Vertical Location > Boundary Layer",
  "Anemometers",
  "Pyranometers",
  "Fan-aspirated Radiation Shield",
  "Rain Gauges",
  "Soil Temperature Probe",
  "Soil Moisture Probe",
  "Temperature Sensors",
  "Humidity Sensors",
  "Thermometers",
  "Disdrometers",
  "Meteorological Stations",
  "250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees",
  "1 meter - < 30 meters",
  "< 1 meter",
  "1 meter - < 10 meters",
  "Hourly - < Daily",
  "1 minute - < 1 hour",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "U.S. Climate Reference Network > USCRN"
]
language 
                                            []
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2017-09-30T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
                                            [
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/uscrn/documentation/program/CRN_Ingest_Functional_Spec.pdf",
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/metadata/geoportal/rest/metadata/item/gov.noaa.ncdc:C00327/html",
  "https://doi.org/10.7289/V5MS3QR9",
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/metadata/geoportal/rest/metadata/item/gov.noaa.ncdc:C00546/html"
]
spatial -65.0,18.0,172.0,72.0
temporal 2000-11-15T00:00:00+00:00/2000-11-15T00:00:00+00:00
title United States Climate Reference Network (USCRN) Raw Data Transmitted from Satellite

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