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HYDRO-CLIMATIC DATA NETWORK (HCDN): STREAMFLOW, 1874-1988
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Description:
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Change Hydrology Program has developed a streamflow data set, which is specifically suitable for the study of surface-water conditions throughout the United States under fluctuations in the prevailing climatic conditions. This data set, called the Hydro-Climatic Data Network (HCDN), consists of streamflow records for 1,659 sites throughout the US and its Territories. Records span the period 1874 through 1988, inclusive, and represent a total of 73,231 water years of data. Records for the HCDN were obtained through a comprehensive search of the extensive surface- water data holdings of the USGS, contained in the USGS National Water Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE). All streamflow discharge records in WATSTORE through September 30, 1988, were examined for inclusion in the HCDN in accordance with strictly defined criteria of measurement accuracy and natural conditions. No reconstructed records of natural flow were permitted, nor was any record extended or had missing values filled in using computational algorithms. If streamflow at a station was judged to be free of controls for only a part of the entire period of record that is available for the station, then only that part was included in the HCDN, but only if it was of sufficient length (generally 20 years) to warrant inclusion. Besides daily mean discharge values, complete station identification information and basin characteristics were retrieved from WATSTORE for inclusion in the HCDN. Statistical characteristics, including the monthly mean discharge, as well as the annual mean, minimum and maximum discharge values, were derived for the records in the HCDN data set. Questions about data for a specific State should be directed to the District Chief, Water Resources Division, USGS, for that State. For contact name and phone number, call 703-648-6815 at USGS, National Center, Reston, VA. Metadata link:http://wwwrvares.er.usgs.gov/hcdn_report/content.html
