GHCN V1: Amazon Basin Climate Data, 1832-1990

The LBA Regional Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) Version 1 dataset is a subset of the global GHCN V1 database, focusing on the Amazon Basin. It provides monthly temperature, precipitation, and pressure data from meteorological stations within the region, with records spanning from 1832 to 1990. This data was compiled from 15 pre-existing global climate data collections as part of a project to establish a baseline for climate monitoring and change detection.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term precipitation trends in the Amazon rainforest based on monthly station data.
• Studying historical temperature anomalies for climate change detection using a multi-decadal time series.
• Calibrating regional climate models with historical surface pressure observations.
• Investigating data coverage gaps in historical climate records for specific global regions like the Amazon.

Strengths

• Provides a long historical record, with the oldest regional data dating from 1832 and the global source database containing records from as early as 1697.
• Derived from a substantial global source network, which includes data from roughly 6000 temperature stations and 7500 precipitation stations worldwide.
• Underwent quality control procedures including visual inspection of all station time series and tests for data digitization errors.

Limitations

• Data is not recent, with the most recent records ending in 1990, limiting analysis of contemporary climate trends.
• Spatial coverage has gaps, with noted data deficiencies over the Amazon rainforest, Sahara, Greenland, and Antarctica.
• Specific column names and the exact row count for the Amazon subset are not provided in the available metadata.

Provenance

Source

Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) project, compiled from 15 source datasets including NCDC's World Weather Records and NCAR's World Monthly Surface Station Climatology.

Collection Method

Compiled from pre-existing national, regional, and global meteorological station collections.

Time Range

1832 to 1990 for the Amazon subset; the global source database contains records from 1697 to 1990.

Freshness

The underlying data records end in 1990, though metadata was last updated on one platform in 2026.

Geography

Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) study area in South America (longitude 85°W to 30°W, latitude 25°S to 10°N).