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<br />DEVELOPING TECHNIQUES FOR MEASURING PRECIPITATION <br /> <br />Abstract <br /> <br />Although precipitation has been measured for thousands of years, its <br />reliability has been frequently (and justifiably) questioned. <br />Within Project Skywater, a variety of field programs from California <br />to Kansas underwrites instrument development and testing to improve <br />reliability and accuracy of data collection over wide areas at <br />reasonable cost. <br /> <br />Skywater data collection systems range from fencepost gages to satel- <br />lites. Instruments such as auto siphons and digitally recording <br />radar have been tested with varying degrees of success. When <br />measuring snowfall, comparisons indicated that both the snow pillow <br />and the heated tipping-bucket gage tended to undermeasure, while <br />standard weighing bucket gages are subject to bridging and in heavy <br />snowfall areas do not have adequate capaci ty. Al thou'gh 1 arge-orifi ce, <br />high-capacity weighing bucket gages hold promise of avoiding these <br />problems, additional field tests are needed. <br /> <br />Data relay alternatives have also been investigated. Landsat <br />satellite has been tested and compared with more conv,entional <br />telemetry. The limited periods of response available from orbiting <br />satellites have led to a current test with GOES for more frequent <br />interrogations. The search for better techniques is continuing. <br /> <br />ii <br />