PRISM Climate Group
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR
PRISM Climate Group (formerly SCAS) was established at Oregon State
University (OSU) to provide spatial climate research, education, analysis
and mapping services for public, private, and educational institutions
in the United States and abroad. Starting as a research program aligned
with the Oregon Climate Service (OCS) in 1993, the Spatial Climate Analysis Service (SCAS) was formally established
in 1999, and in 2006 it's name changed to PRISM Climate Group. PRISM Climate Group and OCS continue
to operate as sister agencies. Dr. Christopher
Daly, OSU Professor, is Director of PRISM Climate Group.
PRISM Climate Group is committed to producing the most innovative and sophisticated
climate maps available anywhere. Many of their mapping activities involve
use of the PRISM model, developed by Daly. PRISM is a knowledge-based
system that uses point measurements of precipitation, temperature, and
other climate elements to produce continuous, digital coverages. PRISM
is unique in that it incorporates expert knowledge of rain shadows,
temperature inversions, coastal effects, and more. PRISM coverages are
used with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to construct maps and
perform many types of analysis.
Applications of PRISM Climate Group products are wide-ranging, and include climatology,
agriculture, forestry, hydrology, engineering, recreation, natural resources,
global climate change, land use, planning, relocation, education, and
geography. PRISM Climate Group is responsible for nearly all major climate mapping
efforts at the federal level in the United States. It is also engaged
in international modeling and analysis projects. Recent and current
projects include:
- Climate Atlas of the United States, for the National Climatic Data
Center
- Precipitation and temperature maps for all 50 US states and possessions,
for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- 103 years of monthly temperature and precipitation maps for the lower
48 states, for NASA/NOAA Office of Global Programs
- Maps of precipitation and temperature in western and central Canada,
for Environment Canada
- Climate and grass adaptation modeling for China and the US, for Oregon
Seed Council and USDA
- First comprehensive maps of precipitation for the Euro-pean Alps, for
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
- Map of fog frequency along the Oregon coast, for USDA Forest Service
- Maps of storm precipitation during three significant flood events in
the Pacific Northwest, for USDA Forest Service
- Landslide potential maps, for Oregon Emergency Management Department
PRISM Climate Group Staff
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