Trying to access a NOAA database

[Naty1]

I'm trying to read solar radiation data from the following website...can anyone assist me in accessing this information...thank you. (I am expecting to see surface solar radiation strengths by state.)

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/documentlibrary/surface-doc.html

You have to scroll down to this:

Dataset 3282: U.S. National Solar Radiation Database

and then select that line item..they are in numercial order...

 

[story645]

I am expecting to see surface solar radiation strengths by state.[/url

Um, you're looking at the metadata tables, not the actual tables.You're going to have to parse/import the XML file into a db and then read out information, but as far as I can tell these files only give you information about the tables/data (like column name and range limits) anyway.

Actual database: NSRDB
http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/old_data/nsrdb/1991-2005/hourly/list_by_state.html

 

[Naty1]

So it's yet another useless government expenditure of my tax dollars...just great!

Thanks for the assistance...

 

[story645]

So it's yet another useless government expenditure of my tax dollars...just great!

The data is all there, you just have to know what you're looking at/where to look. Having lab facilities where you can just download all the data and arrange it sensibly helps a lot.

 

[LudusRex]

As a fellow scientist, I understand the importance of accessing reliable data for research purposes. The NOAA database is a valuable resource for obtaining solar radiation data, and I am happy to assist you in accessing the information you need.

First, I would recommend scrolling down to the Dataset 3282: U.S. National Solar Radiation Database, as you mentioned. From there, you can select the specific data you are interested in, as the line items are listed in numerical order.

I also want to highlight the importance of citing the source of the data in your research, as this not only gives credit to the creators of the database, but also ensures the accuracy and credibility of your findings.

I hope this helps in your research and please let me know if you need any further assistance. Thank you for your dedication to scientific inquiry.