SNTEMP (In)Frequently Asked Questions: Class Materials Issues

Q1. I could find no mention of what to do with the stuff on Disk2.

A1. Most of the material on Disk 2 is referred to in one way or the other in the self-study material. Some of it may be undocumented in the class notes, but DOC files will exist on the diskette. Some files are examples of applications just so you can see how they were done. [Added 12/2001]

Q110. I have a question regarding the approximation of daily temperature (p. 68 in IF312 notes, Topic #9). Is the approximation of mean daily temperature using four values the sum of (7 am + 2 pm + 9 pm + 9 pm)/4? I only wondered if 9 pm value should be used twice.

A110. I see that I have failed to give a citation, and not only that, I cannot find it. My (fallible) memory says, yes, you do use 9 pm twice, but now I cannot prove it. Fortunately, this is not too much of an issue these days. If you do have hourly measurements, use them all. If you don't, take max and min and live with the generally small and seasonally changing bias that this introduces. The info on the bias I did find.

Arnold, C.Y. 1960. Maximum-minimum temperatures as a basis for computing heat units. Proc. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 76:682-692. [Added 6/2002]

Q111. I am using the SNTEMP model in my PhD research. I am now in the process of writing up and was wondering whether it would be all right for me to make a copy of the HEAT FLUX SOURCES diagram (p. 9 of Instream Flow Information Paper: No 13) to put in my thesis and of course reference it to you.

A111. Absolutely. Government reports are not copyrighted and all are free to use. Thanks for the attribution. [Added 6/2002]

Q112. Is your office planning to do any SNTEMP/SSTEMP courses? That would also be useful to do out in the Seattle-Portland area; I'd definitely be interested.

A112. Thanks for your interest in SNTEMP/SSTEMP training. We have no regularly scheduled classes as they have been replaced with the self-study class that is found on our web site at http://www.fort.usgs.gov/. However, given sufficient interest and lead time, we could put on a stand-up class. Others have enquired and there might be a possibility of holding a joint training session if the number of participants warrants. To put on a class, we would need to do a full cost accounting. Call if you have questions. [Added 6/2002]

Q188. Another SNTEMP Q for you, in the hydrology node file example on page 98, it reads:

GREEN RIVER S 1S2 661.3 FLAMING GORGE DAM
09234500
GREEN RIVER etc..........

My question is what does the 09234500 represent?

A188. Excellent question! You may have noticed the "1" in the first non-blank field after the "S" node designator. You will find in the class notes that this simply means "skip n records" (1 in this case) after the record before picking up again to read the next node. As far as SNTEMP is concerned, you can put anything in these non-read records -- comments or whatever.

It so happens that in this case, the number that appears is simply the USGS gage number which we used in another software application that read this file.

Q189. Hi, I am taking the self - study course (at my own, somewhat decelerated pace) and I had a question. You sent me the study materials a few months ago; in Information Paper 13 under the discussion of Stream Shade, page 21, the last sentence ends abruptly.

I can logically fill in the rest of the sentence, but I wonder if there is more to it. Thanks a lot.

A189. Good catch. To the best of my recollection, no one else has reported this glitch. Here's the sentence:

Shade-producing vegetation is closely related to the amount of instream cover produced by fallen logs or just shading patterns on the streambed itself, and certainly contributes to the allocthonous input of insects and other detritus. I will not deal with these issues peripheral to stream temperature, though they may be important. See Anderson (1973) for more information on other non-temperature shade topics.