Click for the Oberlin image gallery
This is the USHCN station of record for Oberlin KS. COOP # 145906 It was installed at this location in March 2008.
The idea behind the surface network is to measure the near surface temperature. Unfortunately, this one does it “nearer” to the surface than others.
Thanks to surfacestations volunteer Robert Edward Watson for taking this photo. Here is what he wrote about it in the station survey form:
Height of shelter above local surface: 40″ Last pole broke, curator
is waiting for government guys to come and fix.
The standard observing height is 1.5 meters (~ 60 inches). At 40 inches, this one is ~ 20 inches too short.
The GISTEMP plot for Oberlin has a curious step at the end:
Click for original source graph from NASA GISS
What is really curious about this USHCN station is the number of station move it has experienced in Oberlin since 1998. As indicated by the NCDC MMS database which tracks the location, it seems like this station has been a veritable hot potato:
Click for full sized table
I count seven locations since 1996. The MMTS was introduced in 1986 and this one in the photo looks a bit careworn. It kind of make you wonder if they keep cutting down the pole height for some reason with each location, because there is certainly no good reason for the MMTS post to be that short.
As we know, the closer to the ground the near surface temperature measurement is, the higher will be the average between the Tmax and Tmin.
Clearly the data quality is getting the short shrift with this installation and the constant moves. Each move places the sensor in a totally different environment. Sorting out the signal from the biases introduced by each new environment is not an easy task. In fact without knowing this history of each location, it may well be impossible.