Daily maximum temperature: ANUClimate 1.1, 0.01 degree, Australian Coverage, 1970-2014

Abstract

Daily maximum temperature for the Australian continent between 1970-2014. Daily maximum temperature regulates rates of plant growth and crop yield. Modelled by expressing each daily value as a difference anomaly with respect to the gridded 1976-2005 monthly mean daily maximum temperatures as provided by ANUClimate_v1-0_temperature-max_monthly-mean_0-01deg_1976-2005. The daily anomalies were interpolated by trivariate thin plate smoothing spline functions of longitude, latitude and vertically exaggerated elevation using ANUSPLIN Version 4.5. There was an average of 675 Bureau of Meteorology data points available for each day between 1970 and 2014. Automated quality assessment rejected on average 2.6 data values per day with extreme studentised residuals. These were commonly associated with days following missing observations. Cross validation residuals for all accepted data points had a mean absolute value of 0.76 degrees Celsius and a root mean square value of 1.06 degrees Celsius. A comprehensive assessment of the analysis and the factors contributing to the quality of the final interpolated daily maximum temperature grids is in preparation.