What is Meteo Palacio?

Manual Meteorological Station of Palacio de Doñana · ICTS-RBD · EBD-CSIC

Station facts

Coordinates	`36°59′18.87″N, 6°26′34.83″W`
Altitude	approx. 20 m a.s.l.
Series start	November 1978
Historical network	AEMET until 2013 · ICTS-RBD from 2013 onwards
Observation schedule	Daily, 08:00–09:00 h local time
Recording method	Manual tables (paper) + CyberTracker app (from 2024)
Shelter height	1.3 m (base of shelter)
Rain gauge distance	3.5 m from the shelter
Public data	meteorologia-palacio.icts-donana.es

Instruments

Digital max/min thermometer

Current, daily maximum and minimum temperature. Reset after each reading.

Psychrometer (Six-Bellani)

Dry-bulb and wet-bulb thermometers. Used to derive relative humidity from psychrometric tables.

Hellmann rain gauge (200 cm²)

Located 3.5 m from the shelter at 1.48 m height. Daily accumulated precipitation read with a dedicated graduated cylinder.

Digital thermo-hygrometer

Secondary instrument for cross-checking temperature and humidity readings.

Recorded variables

Code	Variable	Unit	Instrument	Monthly aggregates
`TS`	Dry bulb temperature (current)	°C	Psychrometer	Mean, Max, Min, Mode
`TH`	Wet bulb temperature (current)	°C	Psychrometer	Mean, Max, Min, Mode
`Tmax`	Daily maximum temperature	°C	Digital thermometer	Mean, Max
`Tmin`	Daily minimum temperature	°C	Digital thermometer	Mean, Min
`Tmed`	Daily mean temperature (Tmax+Tmin)/2	°C	Calculated	Mean
`Osc`	Daily thermal range (Tmax–Tmin)	°C	Calculated	Mean, Max, Min, Mode
`Prec`	Daily precipitation	mm	Hellmann rain gauge	Total
`PAcum`	Accumulated precipitation (hydrological year)	mm	Calculated	—
`DH`	Frost days (Tmin < 0 °C)	days	Calculated	Total
`DL`	Rain presence (1 = rain, 0 = no rain)	—	Calculated	Total

Data flow

Each morning the observer collects readings manually and records them in the CyberTracker mobile application. Data are loaded automatically to the database between 09:25 and 09:40 h, making the previous day's measurements (D-1) available on the web.

Monthly aggregates (mean, max, min, mode, total) are computed from daily values and stored in a dedicated table, from which the monthly visualisation layer draws its data.

Quality control — excluded data

During quality review, records meeting any of the following criteria were flagged and excluded from the download and visualisation layers. They remain stored in the database for traceability.

Daily maximum temperature lower than daily minimum (logical impossibility).

Current temperature outside the [Tmin, Tmax] range recorded on the same day.

Mean temperature inconsistent with Tmax and Tmin (calculation error).

Dry or wet bulb temperature identified as outlier by statistical range analysis.

Historical data loading

The historical archive (1978–2023) was digitised from annual spreadsheets produced by EBD staff, one file per hydrometeorological year. From 2024 onwards data enter the system daily via CyberTracker.