The coverage of a territory with meteorological information

To express the fraction of meteorological information available at each point of a given territory, a method for mapping the coverage of a territory with information on meteorological observation data is outlined. Underlying the concept is the transmission coefficient of information (TCI). A scheme for territorial interpolation of the TCI has been elaborated based both on its values between pairs of stations and its overall dependence on distance. The maps of coverage of the Estonian territory with information have been drawn up for air temperature, precipitation and sunshine duration from calculations based on daily data between 1965 and 1994 from 23 synoptic stations. The pans of the territory covered with information above various given levels of the TCI have been determined. In the case of temperature data provided by synoptic stations, the coverage level of 0.40 is assured by the existing network for every spot of the Estonian territory throughout the year. For precipitation the corresponding level is 0.30, for sunshine duration, measured only at 10 stations, the level is 0.20.