The Annual Mean Rainfall dataset was created using ANUCLIM software and the 1 second SRTM DEM-S (smoothed Digital Elevation Model) data. Climate variables generated by ANUCLIM (Version 6.1 MTHCLIM module) depend on a digital elevation model. Monthly mean climate values for the 1976-2005 periods are used to generate the surface. Grid resolution is 1 second or approximately 30m. https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/9a9284b6-eb45-4a13-97d0-91bf25f1187b

The daily and monthly climate variables contained herein have been generated using ANUClimate 1.0 (though ANUClimate 1.1 data is available for most daily products). This is a spatial model, developed by Michael Hutchinson, that integrates a new approach to the interpolation of Australia’s national point climate data to produce climate variables on a 0.01° longitude/latitude grid. Most climate values have been modelled by expressing each value as a normalised anomaly with respect to the gridded 1976-2005 mean. These means and anomalies were all interpolated by trivariate thin plate smoothing spline functions of longitude, latitude and vertically exaggerated elevation using ANUSPLIN Version 4.5, with additional dependences on proximity to the coast for the temperature and vapour pressure variables. Station elevations for the gridded temperature and vapour pressure variables were obtained from 0.01° local averages of grid values from the GEODATA 9 second DEM version 3. Station elevations for the gridded rainfall and pan evaporation variables were obtained from 0.05° local averages of grid values from the GEODATA 9 second DEM version 3.

This data set contains a mean monthly climatology for several climate variables averaged over the period from 1961 to 1990, and constructed from a data set of station 1961-1990 climatological normals, numbering between 19,800 (precipitation) and 3,615 (windspeed; see New et al, 1999 for details). The station data were interpolated as a function of latitude, longitude and elevation using thin-plate splines. The data comprise a suite of climate elements: precipitation, mean, maximum, and minimum temperature, frost frequency, diurnal temperature range, radiation, wet-day frequency, vapor pressure, wind, and cloud cover. There are 23 files in this data set provided at 0.5 and 1.0 degree spatial resolutions.