Meteorological conditions at two meteorological stations, one in an oasis and the other in a nearby desert, were compared. Small differences were detected in the daily course of air temperature in summer. In winter, daily mean temperature in the oasis was higher due to higher minimum temperature. Humidity in the oasis was higher over the whole period. Air temperature rapidly decreased as the ground became covered by snow, and vice versa. Minimum wind speed and rainfall were observed mostly during early morning. Agricultural activity in the oasis apparently causes meteorological alleviation (i.e. lower air temperature and higher humidity in an oasis), particularly evapotranspiration from farm land as the major cause of humidity increase. To monitor water use in a conventionally-managed cotton field in the oasis, evapotranspiration, transpiration and evaporation were measured. The empirically-determined interval of irrigation was too short, and the amount of water for each irrigation was too large and leaching out of the soil profile occured. The amount of water and interval of irrigation needed to meet crop water·needs without loss were estimated with a simple water balance calculation.
Our year-round half-hour meteorological data in 3.6MB text files are available for scientific use.