Data Quality at GAW-Stations

--- presentation of a project for a possible data evaluation tool for GAW-Stations -- topic of GAW-TEC training programme, 2003-06-11

Dr. Ludwig Ries, Federal Environmental Agency, GAW Global Station, Zugspitze/Hohenpeissenberg

The international GAW-Programme concentrates on education, standardized measurement, measurement calibration and data collection by world data centres. However the operational service at GAW measurement stations in form of data collection and handling and the development and application of methods for quality assurance presently is not supported by the GAW programme.

Considering this background it is questionable whether each GAW station processes data by its own including development of software. Exactly at this point starts the following presentation of a running project at the Federal Environmental Agency Germany. Based on an existing prototype of windows software for data quality control and a running software for data acquisition it will be discussed whether it will make sense to build up a software system for data processing and quality control which potentially can be used at all global and regional GAW stations.

In this workshop the following topics will be presented:

n A structure for a data quality hierarchy at GAW stations will be proposed and discussed.

n A structure for data processing at a typical measurement station will be given and discussed; including raw data base and meta data base for data relevant technical support activities.

n A prototype of windows software for the handling of raw data and its data quality control and further processing to quality approved mean values will be introduced.

n Further important ideas and methods in order to gain a full range quality control will be introduced and discussed:

o Methodical possibility for automated quality control of raw data before input to data base

o Example of a filter function for the elimination of local influences in order to assure representativity of station measurements

o Idea for the determination of total measurement error

n The project has the potential to develop an useful tool for probably many GAW stations. Therefore it is important that the participants of this workshop support this idea by active discussion of the proposals given above and by formulation of their own needs.

n For future communication of this project – an internet homepage is installed: https://gawdataeval.tripod.com/