QARTOD 2: Remote Currents Working Group

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• QARTOD 2 Remote Currents Working Group
• Definitions
• Level 1 refers to radials
• Level 2 refers to total vectors
• Level 3 refers to higher level data products

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Question 1 What real-time quality control tests
should be applied? Data evaluation
parameters Level 1 - signal to noise (s/n)
- criteria to define 1st order peak
(direction finding systems) - single or dual
angle solution - sector-to-sector change in
radial speed - standard deviation and number
of vectors within each sector - eigenvalues
for each vector (MUSIC specific) -
coverage for given time window - establish
parameters for other equipment (e.g. radars) and
processing methods Level 2 -
radial misfit error (rms difference from
back-calculating the radials) - GDOP -
Geometric Dilution of Precision -
thresholds - number of radials and which
sites contribute radials to total vector -
coverage at grid points over given time interval
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Question 2 What categories of real-time quality
descriptor flags should be required? - flag
interpolated data (radial or total) -
categories from QARTOD 1 are appropriate with
potential additions (e.g. interpolated)
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Question 3 What real time metadata descriptors
should be required? Level 1 - site
location - hardware parameters (e.g.
transmit frequency, range resolution, etc.)
- software parameters (e.g. version no.,
averaging time, etc.) - antenna patterns and
time of measurement - operating institution
- equipment environmental parameters -
data units Level 2 - number/identification
of possible sites contributing radials to
total vectors - parameters used for
combining (e.g. averaging time, averaging area)
- institution that conducted combining -
grid parameters (e.g. spacing, domain) -
data units
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Question 4 What real-time calibration flags
should be required? - baseline consistency
checks (2 sites) - total/radial consistency
checks (3 sites) - antenna amplitude and
phase measured between sites - forward and
reflected power - diagnostics (e.g.
transmitter temperature sensor) - sea echo
for phase determination and amplitude Question
5 What common data formats should be
required? - NetCDF - ASCII (lat, lon, u,
v) Question 6 Additional requirements
associated with DMAC? - cross-walk between
metadata provided in NetCDF and FGDC-compliant
metadata
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Question 7 Next Steps and roadblocks to
implementation of QA/QC? Need to -
establish consistency of QA/QC throughout
national network - develop data dictionary
and establish timeline - define data
parameters for manufacturers to deliver
(developed from QARTOD2 and ROWG) -
develop best practices procedures for new
operators - discussion to be continued