Title: The Australian Climate Metadata Resource
1Preparing meteorological data for court cases
Presented by Dr Harvey Stern Australian
Bureau of Meteorology Thursday 19 October 6pm
for 6.30pm start Victoria Police Forensic
Services Centre, Forensic Drive, Macleod The
Victorian Branch of the Australian and New
Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS)
2Preparing Meteorological Data for Court Cases
- Harvey SternVictorian Regional Office
- Bureau of Meteorology
- Acknowledgements
- Neal Moodie (metadata)
- John Cornall-Reilly Tim Forster Trish McBride
Chris Kelly.
3Presentation
- Definition
- Introduction
- Processing (Certified Extracts)
- Illustrative Examples
- METADATA applications
- Concluding remarks
4Definition
- Meteorology is used by forensic
investigators, lawyers, and prosecutors to look
for specific information to be used in court when
climate conditions are of relevance in explaining
an event - Meteorologists may be requested by courts or by
companies to give information necessary for
reconstructing ship or airplane accidents, or on
wind chills affecting outdoor workers, or to
present a detailed weather reconstruction for a
given area on a particular day. - Meteorologists are sometimes requested to explain
events associated with air pollution and airborne
spread of dangerous substances, or to clarify
whether a given meteorological event is abnormal
or expected in a certain region and period of
the... - "Meteorology." World of Forensic Science. Ed. K.
Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Thomson
Gale, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006. 10 Oct, 2006
http//science.enotes.com/forensic-science/meteor
ology
5Introduction
- We usually receive requests for certified
extracts or data or statement or opinion we
suggest certification in all cases, via - Mail.
- Telephone.
- Email.
- In all instances, the first step is to contact
the person making the request in order to clarify
exactly what is required. If no file reference
and/or postal address has been provided by the
client, it is necessary to obtain one from
him/her. - Certifiable Data
- Only data from the Bureau's official data bases
may be certified.
6- Expert Knowledge
- Sometimes, a client may desire an analysis to be
carried out, or an opinion given about the data
provided. In such circumstances, the results of
such an analysis of the data and/or the opinion
should appear in the covering letter. - Analyses and/or opinion come under the area of
"expert" knowledge. If given, they would likely
result in the author of the analysis and/or
opinion attending court as an expert witness
and/or sign a witness statement. - Signing Certified Extracts
- Certified extracts are usually signed by the
Senior Meteorologist (Climate and Consultancy)
(SMCC) "for Regional Director, Victoria". In the
event that SMCC is unavailable for signing a
certified extract, the Regional Director may sign
such documents.
7Processing
8 EVIDENCE ACT 1995 No. 2 of 1995 SECTION
155 CERTIFIED EXTRACT FROM THE OFFICIAL
METEOROLOGICAL RECORDS OF THE COMMONWEALTH BUREAU
OF METEOROLOGY Appendix 1 shows the official
three hourly precipitation observations as
recorded by the Bureaus cooperative observer at
Wonthaggi 86217 from 3am EST on Saturday 20th
April 2002 to 900pm EST on Saturday 27th April
2002. Appendix 2 shows the official
observations of precipitation for 24 hours ending
9am daily as recorded by the Bureaus cooperative
observer at Wonthaggi 86217 from Saturday 20th
April 2002 to Saturday 27th April 2002. I,
HARVEY STERN, meteorologist in charge of the
Climate and Consultancy Section of the Victorian
Regional Office of the Bureau of Meteorology,
MELBOURNE, HEREBY CERTIFY that this document
consisting of 3 pages is a true extract from the
meteorological observations database, of which
the said databases are one of the official
meteorological records of the Commonwealth of
Australia Australian Data Archive for
Meteorology, AND I FURTHER CERTIFY that I am the
Officer to whose custody the said records are
entrusted. SIGNED by the said HARVEY STERN at
Melbourne this 11th day of October
2006. (Harvey Stern) For Regional Director
(Victoria) 11th October 2006 Ph 9669 4949
9Process for Preparing Certified Extracts
Request Received
From a lawyer, Police, Court case, etc.
Failed QC check
Is it a CE?
QC Quality Control
Completeness gt 90?
No
Yes
Data available?
AWS?
No
Yes
Clarify by phone
Search for sites
Extract Data
Check data QC flags
Yes
Pass QC
Yes
- Price
- What they need
- What we can offer
- Delivery date
- Payment process
Was instrument in calibration?
No
Produce CE document
Get CE checked
Get CE signed
Send to client Archive
10Processing (cont.)
- Receive Request for Certified Extract
- Read Request details received by email, post or
fax. - What to look for?
- Postal address.
- Reference (File) number, or similar, from them.
- Check Date, time, location and description of
event. - Date due.
- Check If the request for a Certified was posted,
ensure there is not a faxed copy already being
processed here. (Saves doubling up)
11Processing (cont.)
- Ring customer by phone to clarify details
- Obtain any details missing from above.
- Confirm Court date (for deadline), cost method
of payment. - Advise what we can supply (data elements
resolution). - Be aware of limitations of what can be certified
or not. - Confirm that the weekday for the date supplied is
correct. (Just in case the customer has made a
mistake with their request date) - Why do they need weather data? (Help you supply
the appropriate data for their purposes
establish units required) - Advise statement is prepared as per the FEDERAL
Evidence Act 1995, No2 of 1995, Section 155.
12Processing (cont.)
- Develop a data presentation plan
- (maybe in association with other Sections
e.g Hydro). - Sometimes, a client may desire an analysis to be
carried out, or an opinion given about the data
provided. In such circumstances, the results of
such an analysis of the data and/or the opinion
should appear in the covering letter. - Analyses and/or opinion come under the area of
"expert" knowledge. If given, they would likely
result in the author of the analysis and/or
opinion attending court as an expert witness
and/or sign a witness statement.
13Processing (cont.)
- Search for sites using TCZ Sitefinder
- The Aim is to provide
- Nearest or most representative station with
required element. - Only data from the Bureau's official data bases
may be certified. - Data from other authorities Government
astronomer, EPA, Melbourne Water Could be
included on an attachment (suggest client contact
other authority for certification).
14Processing (cont.)
- Only select sites that meet the following
criteria - Check Is data gt90 complete.
- Check Low instances of accumulated values.
- Check Has been quality controlled and doesn't
have, wrong or low quality values, eg. High/Low
values, spikes or missing data. - Check If site is an AWS, check the calibration
history from Sitedb.
15Processing (cont.)
- Extract Data from EVE, TCZ or AIFS
- Consider the following special circumstances
- "Derived" data or "Forecasts/warnings" should be
presented as "Attachments". - Consider providing a short period each side of
requested period e.g. an hour each side of reques
ted period of time, or an issue of forecast each s
ide of what is requested. - Format Data
- Check Clearly understood labelling of weather
variables. Station Number of data supplied is
indicated. - CheckUse local times and include days of the
week.
16Processing (cont.)
- Forecasts
- Locate required forecast from web archive.
- Copy text of required forecast from webpage,
which becomes an Attachment. - Producing the CE documents
- CE computer files are saved.
- Select next available file number from
certifieds directory and save . Name the file
with that file number and include the client's
name for ease of reference etc.
17Processing (cont.)
- Covering Letter should include synopsis of
- Stations supplied, e.g. Melbourne Airport 86282
- Why the site(s) were chosen. i.e. Distance of 4km
from requested location, etc. (keep all distances
to rounded km, we cannot be more precise with our
search facility) - Reason a site was not used. e.g. Site 86071 was
not chosen because it did not meet quality
checks, calibration checks, or wind is not
representative of the area, etc.
18Processing (cont.)
- Date supplied
- Check Include in covering letter descriptions of
included data and how observed or obtained, - And explanations of Meteorological terminology.
- Add in extra paragraphs for any additional data
sources supplied (ie. forecasts, maps, etc).
Label them as Attachments.
19Processing (cont.)
- Actual Certified Letter
- Copy paragraph from covering Letter, explaining
data supplied, into 1st paragraph of certificate
and also paste into Appendix 1 on the following
page. - Copy the data from the prepared Excel file and
paste below the paragraph for Appendix 1. (A
table of data will appear on the page) - Highlight the table.
20Processing (cont.)
- For long tables, you may need to re-format the
table of data in Excel to include headings at the
appropriate intervals. - Change dates of preparation below signature area.
- Record Keeping
- Original sent to client.
- CCS CE folder
- Copy of full document and include the
- original request and any other
- data or info used in preparation, for our
records. - Cost Standard Certified 110, but higher for
complex requests and urgent requests.
21Processing (cont.)
- Check Certified Extract (CE)
- Someone other than the person who prepared the
document should sign "Checked by". - Check Continuity of observations, correct
conflicting data, inappropriate data supplied for
requested purposes, typographical
errors, dates, etc. - Sign CE
- Certified extracts are usually signed by the
Senior Meteorologist (Climate and Consultancy)
"for Regional Director, Victoria". - Send CE
- By Normal Post, if not urgent (may be faxed
prior). - By email as pdf, if urgent (post original) note
urgency fee. - By courier if necessary.
22Illustrative Examples
- Observations (manual or automated)
- Sea State, Swell (water police)
- Special clothing
- Children / pets in cars on hot days (or) left in
exposed situation in cold weather - RSPCA
- Fires (sparks from a train?)
- Fire ban days (arson/carelessness)
- Trees falling on campers (wind speed)
23Illustrative Examples (cont.)
- Strategy to put off the other party, when they
hear Bureau will attend - Dew (observations)
- Slipping (3rd party Insurance Claims)
- Pong Su
- Expert witness statements
- Fixing time of death
- Witness vs weather conditions (credibility)
24Illustrative Examples (cont.)
- Car accidents
- Cloud types
- Weather phenomena e.g fog, frost, (black) frost
- Completeness of record
- Data sparse regions
- Forecasts
- Validating witness/suspect statements
25Illustrative Examples (cont.)
- Linton fires
- Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
- Sydney hailstorm
- Observations via electronic measure
- Snowboarders (lost in snow) rain vs snow (AWS)
- Thredbo landslide (prepared data and then
outside consultants were involved)
26METADATA Application
27METADATA Application (cont.)
Site Surroundings Metadata may explain
inconsistencies in the data
Ulladulla in 2001
28METADATA Application (cont.)
Where did those bushes go?
Ulladulla in 2002
29METADATA Application (cont.)
30METADATA Application (cont.)
Instrument Metadata may explain inhomogeneties in
data
31METADATA Application (cont.)
32METADATA Application (cont.)
Basic Level Metadata for rainfall instrument
33METADATA Application (cont.)
Medium Level Metadata for rainfall instrument
34METADATA Application (cont.)
35Concluding Remarks
- We undertake many checks and balances and,
- We are thorough with our data-quality assessment.
- Contact by email climate.vic_at_bom.gov.au
- Contact by phone 96694956
36THANK YOU Any Questions?