Raymond A. McCord

An Overview of ARM Program Climate Research Facility Data Quality Assurance.

We present an overview of key aspects of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Climate Research Facility (ACRF) data quality assurance program. Processes described include instrument deployment and cali- bration; instrument and facility maintenance; data collection and processing infrastructure; data stream inspection and as- sessment; problem reporting, review and resolution; data archival, display and distribution; data stream reprocessing; en- gineering and operations management; and the roles of value-added data processing and targeted field campaigns in speci- fying data quality and characterizing field measurements. The paper also includes a discussion of recent directions in ACRF data quality assurance. A comprehensive, end-to-end data quality assurance program is essential for producing a high-quality data set from measurements made by automated weather and climate networks. The processes developed dur- ing the ARM Program offer a possible framework for use by other instrumentation- and geographically-diverse data col- lection networks and highlight the myriad aspects that go into producing research-quality data.

Quality Assurance of ARM Program Climate Research Facility Data

This report documents key aspects of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) data quality assurance program as it existed in 2008. The performance of ACRF instruments, sites, and data systems is measured in terms of the availability, usability, and accessibility of the data to a user. First, the data must be available to users; that is, the data must be collected by instrument systems, processed, and delivered to a central repository in a timely manner. Second, the data must be usable; that is, the data must be inspected and deemed of sufficient quality for scientific research purposes, and data users must be able to readily tell where there are known problems in the data. Finally, the data must be accessible; that is, data users must be able to easily find, obtain, and work with the data from the central repository. The processes described in this report include instrument deployment and calibration; instrument and facility maintenance; data collection and processing infrastructure; data stream inspection and assessment; the roles of value-added data processing and field campaigns in specifying data quality and haracterizing the basic measurement; data archival, display, and distribution; data stream reprocessing; and engineering and operations management processes and procedures. Future directions in ACRF data quality assurance also are presented.

The ARM Data System and Archive

Every observationally based research program needs a way to collect data from instruments, convert the data from its raw format into a more usable format, apply quality control, process it into higher-order data products, store the data, and make the data available to its scientific community. This data flow is illustrated pictorially in Fig. 11-1. These are the basic requirements of any scientific data system, and ARM’s data system would have to address these requirements and more. This research provides one view of the development of the ARM data system, which includes the ARM Data Archive, and some of the notable decisions that were made along the way.

A Conceptual Framework for Management of Carbon Sequestration Data and Models

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of data management options and recommendations for different forms of carbon sequestration, based on results of previous major data system efforts. Data management systems are essential for preserving the primary information from carbon sequestration observations, experiments, and management activities, and making them available for others to build upon. This chapter outlines a conceptual framework for carbon sequestration data management, a first step in capturing the information that can lead to archives organized in a way that is useful for synthesis and integration activities. This framework will also inform carbon resource managers about sequestration processes and efficacy from local to global scales.

WWW archive offers atmospheric radiation measurement data

Measurements related to meteorology, radiation, clouds, aerosols, surface fluxes, and water vapor obtained at the Cloud and Radiation Testbed site in Oklahoma are now available on-line at no cost to scientists through the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) data archive. Other measurements made at the site by unmanned aircraft vehicles and satellites during intensive observing periods as well as derived data products are also included.

Biological and Environmental Research: Climate and Environmental Sciences Division: U.S./European Workshop on Climate Change Challenges and Observations

The workshop aimed to identify outstanding climate change science questions and the observational strategies for addressing them. The scientific focus was clouds, aerosols, and precipitation, and the required ground- and aerial-based observations. The workshop findings will be useful input for setting priorities within the Department of Energy (DOE) and the participating European centers. This joint workshop was envisioned as the first step in enhancing the collaboration among these climate research activities needed to better serve the science community.