A Quality Control Program for Surface Mesometeorological Data

Abstract

A program is described which has been used to verify the quality of surface mesonet data collected during the Cooperative Convective Precipitation Experiment (CCOPE). The CCOPE mesonet consisted of 123 automated stations from two mesonet systems and was operational for an 81-day period from May to August 1981. Parameters examined include pressure, temperature, humidity, wind direction, and. wind speed. The pressure data were examined by systematically comparing hourly values from each station with the pressure observed at a nearby flight service station. Errors due to thermal effects and sensors drifting out of calibration were uncovered and corrected to approximately 1 mb in absolute accuracy. Temperature, humidity, and wind data were examined using an objective intercomparison procedure based on the Barnes objective analysis technique. The paper describes the procedure and shows how it was used to uncover relative errors in temperature and humidity, as well as exposure and vane alignment errors in wind. In order to study the differences between the two mesonet systems used in CCOPE, one station from each system was collocated throughout the experiment. Results are presented which show observed temperature and wind speed differences between the two systems.