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Introduction
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The ECMWF global data monitoring report is a monthly publication intended to give an overview of the availability and quality of observations from the Global Observing System within the World Weather Watch of the World Meteorological Organisation. It should be recognised that the statistics given in this report refer to data as received at ECMWF in time for the appropriate analysis. The annex of the report gives further explanations of the methods applied to compile the statistics and on the reference used to establish the quality of observations.
The information presented on data quality is based on differences between observations and the values of the most recent ECMWF forecast ("first guess") of the same parameter. Depending on the time of the observation, the forecast range is between 9 and 15 hours. It should be recognised that although the quality of the first-guess is of a generally high standard this is only true to a limited extent in certain areas, such as the tropics and data-sparse areas of both northern and southern hemispheres. The data quality results should therefore be used with care when assessing the absolute quality of a particular observing platform. Other indicators such as long-term trends of station performance, particularly in comparison with nearby stations, can be more useful in this respect.
The global monitoring results presented in this report are meant to serve a wider meteorological community as well as to support special WMO programmes such as TOGA and EUCOS. The contents of the report may therefore be adapted for special requirements as necessary.
As recommended at the ninth session of the Commission for Basic Systems at Geneva 1988, lead centres have been appointed for each main type of observation which should liaise with the participating centres and co-ordinate all the results, inform the WMO Secretariat immediately of obvious problems, and produce every six months a consolidated list of observations of that particular type believed to be of low quality. The presently nominated centres are: RSMC Exeter for marine surface observations; RSMC ECMWF for radiosonde and pilot observations; WMC Washington for aircraft and satellite observations.
ECMWF produces this monthly report as part of its routine monitoring activity in order to facilitate the exchange of monitoring information. Tables are presented according to the CBS recommended standards for the exchange of monitoring results. Copies of the report will be provided to major GDPS centres participating in data monitoring activities as initiated and recommended at the ninth session of the Commission for Basic Systems in Geneva 1988, and to the WMO Secretariat and the International TOGA office in Geneva.
Any comments on the contents and the format of the report are welcome and should be addressed to:
ECMWF
Attn. Head, Operations Department
Shinfield Park
Reading, Berkshire, RG2 9AX
United Kingdom
This report is also available in PDF format.
GDMR PDF archive
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02-02-2012 |
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