scholarly journals The Austrian radiation monitoring network ARAD – best practice and added value

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 10663-10710 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Olefs ◽  
D. J. Baumgartner ◽  
F. Obleitner ◽  
C. Bichler ◽  
U. Foelsche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
National Level ◽  
Temperature Response ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Radiation Monitoring ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Data Quality Control

Abstract. The Austrian RADiation monitoring network (ARAD) has been established to advance the national climate monitoring and to support satellite retrieval, atmospheric modelling and solar energy techniques development. Measurements cover the downwelling solar and thermal infrared radiation using instruments according to Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) standards. A unique feature of ARAD is its vertical dimension of five stations, covering an air column between about 200 m a.s.l. (Vienna) and 3100 m a.s.l. (BSRN site Sonnblick). The paper outlines the aims and scopes of ARAD, its measurement and calibration standards, methods, strategies and station locations. ARAD network operation uses innovative data processing for quality assurance and quality control, applying manual and automated control algorithms. A combined uncertainty estimate for the broadband shortwave radiation fluxes at all five ARAD stations indicates that accuracies range from 1.5 to 23 %. If a directional response error of the pyranometers and the temperature response of the instruments and the data acquisition system (DAQ) is corrected, this expanded uncertainty reduces to 1.4 to 5.2 %. Thus, for large signals (global: 1000 W m−2, diffuse: 500 W m−2) BSRN target accuracies are met or closely met for 70 % of valid measurements at the ARAD stations after this correction. For small signals (50 W m−2), the targets are not achieved as a result of uncertainties associated with the DAQ or the instrument sensitivities. Additional accuracy gains can be achieved in future by additional measurements and corrections. However, for the measurement of direct solar radiation improved instrument accuracy is needed. ARAD could serve as a powerful example for establishing state-of-the-art radiation monitoring at the national level with a multiple-purpose approach. Instrumentation, guidelines and tools (such as the data quality control) developed within ARAD are best practices which could be adopted in other regions, thus saving high development costs.

scholarly journals The Austrian radiation monitoring network ARAD – best practice and added value

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1513-1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Olefs ◽  
Dietmar J. Baumgartner ◽  
Friedrich Obleitner ◽  
Christoph Bichler ◽  
Ulrich Foelsche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Global Radiation ◽  
National Level ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Diffuse Radiation ◽  
Atmospheric Modeling ◽  
Radiation Monitoring ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Accuracy Of Measurements

Abstract. The Austrian RADiation monitoring network (ARAD) has been established to advance the national climate monitoring and to support satellite retrieval, atmospheric modeling and the development of solar energy techniques. Measurements cover the downward solar and thermal infrared radiation using instruments according to Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) standards. A unique feature of ARAD is its vertical dimension of five stations, covering an altitude range between about 200 m a.s.l (Vienna) and 3100 m a.s.l. (BSRN site Sonnblick). The paper outlines the aims and scopes of ARAD, its measurement and calibration standards, methods, strategies and station locations. ARAD network operation uses innovative data processing for quality assurance and quality control, utilizing manual and automated control algorithms. A combined uncertainty estimate for the broadband shortwave radiation fluxes at all five ARAD stations, using the methodology specified by the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement indicates that relative accuracies range from 1.5 to 2.9 % for large signals (global, direct: 1000 W m−2, diffuse: 500 W m−2) and from 1.7 to 23 % (or 0.9 to 11.5 W m−2) for small signals (50 W m−2) (expanded uncertainties corresponding to the 95 % confidence level). If the directional response error of the pyranometers and the temperature response of the instruments and the data acquisition system (DAQ) are corrected, this expanded uncertainty reduces to 1.4 to 2.8 % for large signals and to 1.7 to 5.2 % (or 0.9–2.6 W m−2) for small signals. Thus, for large signals of global and diffuse radiation, BSRN target accuracies are met or nearly met (missed by less than 0.2 percentage points, pps) for 70 % of the ARAD measurements after this correction. For small signals of direct radiation, BSRN targets are achieved at two sites and nearly met (also missed by less than 0.2 pps) at the other sites. For small signals of global and diffuse radiation, targets are achieved at all stations. Additional accuracy gains can be achieved in the future through additional measurements, corrections and a further upgrade of the DAQ. However, to improve the accuracy of measurements of direct solar radiation, improved instrument accuracy is needed. ARAD could serve as a useful example for establishing state-of-the-art radiation monitoring at the national level with a multiple-purpose approach. Instrumentation, guidelines and tools (such as the data quality control) developed within ARAD are intended to increase monitoring capabilities of global radiation and thus designed to allow straightforward adoption in other regions, without high development costs.

scholarly journals Description of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) station at the Izaña Observatory (2009–2017): measurements and quality control/assurance procedures

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Delia García ◽  
Emilio Cuevas ◽  
Ramón Ramos ◽  
Victoria Eugenia Cachorro ◽  
Alberto Redondas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Total Column Ozone ◽  
The World ◽  
Instantaneous Values

Abstract. The Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) was implemented by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) starting observations with nine stations in 1992, under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Currently, 59 BSRN stations submit their data to the WCRP. One of these stations is the Izaña station (station IZA, no. 61) that enrolled in this network in 2009. This is a high-mountain station located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain, at 28.3∘ N, 16.5∘ W; 2373 m a.s.l.) and is a representative site of the subtropical North Atlantic free troposphere. It contributes with basic-BSRN radiation measurements, such as global shortwave radiation (SWD), direct radiation (DIR), diffuse radiation (DIF) and longwave downward radiation (LWD), and extended-BSRN measurements, including ultraviolet ranges (UV-A and UV-B), shortwave upward radiation (SWU) and longwave upward radiation (LWU), and other ancillary measurements, such as vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and wind obtained from radiosonde profiles (WMO station no. 60018) and total column ozone from the Brewer spectrophotometer. The IZA measurements present high-quality standards since more than 98 % of the data are within the limits recommended by the BSRN. There is an excellent agreement in the comparison between SWD, DIR and DIF (instantaneous and daily) measurements with simulations obtained with the LibRadtran radiative transfer model. The root mean square error (RMSE) for SWD is 2.28 % for instantaneous values and 1.58 % for daily values, while the RMSE for DIR is 2.00 % for instantaneous values and 2.07 % for daily values. IZA is a unique station that provides very accurate solar radiation data in very contrasting scenarios: most of the time under pristine sky conditions and periodically under the effects of the Saharan air layer characterized by a high content of mineral dust. A detailed description of the BSRN program at IZA, including quality control and quality assurance activities, is given in this work.

Pycheron: A Python-Based Seismic Waveform Data Quality Control Software Package

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Anderson Aur ◽  
Jessica Bobeck ◽  
Anthony Alberti ◽  
Phillip Kay
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Data Processing ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Downstream Processing ◽  
Data Quality Control ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Waveform Data ◽  
Seismic Waveform ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Supplementing an existing high-quality seismic monitoring network with openly available station data could improve coverage and decrease magnitudes of completeness; however, this can present challenges when varying levels of data quality exist. Without discerning the quality of openly available data, using it poses significant data management, analysis, and interpretation issues. Incorporating additional stations without properly identifying and mitigating data quality problems can degrade overall monitoring capability. If openly available stations are to be used routinely, a robust, automated data quality assessment for a wide range of quality control (QC) issues is essential. To meet this need, we developed Pycheron, a Python-based library for QC of seismic waveform data. Pycheron was initially based on the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology’s Modular Utility for STAtistical kNowledge Gathering but has been expanded to include more functionality. Pycheron can be implemented at the beginning of a data processing pipeline or can process stand-alone data sets. Its objectives are to (1) identify specific QC issues; (2) automatically assess data quality and instrumentation health; (3) serve as a basic service that all data processing builds on by alerting downstream processing algorithms to any quality degradation; and (4) improve our ability to process orders of magnitudes more data through performance optimizations. This article provides an overview of Pycheron, its features, basic workflow, and an example application using a synthetic QC data set.

scholarly journals Description of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) station at the Izaña Observatory (2009–2017): measurements and quality control/assurance procedures

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Delia García ◽  
Emilio Cuevas ◽  
Ramón Ramos ◽  
Victoria Eugenia Cachorro ◽  
Alberto Redondas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Total Column Ozone ◽  
The World ◽  
Instantaneous Values

Abstract. The Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) was implemented by the World Climate Research Programme (WRCP) starting observations with 9 stations in 1992, under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Currently, 59 BSRN stations submit their data to the WRCP. One of these stations is the Izaña station (Station: IZA, #61) that enrolled in this network in 2009. This is a high-mountain station located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain; at 28.3° N, 16.5° W, 2373 m a.s.l.) and is a representative site of the subtropical North Atlantic free troposphere. It contributes with basic-BSRN radiation measurements, such as, global shortwave radiation (SWD), direct radiation (DIR), diffuse radiation (DIF) and longwave downward radiation (LWD) and extended-BSRN measurements, including ultraviolet ranges (UV-A and UV-B), shortwave upward radiation (SWU) and longwave upward radiation (LWU) and other ancillary measurements, such as vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and wind obtained from radiosonde (WMO, station #60018) and total column ozone from Brewer spectrophotometer. The IZA measurements present high quality standards since more than 98 % of the data are within the limits recommended by the BSRN. There is an excellent agreement in the comparison between SWD, DIR and DIF (instantaneous and daily) measurements with simulations obtained with the LibRadtran radiative transfer model. The root mean square error (RMSE) for SWD is 2.28 % for instantaneous values and 1.58 % for daily values, while the RMSE for DIR is 2.00 % for instantaneous values and 2.07 % for daily values. IZA is a unique station that provides very accurate solar radiation data in very contrasting scenarios: most of the time under pristine sky conditions, and periodically under the effects of the Saharan Air Layer characterized by a high content of mineral dust. A detailed description of the BSRN program at IZA, including quality control and quality assurance activities, is given in this work.

Best practice in the management of clinical coding services: Insights from a project in the Republic of Ireland, Part 1

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth A Reid ◽  
Lee Ridoutt ◽  
Paul O’Connor ◽  
Deirdre Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Medical Record ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Data Quality Control ◽  
Clinical Coding ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
The Republic

Introduction: This article presents some of the results of a year-long project in the Republic of Ireland to review the quality of the hospital inpatient enquiry data for its use in activity-based funding (ABF). This is the first of two papers regarding best practice in the management of clinical coding services. Methods: Four methods were used to address this aspect of the project, namely a literature review, a workshop, an assessment of the coding services in 12 Irish hospitals by structured interviews of the clinical coding managers, and a medical record audit of the clinical codes in 10 hospitals. Results: The results included here are those relating to the quality of the medical records, coding work allocation and supervision processes, data quality control measures, communication with clinicians, and the visibility of clinical coders, their managers, and the coding service. Conclusion: The project found instances of best practice in the study hospitals but also found several areas needing improvement. These included improving the structure and content of the medical record, clinician engagement with the clinical coding teams and the ABF process, and the use of data quality control measures.

Fault detection in a real-time monitoring network for water quality in the lagoon of Venice (Italy)

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ciavatta ◽  
R. Pastres ◽  
Z. Lin ◽  
M.B. Beck ◽  
C. Badetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Recursive Estimation ◽  
Data Quality Control ◽  
Real Time Monitoring ◽  
Lagoon Of Venice ◽  
On Line

In the context of monitoring water quality in natural ecosystems in real time, on-line data quality control is a very important issue for effective system surveillance and for optimizing maintenance of the monitoring network. This paper presents some applications of recursive state-parameter estimation algorithms to real-time detection of signal drift in high-frequency observations. Two continuous-discrete recursive estimation schemes, namely the Extended Kalman Filter and the Recursive Prediction Error algorithm, were applied to assuring the quality of the dissolved oxygen (DO) time series, as obtained from the Lagoon of Venice (Italy) during August 2002, through the real-time monitoring network of the Magistrato alle Acque (the Venice Water Authority). Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology in early detection of a probable drift in the DO signal. Comparison of these results with those obtained from the application of a related recursive scheme (a Dynamic Linear Regression procedure) suggests the strong benefits of approaching the problem of on-line data quality control with several (not merely a single) independent such estimation methods.

Counseling during Real Ear Measurements: The Clients' Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Ryall ◽  
Lorienne M. Jenstad ◽  
John Pumford ◽  
Tami Howe ◽  
Garnet Grosjean
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
First Time

Abstract Background When dispensing hearing aids, audiologists must follow validated fitting and verification procedures to ensure that the hearing aids are properly fitted to the client's hearing. Real ear measurements (REMs) are best practice for verifying hearing aids. Prior literature regarding REMs has mainly focused on the clinicians' perspective. Purpose This study investigated informational counseling throughout REMs by gathering perspectives of first-time hearing aid users regarding the content and format of counseling. Research Design The study used an interpretive description approach with focus groups. Study Sample There were 16 adult participants (4 males, 12 females) who were first-time hearing aid users and who all had memory of REMs occurring during their own hearing aid verification. Intervention We investigated the addition of informational counseling during REM verification. Data Collection and Analysis Four focus groups were conducted to elicit feedback on a demonstration of informational counseling during REM hearing aid verification. The data from the focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results Analysis revealed positive aspects, negative aspects, and suggested changes in relation to the verbal and visual information presented during the REM verification demonstration. These data fell into two broad categories: the interaction and transaction of informational counseling. Conclusion Most clients were interested in learning more about REMs if the information was accessible. Results provide recommendations for clinical audiologists and REM system manufacturers to make the information presented during informational counseling more client-friendly and individualized for client-centered care. To continue exploring this new inquiry, further experimental research is required to determine if there is any added value of incorporating informational counseling during REMs.

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