SGP/OKM - Leaf Wetness Index - Sensor doesn't work properly

The measurement leaf_ind (leaf wetness index, 
measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)) 
should not be used since Mark Shafer of Oklahoma Mesonet
reports that the sensors never worked properly. 

The new quality assured Oklahoma Mesonet data files
sgp15okmX1.b1 will begin with the January 1, 1999
data and will no longer contain this measurement.

• null(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)

SGP/OKM/X1 - Soil Temperature at 30 cm beneath sod not bare soil

The soil temperature measurement at 30 cm is beneath natural sod rather than beneath bare 
soil. Unfortunately it is misnamed tbare30 (soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil). 

The new data streams sgp15okmX1.b1 (which will be provided beginning January 1, 1999) and 
the data stream sgp15okmX1.a1 (beginning December 1, 1999) both have the name and 
description corrected.

• null(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)

SGP/OKM/X1 - Station TULL replaced by station PORT

PORT (Porter) is a station move from TULL (Tullahassee).  The landowner was building a 
house where the Mesonet site stood, so they had to shut down TULL.  PORT is another orchard, 
located about 9 miles west of the TULL site.   
 

Station Number: 118
Station ID: PORT
Station Name: Porter
Nearest Incorporated City: Clarksville 2.5 W
County: Wagoner
Latitude: 35.8258 degrees N
Longitude 95.5600 degrees W
Elevation: 193 m
Date Commissioned: 1999-11-05 (TULL de-commissioned 1999-11-04)

• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)
• lon(lon)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• base time(base_time)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)

• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• base time(base_time)
• lat(lat)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• lon(lon)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• solar radiation(srad)
• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)

• null(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• null(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)

• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

• null(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

Overview of quality assurance for May 1996

Review of automated quality assurance runs for May 1996 by Mark Shafer:
May looked remarkably clean with
very few things not caught by QA.


PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

HINT SRAD       Readings went below -1 at night from May 1 (probably 
                beginning earlier) through May 20, generating numerous
                failure (3) flags.  It should not compromise the daytime
                readings.  Sensor was apparently replaced on May 20.

DURA PRES       Seemed to go a bit erratic on the 24th, but no other
                flags for the month.  Reason I would be concerned is
                that a trouble-ticket was eventually issued for it
                on June 8th.  It's probably ok to use with the QA
                flags applied, but may want to look closely even if
                flags are not indicated.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Review of quality assurance for April 1996

Overview of results of quality assurance runs for April 1996 by Mark Shafer:

PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

FTCB LEAF       Showed very little change on a number of days (persistence
                routine).

RING PRES       Continued to show spikes in pressure during the month,
                notably on the 18th, 19th and 21st.  The QA flags catch
                these, but suggest the sensor may have been a bit
                erratic.  It is not unusable, though.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Review of quality assurance runs for March 1996

Overview of results of quality assurance runs for March 1996 by Mark Shafer:
There was nothing I could see to add to the QA in the way of cautions.
One thing I noted was that MEDI TAIR on the 2nd had 53 suspect 
flags.  These are probably false-alarms.  MEDI and CHEY have some
local effects which often preclude establishment of inversions,
so they often get suspect flags on TAIR on calm, cool nights.
We corrected the problem at half the sites with the like-instrument
comparison routine (TAIR and 9-meter air temperature), but neither 
MEDI nor CHEY have TA9M installed.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Quality Assurance Evaluation

Overview of results of quality assurance automated tests for January 1997
by Mark Shafer:
The only major concerns I have from the January QA files is that there
were several episodes where Leaf Wetness sensors were flagged as suspect
by the persistence routine, perhaps erroneously.  We may have our threshold
on persistence for Leaf Wetness still a bit too high. 

Since the flags are only suspect it
should not really cause problems.  There were also a number of pressure
sensors flagged on January 17 (see 19970117.QBD).  I think these were
correctly flagged.  I am not certain, but it may have been related to
ice clogging the presssure port.  The stations which were flagged were
pretty much in a consistent geographical area.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Quality Assurance for December 1996

Below is the quality assurance review by Mark Shafer:
As far as the December flags, everything looked pretty good.  There were
a few inversions which were erroneously flagged by the spatial comparison,
particularly for CHEY and MEDI, but the flags were never more than 1's
(suspect).  There were also some wind directions flagged, but we provide
a range of plus or minus 90 degrees from the estimated with a wind speed
of at least 3 m/s.  I am not sure I want to loosen that threshold anymore,
but if experience indicates otherwise I could do so.  We also had a few
remaining flags on leaf wetness from the persistence routine.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Quality Assurance Overview for November 1996

Discussion by Mark Shafer of results of automated quality assurance
runs for November 1996 data.

As far as the November qa goes, it looks like it performed well.  A couple
of things to note are:
(1) CLAR (Claremore) data may be a bit suspicious at times throughout
    November - battery voltage was conistently reporting low, and low
    power could possibly affect sensor performance.  I did not see any
    evidence of such an effect, but I thought I would caution you on this
    station.
(2) I believe we may have had an icing event on November 13-14 and 19-20
    (at least a minor event).  The persistence routine flagged several
    stations for low variability in the data on WSSD and RELH.  If the
    Wind monitor gets iced, Wind Speed Standard Deviation will be zero,
    thus triggering the persistence check.

Otherwise, things looked like they were flagged properly.  There are still
some sites where inversions may be flagged as suspect (notably MEDI and
CHEY) and some wind directions are flagged as suspect, but I did not notice
any erroneous warning or failure flags.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Quality Assurance for October 1996

Overview of results of automated quality assurance runs for October 1996
by Mark Shafer:
 The QA looked good - there
were some of the usual problems, mainly a few suspect flags on wind 
direction or air temperatures during inversions.  No erroneous warning
or failure flags as far as I could tell.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Quality Assurance Runs for September 1996

Review of automated quality assurance runs for September 1996 by
Mark Shafer:
I noticed
a couple of problems you might want to keep an eye out for.  The
10-cm soil temperature under sod (TS10) at MARS (Marshall) appeared
suspicious the entire month.  A trouble ticket was issued at the end
of the month (Sep. 24), but I would be cautious with that sensor from
at least September 1.  The other concern is Pressure (PRES) at BUFF
(Buffalo).  10 suspect flags were set by the automated QA on Sep. 18,
5 failures on Sep. 25, and 182 failures plus one suspect flag on
Sep. 26.  I searched the files I had previously delivered to you   
(October - January), but did not find a persistent problem.  The
sensor may have been replaced when the failures were noted on the
26th.  Other than these two exceptions, the data appear good.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated Quality Assurance for August 1996

Review of automated quality assurance runs for August 1996 by Mark Shafer:
There were a few stations / parameters of which to be 
suspicious.  MARS TS10 showed an 8-9 degree warm bias,
but a trouble ticket was not issued until Sep. 24.  It
apparently wasn't enough to consistently trigger any
flags.  COPA TS10 also appeared suspect from August 1-10.
ALTU BATV appeared low during the 16-20th, and a trouble-
ticket was issued on that Sep 29.  The voltage was
actually reading too high, so I doubt there was any
effect on the instruments.

Otherwise, the QA seemed to match reality, more or less
(given the usual problems of local effects, inversions,
dryline passages, etc.).

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated Quality Assurance Runs for July 1996

Review of automated quality assurance runs for July 1996 by Mark Shafer:
 The QA pretty
well seemed to catch things.  I would be a bit wary about BESS
RELH - it began to fail some tests beginning on the 8th, but was
not issued a trouble-ticket until Aug 23.  I guess that's the
nature of sporadic problems!  Also, CHIC TB05 and NORM TS05
looked a bit off, but not enough to warrant a trouble-ticket.
Any major problems for July appeared to have been caught by the
QA routines.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Review of automated quality assurance for June 1996

Overview of automated quality assurance runs for June 1996 by Mark Shafer:
PROBLEM SITES:
--------------
BUTL SRAD       Readings dropped below -1 at night (edge of instrument
                error).  No trouble-ticket was issued, but I believe it
                was later investigated.  Errors appear minimal and
                should not affect daytime readings significantly.

ACME PRES       From 3rd-6th received several warning and suspect flags.
                No record of trouble-ticket, but problems stopped after
                the 6th.

REDR TB10       Numerous flags from the 16th-21st.  Monthly visual
                inspection indicated a large warm bias, and some readings
                were more than 30 deg F different than TS10.

NORM TS05       4 deg C warm bias during month, ongoing through July.

* any of these sites should be OK to use with the information contained
  in the corresponding QA files.  I'm just trying to give a "heads up"
  for sites which seemed to have persistent problems in case some
  particular readings slipped past QA thresholds.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated Quality Assurance for January and February 1996

Following is an assessment of the automated quality assurance runs for January 
and February 1996
from Mark Shafer:
February was not terribly kind to
the Mesonet.  We had some problems with pressure readings in the
early part of the month (1st - 5th).  I think this was related to the
early February ice storm  which could have clogged pressure tubes.  There
were also numerous flags on TAIR during the month, especially at
MEDI, CAMA, CHEY and COOK.  I think these may have been attributable
to the dry conditions last winter, with more variability in temperature
from diurnal heating.  I would disregard "suspect (1)" flags on TAIR
during February. The same conditions were true for January.  There were several instances
of days with a number of PRES sensors being flagged, but I can't account
for the cause of these at this time.  I asked our QA manager to look 
into what might have been the culprit.  The same pattern of TAIR appeared
during January as well.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated Quality Assurance Runs for December 1995

Below are Mark Shafter's comments on his review of the December 1995 automated
Quality Assurance runs:
There are a few concerns for
this month's data (noted below).

PROBLEMS SITES:
---------------

BBOW PRES       December 10-11 appeared erratic; self-corrected

BUTL RELH       Numerous flags on the 2nd, flagged as bad on December 13;
                repaired December 16.

CLAY LEAF       A large number of failures during the 2nd - 11th; noted
                as bad on April 22, 1996; repaired April 23.

COOK RELH       Numerous failures on the 20th - 21st, perhaps due to low
                battery voltage.  Recovered.

NEWK SRAD       Readings dropped below -1 at night from the 6th -13th,
                and appeared low during the day.  Flags ceased on the 
                13th.  No trouble-ticket was noted, but a technician may
                have replaced the instrument on a routine visit.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - November 1995

Below is an overview by Mark Shafer of the results of the automated quality
 assurance procedure applied to the Oklahoma Mesonet data.
PROBLEMS SITES:
---------------

CLAY LEAF       failed numerous range tests throughout the entire month.
                Not issued a trouble-ticket until April 22, 1996.  Ongoing
                problem which began at least as early as September 1995.

MADI WSPD       sporadically reported values of -7999 from the 16th - 20th.
                The QA caught the bad obs, but the sensor seemed "jumpy"
                during this time so I would excercise a little extra
                caution if using this site from that time frame.  The
                readings also affected WVEC and WSSD.  WDIR looked ok,
                but meaningless without the vector magnitude (WVEC).

Otherwise it was just the normal inversions creating some erroneous
suspect flags on TAIR and RELH, especially for MEDI and CHEY.  The  
serious flags all looked fine.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - October 1995

Below is a review by Mark Shafer of the automated quality assurance
for the October 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data:
PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

ALTU LEAF       A number of failures from the 20th - 29th.  There was no
                trouble-ticket, and it seems to have corrected itself
                (or been fixed in-field by a technician).

CLAY LEAF       Definitely bad the entire month.  Numerous failures, but
                not discovered until April 22.                          

GOOD LEAF       Numerous failures from October 5 - November 1.  No trouble
                ticket issued, but looks good after November 1.

BYAR TB05       Suspect and Warning flags from the 1st through 12th.  No
                record of a trouble-ticket, but I suspect a bias was noted
                and the sensor replaced on the 12th.

SULP TB10       Appears biased from the 2nd through 12th.  It was eventually
                flagged in our badparm record on March 22.  Again, it might
                have been corrected, but then went bad again later.

Also, the usual problems of inversions persisted, notably at MEDI, CHEY,
and COOK (TAIR and RELH received a number of suspect flags).  KING TAIR
and TA9M were also flagged bad (10 readings) on the 24th ... I think this
was caused by a strong and very shallow inversion (> 10 deg C between
the 1.5 and 9 m sensors).  It is the only case I have seen yet where
the like-instrument provided a false alert.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - September 1995

Below is an overview by Mark Shafer of the automated qa of the September
1995 Oklahoma Mesonet Data:
We didn't do very well with the leaf wetness sensors.
As I recall, this is a time when we were behind on production (we make
them ourselves), so we could not replace them very quickly.  In any
event, it was a busy month for QA...

PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

KETC  TB05      1-7 and 27th - suspect and failure flags.  It looks like
                it drifted.  It was repaired on August 8, 1995, but it
                appears that the sensor which was installed had some 
                problems of it's own.

KING  TS30      1-7 and 20th - supect and failure flags.  It was set to
                warning (2) in the badparm file on 10/02/95.  Probably
                should be careful even with unflagged obs for this month.

KING  TS10      13-16th - high scores on the spatial checks; trouble-ticket
                issued on 09/16.

HOLL  TS30      20-25th - suspect and warning flags, became failures.
                Apparent sensor drift toward failure.  No flag in the
                badparm table, but likely repaired quickly (25th).

BYAR  TB05      26-30th - similar problem, probable sensor drift.  No
                flag in badparm table.

ALTU  LEAF      8-9th - several failures.  Not bad, but problems re-occured
                in October.

BESS  LEAF      10-30th - sporadic failures, no flag in badparm.

CLAY  LEAF      9-28th - sporadic failures, flagged failure in badparm on
                04/22/96.

FTCB  LEAF      18-23rd - sporadic failures, no flag in badparm.

GOOD  LEAF      11-19th, 29th - sporadic failures, continued until November
                1st.  No flag in badparm.

IDAB  LEAF      23-24th - sporadic failures, no flag in badparm.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - August 1995

Below is an overview by Mark Shafer of the August 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet 
automated quality assurance runs.

PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

KETC  TS05      Suspect flags from the 1st - 11th; no flag in badparm.

KETC  TB05      Failed range check often from the 8th - 31st.  A trouble-
                ticket had been issued on July 1, 1995 and was resolved
                on August 6.  However, the problem apparently persisted.
                I am not sure of the cause.

KING  TS30      Suspect and failure flags the entire month.  Flagged as
                warning on October 2.

KING  TS10      Large spatial scores from the 5th - 7th.  Flagged as 
                warning on September 16.

SALL  SRAD      Dropped below -1 at night from the 1st - 25th.  Apparently
                replaced on August 25.

HOLL  TS30      Failures in range test from the 3rd - 5th.  No flag in
                badparm.

RING  PRES      Several pressure spikes during the month (5th, 12th, 17th,
                20th).  This is confusing because it is the only Mesonet
                site which has repeatedly shown these patterns.  It could
                be an interesting study :-)  The typical pattern of a
                pressure spike will show up in the .qbd file as:
                RING PRES     1     0     1     0
                The 1 failure is from failing both the step and spatial
                tests.  On the way back down, it fails the step, but
                passes the spatial which leaves a suspect flag (instead
                of a warning). 

LEAF            Rather than listing them separately, it appears that
                a number of sites had persistent problems.  The
                date first noticed is indicated in parentheses.
                BESS (1st), BOWL (1st), KETC (1st), ALTU (4th),
                LAHO (7th), GOOD (15th), CLAY (24th), IDAB (24th)

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - July 1995

Mark Shafer has provided the following overview of the results of the
automated quality assurance of the July 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data:
PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

KETC  TS05      25th - 31st, a number of suspect flags.  No problem
                listed in badparm.

KING  TS30      Beginning on the 3rd and lasting the remaininder of the
                month, suspect and failure flags.  Flagged 2 in badparm 
                on 10/02.

NINN  TS05      25th - 31st, suspect flags from spatial test.  No trouble-
                ticket issued.

NOWA  RELH      4th - 30th, failing range test sporadically.  No trouble-
                ticket issued until 1996/07/14, but sensor may have been
                replaced during a routine technician visit.

RING  PRES      Several pressure spikes throughtout month.  Errors were
                caught but it suggests an erratic sensor.

SALL  SRAD      Entire month, readings dropping below -1 at night, appeared
                reasonable during daylight.

LEAF            KETC (1st), MARE (1st), LAHO (3rd), BOWL (6th), CLAY (6th),
                GOOD (10th), BESS (19th).

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - February 1997

Following is an overview by Mark Shafer of the results of the automated quality
assurance runs for the February 1997 Oklahoma mesonet data.

The February data looked pretty good.  There were quite a few suspect flags
on WSSD and TA9M from the 6th - 7th (from persistence).  I would discount
all these flags for those two days.  There were very few persistent 
problems (unlike what we are finding with the 1995 data!).
 

PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

LANE  TS05      Started failing spatial test on the 21st; flagged as 2
                in badparm on the 26th.

STUA  PRES      Appeared suspicious on the 21st - 22nd, then corrected
                itself.

WEBB  RELH      11th - 23rd; number of range-test failures.  Apparently
                replaced on the 23rd.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - June 1995

Mark Shafer has provided the following overview of the results of
the automated quality assurance for the June 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data:
 It was a pretty messy month.  Four of the 
problem sites listed below are from high battery voltages.  The concern
is that high voltage may affect the performance of some of the sensors.
I didn't see anything (except perhaps HOLL) which would indicate secondary
effects, but it is nevertheless a concern.


PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

BIXB  BATV      6th - 21st, reported high voltages.

BURN  BATV      1st - 4th, reported high voltages.

CHER  BATV      6th - 26th, reported high voltages.

COOK  SRAD      17th - 21st, low readings indicated by spatial test;
                no flag in badparm (may have been caused by bird droppings,
                cleaned up by a technician on the 21st).

HOLL  BATV      1st - 21st, reported high voltages.

HOLL  PRES      4th, suspect and warning flag may have been related to
                battery problem.

HOLL  SRAD      10th, seven suspect flags perhaps related to battery
                problem.

KETC  TB05      8th - 29th, began failing spatial and range checks; 
                flagged 3 in badparm on 07/01.

MADI  TS05      1st - 4th, warning and failure flags; flagged 2 in 
                badparm on the 4th.

RING  PRES      pressure spikes on the 9th, 26th, 28th and 29th.

SALL  SRAD      6th - 31st, readings dropped below -1 at night repeatedly.

LEAF            Persistent problems at: KETC (1st), MARE (1st), BOWL (3rd),
                LAHO (12th) and CLAY (13th).
                Sporadic problems at: PAUL (begining 1st) and IDAB (5th).

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - May 1995

Following is an overview by Mark Shafer of the automated quality assurance applied
to the may 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data.
There were some ongoing
problems with battery voltage at several sites and the usual
leaf wetness sensor problems.


PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

CALV  TS05      1st - 17th; sensor definitely bad during this time.  Flagged
                bad (3) in badparm on the 17th; repaired 06/28.

KETC  TS05      11th - 16th, failing spatial test (suspect and warning
                flags, mostly).  Blagged 1 in badparm on the 16th; repaired
                06/05.

MADI  TS05      25th - 31st, failing spatial check.  Flagged 2 in badparm 
                on 06/04; repaired 07/28.

PAUL  TB10      6th - 16th, high ASI values (spatial scores).  Flagged 2 in
                badparm on the 16th; repaired 06/05.

RING  PRES      15th, another pressure spike.

SPEN  TAIR,RELH T&RH sensor taken out by a horse (used it as a scratching
                post) on the 1st; replaced on the 2nd.

STIL  TB05      2nd - 4th, suspect and failure flags from spatial and
                range test.  No flag in badparm but looked fine after 
                the 4th.

TIPT  WDIR      3rd - 16th, noted substantially off by both visual inspection
                and spatial scores.  Sensor replaced on the 16th.

WEST  PRES      21st-22nd, a number of warning flags.  No flag in badparm,
                and data looked fine after the 22nd.

BATV            High voltages at BURB (beginning 8th), BURN (1st),
                CHER (8th) and HOLL (1st).

LEAF            Persistent problems at: GRAN (2nd), IDAB (2nd),
                LAHO (13th), MARE (1st), and PAUL (2nd).
                Sporadic problems at: BOWL (14th) and CLAY (3rd).

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - April 1995

Below is an overview by Mark Shafer of the automated quality
assurance results for the April 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data.

PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

CALV  TS05      entire month; numerous failures indicated.  Flagged 3 in
                badparm on 05/17.

CAMA  SRAD      13th - 30th; flagged 1 in badparm on the 14th, upgraded
                to 2 on 05/09.  Instrument replaced 05/09.  Readings
                indicated low on spatial test.

RING  PRES      pressure spikes on the 8th and 9th.

STIL  TB05      20th - 28th; flagged by spatial test, no flag in badparm.
                Problems apparently persisted until 05/04.

TIPT  WDIR      6th - 30th; high scores from spatial test.  Replaced on
                05/16.

BATV            Persistent problems: BURN (2nd), CHER (3rd)
                Sporadic problems: BURB (11th), HOLL (11th)

LEAF            Persistent problems: CLAY (17th), GRAN (1st), IDAB (1st),
                MARE (1st), PAUL (1st)
                Sporadic problems: BOWL (1st), FTCB (1st), LAHO (5th),
                TIPT (2nd)

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - March 1995

low is an overview by Mark Shafer of the automated quality
assurance results for the March 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data.


On the 7th and 8th there
were several pressure sensors (CAMA, CHAN, MAYR, MINC, SHAW, and
STIL) which had suspect and warning flags.  The problems were noted
only during those two days for those sites, so I suspect there was
some sort of weather-related phenomenon which caused the problems.
I recall some discussion a couple of years ago about water getting
sucked up into the pressure tube and causing some blockage.  I have
a feeling the further back we go, the more of these problems we
will see.  I guess that's the nature of the learning curve when you
establish a network 
PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

CALV  TS05      entire month, range failures.  It was flagged as 3 in
                badparm on 05/17; apparently repaired on 06/28.

FAIR  TB10      23rd - 31st; failing spatial check.  Badparm flag of 2
                issued on 04/02; instrument apparently replaced on 05/09.

MEDI  PRES      17th - 21st; every observations for those days flagged
                either warning or failure.  No badparm flag but problems
                ceased on the 21st.

RING  PRES      22nd - 29th; every observations for those days flagged
                either warning or failure.  Flag set to 3 in badparm on
                the 27th; instrument apparently relaced on the 29th.

BATV            BURB (3rd), BURN (1th), CHER (24th) and COOK (25th).
                All problems appeared sporadic.  COOK TS10 and TB10
                also had 7-8 failures on the 25th, perhaps attributed
                to battery voltage problems.

LEAF            Persistent problems: FTCB (1st), GRAN (1st), IDAB (4th),
                MARE (2nd) and PAUL (1st).
                Sporadic problems: ALTU (8th), BOWL (8th), CLAY (16th),
                LAHO (5th) and TIPT (3rd).

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - February 1995

Below is an overview by Mark Shafer of the automated quality
assurance results for the February 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data.

There were apparently some
inversions which caused flags in TAIR and RELH at several stations:
CHEY (1st, 17th), COOK (1st, 20th and 22nd), MEDI (1st, 2nd and 20th),
FAIR (20th) and MINC (20th).  There were also a number of leaf wetness
sensors flagged by the persistence program on the 13th, aside from the
usual suspects listed below.  Otherwise, the flags appear accurate.

PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

ALTU  SRAD      24th - 28th.  Failing spatial and range tests.  Flagged
                3 in badparm on 03/01, replaced on 04/19.

BBOW  TS10      17th; only showed up one day (from spatial test), but
                flagged 1 in badparm on 05/17, upgraded to 2 on 06/08,
                and replaced on 06/13.  It's probably OK to use with the
                flags, but be a bit extra cautious.

CALV  TS05      entire month.  Flagged 3 on 05/17; replaced on 06/28.

CHAN  TA9M      1st - 7th; flagged 3 in badparm on the 7th.  Replaced
                on 02/16.

BATV            sporadic problems at BURN (beginning the 2nd), BURB (5th),
                and NORM (8th - but became much more frequent later in
                the month).

LEAF            Persistent Problems: BOWL (1st), FTCB (1st), GRAN (1st),
                MARE (1st), PAUL (1st) and TIPT (2nd).
                Sporadic Problems: LAHO (5th), ALTU (8th).

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - January 1995

Below is an overview by Mark Shafer of the automated quality
assurance results for the January 1995 Oklahoma Mesonet data.
Along with the usual concerns (inversions,
battery voltages, and leaf wetness sensors), there were a few more
pressure observations which looked bad over a couple of days but then
cleared up.  I think these are attributable to water or ice in the
pressure tube.  The sensors were: (MAYR - 4th, 7th; TAHL 4th-5th; and
ARNE - 7th).

There were also some inversions which caused flags on TAIR and RELH, which
I believe were inappropriate.  The worst cases were: CHEY (2nd, 8th, 11th),
BUTL (11th), CHER (11th, 12th), MEDI (11th, 19th, 20th) and MINC (11th).

There may have been an icing event on the 20th - 24th.  Wind speed standard
deviations were very low at VINI and PRYO on the 20th, HOBA, MANG, NINN,
and SEIL on the 23rd, and CHIC on the 24th.  If WSSD was low for a site,
it is probably best to be cautious with any wind observations from the
site for the day. 


PROBLEM SITES:
--------------

BBOW  PRES      2nd - 6th; High spatial scores (ASI's) and suspect flags.
                Flagged 1 in badparm on the 10th, flag cleared on 03/09.
                This may be similar to the pressure problems noted above,
                but it's characteristics were more of a general drift
                rather than the spikes we see from clogged ports.

BBOW  TS10      16th - 19th, started failing spatial and range tests.
                Problem ceased after the 19th, but a flag was placed
                on the site on 05/17 (flag 1) and upgraded to 2 on
                06/08.  The sensor was apparently replaced on 06/13.
                This may have been an early indication of a problem
                which persisted into June.

CALV  TS05      11th - 31st; Began failing range test on the 11th, and
                continued failing until flagged 3 in badparm on 05/17;
                replaced or repaired on 06/28.  I suspect a critter may
                have chewed through the wire.

GOOD  PRES      entire month; 288 warning flags daily - probably indicates
                the sensor got 'stuck' at some reading.  It was flagged 
                as 2 in badparm on the 27th, upgraded to 3 on 02/16 and
                repaired 02/23.

KING  RELH      26th; not a bad problem, but noticed a flag of 1 in badparm
                later on on 04/03 - 04/06.  It's probably ok to use these
                readings with the qa flags, but it could be an early
                indication of a problem.

MADI  TB10      29th - 30th; high spatial scores.  Flagged 2 in badparm
                on 02/16, remained flagged until 07/28.

MEDI  RELH      26th - 27th; numerous failures of range test; flagged 3 in
                badparm on 03/13, problem corrected on 03/14.

BATV            sporadic problems at BURB (1st), NORM (24th) and BURN (27th).

LEAF            Persistent problems: BOWL (2nd), FTCB (1st), GRAN (1st),
                PAUL (1st) and TIPT (1st).
                Sporadic problems: LAHO (3rd), MARE (9th).

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - March 1997

OKLAHOMA MESONETWORK QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT
       for the month of March, 1997

       Based upon observations taken at 1800 UTC each day

       Prepared by Jeff Basara  (jbasara@ou.edu)

================================================================================

Notes:

It was kind of a miserable month for parts of the Mesonet.  In eastern 
Oklahoma, both SALL and PRES were vandalized with SALL receiving extensive
damage, and PRES sustaining some moderate damage.  What kind of idiots would 
be so stupid as to rip off or destroy a bunch of "weather instruments"?  I
would bet that they don't realize that there is not a tremendous black market
for these types of things.

Then there are the usual Mesonet occurences.  Gophers continue to play havoc
with anything buried in the ground.  Plus, parts of western Oklahoma received
either little or no precipitation for the entire month of March.  At some 
sites this may be suspect since there may be clogged gauges.

Once again we enter the time of year where convective storms produce lightning.
Although there has not been apreciable damage due to lightning thus far, it
wll only be a matter of time before the first site takes a major jolt.

And now, the information you've all been waiting for ...



================================================================================

TAIR (Air Temperature at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  None.   
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1217 SALL Vandalism replacement

TDEW/RELH (RH is measured at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts: #1245 BBOW Has continuosly scored high on the daily
                                   QA report.
                        #1196 IDAB Sensor not reporting.         
        Added:          None. 
        Resolved:       #1195 PRES Sensor removed due to extreme vandalism.
                        #1194 CHEY Sensor replaced due to bad readings.
                        #1139 TIPT Replaced but no field test done. 

WDIR (Wind Direction at 10 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

WSPD (Wind Speed at 10 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

PRES/PALT (Sea level Pressure):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1177 WYNO Tube clean - suspect there was ice in tube.
                         #1223 SALL Vandalism Replacement.

SRAD (Incident Solar Radiation):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1239 BIXB Appears there was something on pyronometer.
                         #1222 SALL Vandalism replacement.

RAIN:
        Current t-tkts:  #1116 BOWL Drip test yield 41 tips (50 typical).
                         #1197 PUTN Possible mechanical inhibition.
                         #1198 MEDF Possible mechanical inhibition.
                         #1248 JAYX Possible gauge clog.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1216 PRES Old guage has half full bucket - vandalism.
                         #1224 SALL Vandalism replacement.

TA9M (Air Temperature at 9 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  #1126 HUGO QA suggests sensor may read ~2 deg cool.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

WS2M (Wind Run at 2 meters):  
        Current t-tkts:  #1227 MANG Sensor went to zero.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1129 PRES Vandalism, sensor removed - not replaced.

TS10 (Soil temperature at 10 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:   #1193 STUA QA suggests a ~3 degree warm bias.
        Added:            None.
        Resolved:         #1168 MARE Gopher damage.

TB10 (Soil temperature at 10 cm under bare soil):
        Current t-tkts:  #1076 WALT Began drifting, then failed spatial test.
                         #1200 TALI Sensor reading +10 deg warmer than 
                                    nieghboring sites.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1189 WYNO Slight chewing on shrink rap.
                         #1219 SALL Vandalism replacement.

TS05 (Soil temperature at 5 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:  #1089 MADI QA suggests sensor reading ~5-6 deg warm.
                         #1190 MADI QA suggests a ~3 deg warm bias.
                         #1191 CALV QA suggests a ~3 deg warm bias.
                         #1192 STUA QA suggests a ~3 deg warm bias.
                         #1206 LANE Sensor reading +10 degrees warmer than 
                                    nieghboring sites.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1149 MARE Gopher damage.
                         #1218 SALL Vandalism replacement.

TB05 (Soil temperature at 5 cm under bare soil):
        Current t-tkts:  #1127 OKEM QA indicates sensor may read ~3 deg cool.
                         #1169 KING QA suggests a ~4 deg warm bias.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1220 SALL Vandalism Replacement.

TS15 (Soil temperature at 15 cm under native soil):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TS30 (Soil temperature at 30 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1243 MARE Gopher damage - This sensor was not bad.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                ARS QA REPORT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAIR (Air Temperature at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TDEW/RELH (RH is measured at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1213 A122 Confirmed bad switch on old RH.

SRAD (Incident Solar Radiation):
        Current t-tkts:  #1132 A182 QA suggests sensor ~30igh.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1205 A122 Problem with T&RH, not pyronometer.

RAIN:
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TS05 (Soil temperature at 5 cm under native soil):
        Current t-tkts:  #1214 Sporadic negative readings 
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None

TS10 (Soil temperature at 10 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TS15 (Soil temperature at 15 cm under native soil):
        Current t-tkts:  #1136 A182 QA suggests a ~6 degree warm bias.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TS30 (Soil temperature at 30 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.





Jeff Basara
March 6, 1997

Mark Shafer adds:

... there are occasionaly some
TAIR and/or RELH readings flagged as suspect due to inversions.  The
most frequently affected sites are BUFF, CAMA, CHEY and MEDI, although
others occassionaly show up.  These false alarms are a recognized 
limitation of the automated qa programs.  We corrected the problem,
where possible, through comparisions with 9-meter air temperature, but
because those sensors are only at half the sites, that leaves half the
network susceptible to inversions problems.  Otherwise, the data flags
appear to match the QA manager's report.

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)

Overview of Automated QA - April 1997

Following is an overview of the April 1997 Oklahoma Mesonet Automated 
Quality Assurance Data Files

From Mark Shafer, Oklahoma Mesonet

 The April report  from the QA manager is
attached here.  The only thing I would add is that WEBB RELH and
SALL TAIR and RELH appeared to have some problems not documented. 
The indiviudal data have flags which reflect problems, but I would
be cautious with RELH data for these two sites.

_________________________________________________________________________

       OKLAHOMA MESONETWORK QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT
       for the month of April, 1997

       Based upon observations taken at 1800 UTC each day

       Prepared by Jeff Basara     (jbasara@ou.edu)

================================================================================

Notes:

As the weather warms up, it seems the Mesonet has also.  The technicians have
had plenty of things to keep them busy, and many trouble tickets were issued
and resolved in April.  With the onset of the spring rains, more rain guages 
have shown up plugged or stopped.  This has proven to be the most problematic
instrument during the month of April, but even so, the guages have been working
rather well so far.

There was only one incident of vandalism this month, and it was at WEBB again.
Someone decided they needed a 10m wind monitor to add to their collection, so
they came back and grabbed one.

One note of weather related interest involves the monthly summary of wind
vectors.  With a number of surface low pressure systems slowly marching through
Texas in April, the 1800 UTC wind vectors were almost due easterly is southern
Oklahoma for the month.  Rather interesting!

Well, here is the rap sheet...


================================================================================

TAIR (Air Temperature at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts:    None.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1217 SALL Vandalism Replacement.     

TDEW/RELH (RH is measured at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts:    #1292 HUGO Aspirated intercomparison revealed RH out
                                      of spec ~3W.R.T. test probe. 
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1251 PRES Put in nipple top shield taken from APAC
                           #1245 BBOW RH +7-8W.R.T. test probe.
                           #1196 IDAB Indeed RH was dead / not cabling problem 
                           #1257 ERIC Probe end covered in spider webs

WDIR (Wind Direction at 10 meters):
        Current t-tkts:    None.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1282 WEBB Made mistake in log - issued new t-tkt 
                           #1283 WEBB Replaced stolen wind monitor.

WSPD (Wind Speed at 10 meters):
        Current t-tkts:    None.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1285 WEBB Replaced stolen wind monitor

PRES/PALT (Sea level Pressure):
        Current t-tkts:    None.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1223 SALL Vandalism Replacement.

SRAD (Incident Solar Radiation):
        Current t-tkts:    None.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1222 SALL Vandalism Replacemnt.
                           #1294 WEBB Cleaned off brown coating

RAIN:
        Current t-tkts:    #1116 BOWL Drip test yielded 41 tips (50 typical).
                           #1284 BOIS There is a high probability this gauge
                                      is plugged/not functioning.
                           #1290 RETR High probability guage is plugged/not
                                      functioning.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1224 SALL Vandalism Replacement.
                           #1259 COPA No problem found - drip test = 51 tips
                           #1248 JAYX Found plug in funnel - put in new gauge
                           #1198 MEDF Drip test showed gauge o.k.
                           #1197 PUTN Bucket seams broken, leaked water
                           #1272 HUGO 500ml of water dripped through w/no tips
                           #1257 BESS Bucket not tipping due to spider web.
                           #1276 PUTN Replaced gauge removed on earlier trip. 

TA9M (Air Temperature at 9 meters):
        Current t-tkts:    None.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1126 HUGO Side by side field test revealed ~2 
                                      degree cool bias - replaced sensor.

WS2M (Wind Run at 2 meters): 
        Current t-tkts:    None.
        Added:             None.
        Resolved:          #1227 MANG No output from sensor to datalogger
                           #1264 PRES Replaced Vandalized sensor. 
                           #1273 BEAV Replaced wind monitor bearings.
                           #1266 SKIA Broken wire caused ground to disconnect

TS10 (Soil temperature at 10 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:   #1193 STUA QA suggests a ~3 degree warm bias.
        Added:            None.
        Resolved:         #1218 SALL Vandalism Replacement.      

TB10 (Soil temperature at 10 cm under bare soil):
        Current t-tkts:   #1200 TALI Sensor is nearly 10 degrees warmer than
                                     it's neighboring sites.
                          #1260 SALL Sensor not reporting for extended periods,
                                     then functioning normal.
        Added:            None.
        Resolved:         #1219 SALL Vandalism Replacement.
                          #1269 MTHE Installed probe marker.

TS05 (Soil temperature at 5 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:   #1089 MADI QA suggests a ~5-6 degree warm bias
                          #1190 MADI QA suggests a ~3 degree warm bias
                          #1191 CALV QA suggests a ~3 degree warm bias
                          #1192 STUA QA suggests a ~3 degree warm bias
                          #1286 FORA Normal operation with intermitent bad data
                          #1206 LANE Sensor Reading ~10 degrees warmer than
                                     neighboring sites.
        Added:            None.
        Resolved:         None.

TB05 (Soil temperature at 5 cm under bare soil):
        Current t-tkts:   #1076 WALT Began drifting, then failed range test.
                          #1169 KING QA suggests a ~4 degree warm bias.
                          #1256 SALL Sensor failing range test.
                          #1261 PAUL Extended periods of bad data followed by
                                     normal operation.
        Added:            None.
        Resolved:         #1220 SALL Vandalism Replacement.
                          #1127 OKEM Dug up sensor - sensor ok - reinstalled

TS30 (Soil temperature at 30 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:   None.
        Added:            None.
        Resolved:         None.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                ARS QA REPORT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAIR (Air Temperature at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TDEW/RELH (RH is measured at 1.5 meters):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

SRAD (Incident Solar Radiation):
        Current t-tkts:  #1132 A182 QA suggests sensor ~30igh.
        Added:           #1296 A125 QA suggests sensor is reading ~50 
                                    units too low.
        Resolved:        None.
                                                                            
RAIN:
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TS05 (Soil temperature at 5 cm under native soil):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           #1295 A160 QA suggests a ~6 degree warm bias.
        Resolved:        #1214 A147 Wires tightened on maintainance visit.

TS10 (Soil temperature at 10 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.

TS15 (Soil temperature at 15 cm under native soil):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        #1136 A182 Confirmed too warm - replaced probe
                         #1267 A182 T-tkt covered by #1136. 
                                                                           
TS30 (Soil temperature at 30 cm under native sod):
        Current t-tkts:  None.
        Added:           None.
        Resolved:        None.





Jeff Basara
May 5, 1997

• vector average of wind direction measured at 10m(wdir_10m)
• lat(lat)
• solar radiation(srad)
• average wind run (arithmetic average speed) at 10m(wspd_10m)
• Retrieved pressure profile(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity inside the instrument enclosure(rh)
• average wind speed at 2m(wspd_2m)
• air temperature at 1.5m(tdry_1_5m)
• precipitation(prec_amt)
• air temperature at 9m(tdry_9m)
• standard deviation of wind direction(wdir_sigma)
• maximum 3-second wind speed within the 5-minute averaging period(wspd_max)
• base time(base_time)
• lon(lon)
• standard deviation of wind speed(wspd_sigma)
• vector average wind magnitude(wvec_10m)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)

• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath natural sod cover(tsoil5)
• soil temperature at 10cm beneath bare soil(tbare10)
• Batter Voltage(vbat)
• leaf wetness index, measurement of dew ranging from 0 (dry) to 100(wet)(leaf_ind)
• lon(lon)
• base time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• soil temperature at 5 cm beneath bare soil(tbare5)
• Dummy altitude for Zeb(alt)
• soil temperature at 30 cm beneath bare soil(tbare30)
• 10 cm soil temp(tsoil10)
• lat(lat)