Comparison of surface meteorological measurements in TRACT database 4

The observational systems utilised during the TRACT experimental campaign (September 1992) can roughly be divided into: existing climate stations and towers: background chemical monitoring stations; aerological measurements; instrumented aircraft; and special micrometeorological stations operated only during the experimental period. Database 4, which contains the latter surface measurements, includes station descriptions and data from 21 sites operated by nine different groups during the campaign period. These data will be described briefly. There are a number of advantages in using a relational database for analysis of this data. Without creating an unnecessarily large database which is awkward to view and slow to process, specific measurements can be selected easily since data from each site have been standardized using a common time index. This allows comparison of the same or different variables from one or more sites for investigating data quality or the effects of site location. Data can readily be combined into hourly or daily averages or time series for comparison with other data sets (e.g. model or aircraft data). Spatial analysis is also straightforward, although the clustering of the sites in the centre of the investigation area means that care must be taken. Some preliminary comparisons are made here in order to demonstrate the availability and reliability of the data.