HR: 1400h
AN: OS33A-10    [Abstracts]
TI: Changing Requirements for Archiving Climate Data Records Derived From Remotely Sensed Data
AU: * Fleig, A J
EM: afleig@ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: PITA Analytic Sciences, 8705 Burning Tree Road, Bethesda, MD 20817, United States
AU: Tilmes, C
EM: Curt.Tilmes@nasa.gov
AF: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 614.5, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AB: With the arrival of long term sets of measurements of remotely sensed data it becomes important to improve the standard practices associated with archival of information needed to allow creation of climate data records, CDRs, from individual sets of measurements. Several aspects of the production of CDRs suggest that there should be changes in standard best practices for archival. A fundamental requirement for understanding long- term trends in climate data is that changes with time shown by the data reflect changes in actual geophysical parameters rather than changes in the measurement system. Even well developed and validated data sets from remotely sensed measurements contain artifacts. If the nature of the measurement and the algorithm is consistent over time, these artifacts may have little impact on trends derived from the data. However data sets derived with different algorithms created with different assumptions are likely to introduce non-physical changes in trend data. Yet technology for making measurements and analyzing data improves with time and this must be accounted for. To do this for an ongoing long term data set based on multiple instruments it is important to understand exactly how the preceding data was produced. But we are reaching the point where the scientists and engineers that developed the initial measurements and algorithms are no longer available to explain and assist in adapting today's systems for use with future measurement systems. In an era where tens to hundreds of man years are involved in calibrating an instrument and producing and validating a set of geophysical measurements from the calibrated data we have long passed the time when it was reasonable to say "just give me the basic measurement and a bright graduate student and I can produce anything I need in a year." Examples of problems encountered and alternative solutions will be provided based on developing and reprocessing data sets from long term measurements of atmospheric, land surface and ocean measurements covering, in one case, a series of fifteen instruments currently scheduled to continue from 1978 through several decades into the 2030s. Possible changes in approach for developers of instruments and processing algorithms, archival centers, funding organizations and the climate science community will be suggested. There is a cost in both time and money associated with most of these changes and the hope is that this presentation will prompt further discussion on what should be done.
DE: 1626 Global climate models (3337, 4928)
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
DE: 1694 Instruments and techniques
DE: 4262 Ocean observing systems
DE: 4275 Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes (0689, 2487, 3285, 4455, 6934)
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly