Quality Control Description
Our measurements are automatically and manually examined by program staff daily. Trained on-site technicians service and maintain the instruments weekly, and are available to respond quickly for instrument problem resolution. These measures result in the collection of high quality data with very good capture rates.
When problems are discovered with the data, quality control abbreviations are set for each record. The quality control codes are separated by a semi-colon and appear both on the data graphs as well as in the data text file. A description of these quality control codes is listed below.
QC Code | Description |
|---|---|
| ad | UVA sensor problem, UVA data should not be used. |
| adc | A/D converter failure, shadowband data and auxliary data should not be used. |
| at | UVA dome temp is out of specifications, manufacture calibration is suspect. |
| ba | band is not adequately shadowing the diffuser, shadowband data should not be used. |
| bb | suspect bias applied to diffuse channel, total and diffuse shadowband data may be compromised. |
| bc1 | no des_factor in broadbands_calibrations for this serial_num, uvb broadband not calibrated. |
| bc2 | no erythemal yearly annual factor found for this serial_num, uvb broadband not calibrated. |
| bf | barometer failure, barometer data should not be used. |
| bg | broadband grounding problem. The data at night is not zero, and should be subtracted out. (formerly bd code) |
| bm | band is not adequately shadowing the diffuse. The diffuse and direct data may be compromised |
| bs | broadband calibration data for this site not found, uvb broadband not calibrated. |
| bt | uvb broadband dome temp is out of specifications, calibrations is suspect |
| bx | uvb broadband failure, broadband data should not be used. |
| bz | broadband dome is damaged or obscured, resulting in low transmission, broadband data should not be used. |
| c1 | Only beginning calibration file found, no interpolation done. |
| cd | different shadowband calibration facility's files were used as the opening and closing calibration data. |
| ci | only the initial/opening shadowband calibration file used in calibrating the uv-mfrsr instrument at this site. |
| cn | shadowband calibration file not found for this site, data is not calibrated. |
| co | shadowband calibration file for the uv-mfrsr instrument at this site is over 18 months old. |
| coy | yankee angular correction file is being used on the uv-mfrsr instrument at this site. Only applies to shadowband data after year 2000. |
| cu[1..7] | the shadowband calibration file had 0 in this channel's head or board gain. This shadowband channel was not calibrated. |
| cy | yankee calibration file is being used on the the uv-mfrsr instrument at this site. Only applies to shadowband data after year 2000. |
| db[1..7] | channel failure for listed channels caused by board damage, shadowband channel data should not be used. |
| dc | no diffuse angular correction file found for this site, diffuse and total values not angularly corrected. |
| dd | diffuser is damaged, shadowband channel voltages and calibrated irradiances may be compromised. |
| dh[1..7] | channel failure for listed channels caused by loss of sensitivity of photodiode |
| dr | diffuser is dirty, shadowband channel voltages and calibrated irradiances may be compromised. |
| eca | The broadband sensor is erythemally corrected by using the constants provided by yankee. The constants are 0.141 if Solar zenith angle is <= 65 and 0.154 if > 65 |
| ed | epply sensor problem, epply data should not be used. |
| ef | epply failure, epply data should not be used. |
| fp | power failure |
| f[1..7] | shadowband channel failure for listed channels, shadowband channel data should not be used for listed channels. |
| hc | The humidity is between 103 and 105 degrees. |
| hf | humidity failure, humidity data should not be used. |
| hh | humidity is too high. Humidity data should not be used. |
| hth | Head temperature is too high. Shadowband channel data may be compromised. |
| htl | Head temperature is too low. Shadowband channel data may be compromised. |
| i[1..7] | signal interference for listed channels. Shadowband channel data for listed channels may be compromised. |
| ld | licor problem, licor data should not be used. |
| lf | licor sensor failure, licor data should not be used. |
| nb | no bias was available to apply to diffuse channel data. |
| ng | diffuse and or direct values are negative, please see Data Processing Page for possible reasons. |
| nid | No head or board id found on instrument. Data cannot be corrected. |
| np | no par correction data found for this site, par data is not corrected. |
| nsb | A bias was created and used for the nasa instrument, by putting a dome over the instrument. The nighttime values were NOT used. |
| pd | A par sensor problem, par sensor data should not be used. |
| pf | A par sensor failure, par sensor data should not be used. |
| pr | A par sensor problem, the par sensor was obsured. The par data should not be used. |
| sl[1..n] | problem with listed solar light instruments, solar light data should not be used. |
| sn | no angular correction file found for this site, data not angularly corrected. |
| so | cosine correction file for uv-mfrsr instrument is over a 18 months old. |
| sp[1..7] | sensitivity problem for listed channels, lamp-calibrated irradiances should not be used, corresponding cosine-corrected voltages may be used for limited purposes. |
| s[1..7] | signal saturated for listed channels. Shadowband channel data for listed channels may not be used. |
| tf | air temperature failure, temperature data should not be used. |
| tx | Board not synchronizing with the computer's time, timestamp and air mass may be off. If timing bias can be determined, the total horizontal and ancillary data may be usable. |