Radar data requirements and availability for ENRAM
-
vol2birdrequires volume data, i.e. data consisting of a set of scans at different elevations - The radar volume data needs to be stored in an HDF5 file, which is structured in OPERA ODIM_h5 format.
- The volume data needs to contain both reflectivity and radial velocity quantities.
- The quality of the radial velocity should be sufficient. This means that radial velocities are too heavily folded (which occurs when data is collected at pulse repetition frequencies that produces velocity ambiguity / a low Nyquist velocity.
The vol2bird program is currently installed in the development environment of the BALTRAD datahub. Only for radar data available at BALTRAD we can extract bird migration information, once permission is obtained to use this data.
For data to be available in BALTRAD, several conditions need to be met:
- A country should send both reflectivity and radial velocity data to the OPERA data centre, which is called ODYSSEY. While many countries are sending reflectivity data, radial velocities are still unavailable for many countries.
- ODYSSEY should forward these data to the BALTRAD datahub. It is standard policy to do so, but in practice data is not yet forwarded correctly for some radars/countries.
- Currently BALTRAD and ODYSSEY store data at a 15 minute interval, higher resolution data is not yet available.
- Countries should have accepted the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between OPERA and ENRAM. The MoU is still under consideration by EUMETNET, and no final agreement is expected before November 2015.
In the figures and table below you can assess what is the current status of the data delivery to OPERA and BALTRAD
As of October 2015, the following countries deliver data at BALTRAD for which we can extract bird information:
| country | sends DBZ | sends VRAD | VRAD quality ok | data at BALTRAD | vol2bird tested | all OK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | - | - | X | - | - | |
| Belgium | X | X | X | - | X | - |
| Bulgaria | - | - | ? | - | - | |
| Croatia | X | X | - | X | - | |
| Cyprus | X | X | ? | - | - | |
| Czech rep. | X | X | - | - | - | |
| Denmark | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Estonia | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Finland | X | X | X | X | X | |
| France | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Germany | X | X | X | - | - | |
| Greece | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Hungary | X | - | ? | - | - | |
| Iceland | - | - | ? | - | - | |
| Ireland | X | X | X | - | - | |
| Italy | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Latvia | X | - | ? | - | - | |
| Malta | - | - | ? | - | - | |
| Netherlands | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Norway | X | X | X | - | - | |
| Poland | X | X | ? | - | - | |
| Portugal | X | - | ? | - | - | |
| Romania | X | X | X | - | - | |
| Serbia | X | - | ? | - | - | |
| Slovakia | X | - | - | X | - | |
| Slovenia | X | X | X | - | - | |
| Spain | X | - | X | - | - | |
| Sweden | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Switzerland | X | - | X | - | - | |
| UK | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Data was collected using a questionnaire filled out at the September 2014 OPERA meeting at KNMI, the Netherlands. Countries were asked in which year they started archiving weather radar data, both in a national archive, and at the ODYSSEY datahub.
| country | DBZ national | VRAD national | DBZ ODYSSEY | VRAD ODYSSEY | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 2011 | 2011 | ? | ? | |
| Belgium | 2002 | 2002 | 2013 | ? | |
| Bulgaria | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Croatia | 2008? | 2008? | 2012 | 2013 | |
| Cyprus | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Czech rep. | 2001 | 2013 | ? | ? | |
| Denmark | 2005 | 2005 | ? | ? | |
| Estonia | 2009 | 2009 | ? | ? | |
| Finland | 1999 | 1999 | ? | ? | |
| France | 2010 | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 | national archive in BUFR |
| Germany | 2006 | 2008 | 2012 | 2015 | national archive in BUFR |
| Greece | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Hungary | 2000 | 2000 | 2013 | ? | |
| Iceland | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Ireland | 2012 | ? | 2012 | 2014 | dates to be confirmed |
| Italy | 2007 | 2007 | ? | ? | |
| Latvia | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Malta | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Netherlands | 2008 | 2008 | 2012 | 2012 | |
| Norway | 2006 | 2006 | ? | ? | |
| Poland | 2011 | 2011 | ? | ? | |
| Portugal | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Romania | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Serbia | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Slovakia | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Slovenia | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Spain | 2008 | 2008 | 2012 | 2015 | |
| Sweden | 2005 | 2005 | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Switzerland | 2004 | 2004 | ? | ? | |
| UK | 2013 | 2013 | 2012 | 2015 | 1 year rolling archive |