Norwich Aircraft Data 2005
Workshop on Databases for Aircraft Data
Held at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Norwich, UK
23-25 February 2005
Meeting report prepared by Stuart Penkett
1. Background to Workshop
Long-term systematic data bases exist for ground-based data and increasingly for satellite data. Both are available as web-based products. This is not the case for aircraft data even though it is much the most useful and diverse source of vertical profiles of many molecules in the troposphere.
One of the main aims of the EUROTRAC-2 subproject EXPORT-E2 was to systematically assemble data collected previously by research aircraft and commercial aircraft into a database with a common format which could be used for studies of the long-range (intercontinental) transport of pollution. This clearly is an aim which overlaps with the aims of the T&TP component of the ACCENT network. Accordingly at the first major meeting of ACCENT T&TP at Barnsdale, Leicestershire in October 2004 it was proposed to invite persons active in the study of long-range transport (LRT) with previous experience of aircraft data to a workshop in Norwich in February 2005.
The invitees included experts on various aircraft experiments in the USA and Europe and from representatives of the main commercial aircraft programmes MOZAIC and CARIBIC. A list of attendees is shown in Appendix 1.
2. Aims of Workshop
The main aim of the workshop is to define a course of action within ACCENT which will result in the assembly of a database of aircraft data suitable for defining the extent and nature of long-range transport of pollution in the atmosphere.
3. Scientific Program
The scientific program included presentations by the invitees who included members of the ACCENT Network and invited experts, mostly from North America. The meeting agenda is in Appendix 3.
4. Reports on Related Activities
The programme also included an introductory session to the workshop on the International Polar Year (IPY) planned to take place at NILU (Oslo) on 23-24 May 2005.
Andreas Stohl International Polar Year, ITCT-Arctic
Bill Sturges OASIS
5. Conclusions
The most important conclusions were the agreement by the creators of the two major sets of aircraft data (Louisa Emmons from NCAR and Dominik Brunner from ETH Zurich) that their data could be assembled into a common database which would form the nucleus of an ACCENT database on LRT. Interest in holding the ACCENT LRT database was expressed both by NILU and by BADC.
6. Actions following the workshop
The workshop agreed the following actions:
(i) Formal agreement in writing will be sought from the holders of the present assembled data sets of aircraft data for them to form the nucleus of the ACCENT LRT database. Louisa Emmons and Dominik Brunner should be asked to advise on:
- the developments of search, manipulation and plotting tools for such a data base;
- for estimates of the costs of development in terms of time and money;
- whether they would be prepared to convert the existing data into a common format.
(ii) An approach should be made to NILU and the BADC (British atmospheric Data Centre) to see whether they would be interested in hosting and keeping such a database up to date and what the likely costs would be.
(iii) Paul Monks should contact Øystein Hov to see whether funds are available within ACCENT for such an activity.
(iv) A group should be set up to press for an Atmospheric Community Aircraft Database (ACAD). Likely members of the group are Dominik Brunner, Louisa Emmons, Paul Monks, reps. from NILU and the BADC (British atmospheric Data Centre), Peter Borrell, Stuart Penkett.
(v) A meeting, or teleconference, of the group should be held in the near future with a view to presenting a definite plan at the ACCENT Symposium at Urbino.
7. Conclusions and Recommendations for the Establishment of a Data Base
The workshop was agreed that a central data base for data from past and future aircraft campaigns should be set up within Europe.
oOo
Appendix 1. Participants and Affiliations
|
Penkett, Stuart |
UEA, Norwich (convener) |
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Penkett, Marigold |
UEA, Norwich (administration) |
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Arnold, Steve |
Uni-Leeds |
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Borrell, Peter |
P&PMB Consultants, Newcastle-under-Lyme |
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Brunner, Dominik |
ETH, Zürich |
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Crawford, Jim |
NASA, Langley, USA |
|
Emmons, Louisa |
NCAR, Boulder, USA |
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Evans, Mat |
Uni-Leeds |
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Law, Kathy |
CNRS, Paris |
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Monks, Paul |
UNi-Leicester |
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Reeves, Claire |
UEA, Norwich |
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Stohl, Andreas |
NILU, Norway |
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Sturges, Bill |
UEA, Norwich |
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Tsyro, Svetlana |
NILU, Norway |
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Williams, Jonathan |
MPI Mainz |
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Project coordinator: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. coordinator@accent-network.org Project Office: Università di Urbino. project.office@accent-network.org Web-coordinator: Norwegian Institute for Air Research. mail@accent-network.org ACCENT Disclaimer |