Data alerts

Data Alerts

Operational Data Checking (auto alerts)

An automatic data checking system has been implemented at ECMWF to trigger warnings in case of anomalies affecting the quality or the availability of the data assimilated by the model. Selected statistical parameters (number of observations, bias correction, and mean bias-corrected background, analysis departures and probability of gross error) are checked against an expected range. An appropriate alert message (including a time series plot) is generated if statistics are outside the specified ranges. A severity level (slight, considerable, severe) is assigned to each message depending on how far statistics are from the expected values. Two kinds of ranges are used by the automatic checking: Soft and Hard limits. Soft limits are updated automatically using statistics from the last twenty days (extremes are excluded during this process). Hard limits are adjusted manually when required.

Currently, the automatic checking is limited to data passing through the minimisation process (including VarBC passive data). It’s being applied twice a day to the delayed cut-off 4D-VAR cycles (00 and 12) and four times a day to the early delivery assimilation system (00,06,12 and 18).

The alarm system results are based on feedback information from the ECMWF data assimilation and consequently reflect the ECMWF data usage. Although most warnings are related to data problems, they may on occasion also be related to model issues. Alerts are provided for information on an as-is basis and may be withdrawn or changed without notice. ECMWF accepts no responsibility for actions taken on the basis of these results.

You can see which upcoming satellite instruments we plan to add to the Data Alerts on the planned monitoring page.

Observations alerts dashboard

NRT global satellite monitoring generates a wealth of quasi continuous, highly detailed data quality and timeliness information from the extensive network of EUMETSAT (and other agency) operational meteorological satellites.  Any one of these diagnostics could contain vital information that a satellite instrument (or perhaps just a single channel on a particular instrument) has developed a serious anomaly. A fast detection of such anomalies allows a data provider to investigate and hopefully rectify the problem, while allowing users to exclude the bad data and protect their particular application from damage. The volume of diagnostic information produced is far in excess of what could be interrogated manually (i.e. by eye) in any reasonable time frame. This monitoring page provides high level interface of the global monitoring diagnostics from the ECMWF NWP system to complement to the automatic email alert. The alerts are shown using a traffic light system to indicate the level of alert (i.e. red=severe with urgent action required, amber=potential problem with investigation suggested, green = instrument functioning normally).

General satellite/instrument status monitors