World Meteorological Organization

Quantity Monitoring - Introduction

The Annual Global Monitoring (AGM)

The Annual Global Monitoring (AGM) is carried out in October each year.

The WWW centres are invited to monitor SYNOP, TEMP, PILOT and CLIMAT reports from the RBSCNs (Regional Basic Synoptic/Climatological Network) stations in accordance with the responsibility taken for the exchange of data on the GTS (Global Telecommunication System):

• The NMCs (National Meteorological Centres) should monitor data from their own territory;
• RTHs(Regional Telecommunication Hubs) should at least monitor data from their associated NMCs and their own Region;
• WMCs(World Meteorological Centres) and RTHs located on the MTN (Main Telecommunication Network) should monitor the complete global data set.

The results of the AGM make it possible to compare the availability of the reports received from RBSCN stations at the NMC responsible for inserting the data in the Regional Meteorological Telecommunication Network (RMTN), at the associated RTH and at MTN centres. The differences in the availability of data between centres are due to the following main reasons:

• differences of requirements in the reception of data;
• shortcomings in the relay of the data on the GTS;
• data not monitored:
• differences in the implementation of the monitoring procedures at centres.

The Integrated WWW Monitoring (IWM)

The project on integrated WWW monitoring (IWM), as agreed by the Commission at its Twelfth Session, comprised two parts: an operational trial of the proposed integrated monitoring and an extension of the special MTN monitoring (SMM). CBS-XIII noted the workshop on WWW quantitative monitoring (Toulouse, June 2003) that was held related to the implementation of the Integrated WWW Monitoring. The IWM project is based on the sharing of the responsibilities of the monitoring between the WWW centres and the Secretariat. The RTHs would play a key role by collecting monitoring reports from their associated NMCs and sending the consolidated IWM reports to the Secretariat and their associated MTN centres. The RTHs could use the Annual Global Monitoring (AGM) reports of their associated NMCs to prepare their IWM reports.

CBS-XIII emphasized that the use of a PC-based common monitoring application would greatly facilitate a consistent and effective implementation of the IWM at WWW centres. CBS-XIII was very pleased that Germany (DWD) had developed a monitoring application on PC; it expressed its appreciation and thanks that DWD was making the arrangements for the distribution through WMO of the monitoring software for use by the NMHSs. CBS-XIII supported that an operational trial of the IWM be carried out at an RTH in Region I, such as RTH Dakar, using the PC-based monitoring application.
In view of the development of the use of the BUFR code, in particular through the migration to table-driven code forms, CBS-XIII stressed the importance of monitoring data presented in the BUFR code. It noted with appreciation that RTHs on the MTN, in particular RTHs Melbourne, Offenbach, Tokyo and Toulouse, were participating in a pilot study and in preliminary tests for the monitoring of BUFR bulletins. The present and planned responsibilities taken by the centres were as follows:
 

• Offenbach agreed to prepare pre-analysis files for aircraft BUFR data provided by Melbourne, Offenbach and Toulouse. Offenbach was currently providing such pre-analysis files;
• Tokyo developed a pre-analysis application for wind profiler BUFR data and implemented it on trial basis in October 2004;
• Melbourne was considering making the pre-analysis for other types of data, thus preparing the monitoring of the migration to TDCF.

CBS-XIII asked the OPAG on ISS to further promote the development and implementation of the IWM, and invited RTHs on the MTN to actively join this effort. It also invited centres to carry out ad hoc monitoring exercises on the exchange of products, in particular at the regional level.

The Special MTN Monitoring (SMM)

With a view to complementing the AGM; CBS-XI (Cairo, 1996) decided to implement the SMM. Taking into account the limited resources available at WWW centres to carry out the monitoring activities, CBS agreed to share the workload of the SMM between the MTN centres.

One of the main features of the SMM is that the sets of messages (also called raw data) provided by the various MTN monitoring centres are processed by a pre-analysis centre (unique for each type of data). This feature aims at eliminating the discrepancies in the availability of data reported by monitoring centres due to differences in the implementation of monitoring procedures like it is the case for the present annual global monitoring, primarily due to different methods of counting the reports. The objective of the pre-analysis is to prepare files having a data-base structure and containing the information extracted from all the sets of messages provided by the monitoring centres. The pre-analysis files represent a unique reference for each type of data for further analysis. One advantage of the SMM is that, when a question is raised on specific bulletins, it is always possible to access the raw data and read the complete text of the bulletins as received by the monitoring centres. The SMM provides a complete monitoring information at the report and bulletin levels for any further analysis.

The SMM is carried out four times a year: 1-15 January, April, July and October. The responsibilities taken by the MTN centres are given in the hereunder Table A and Table B.

The Special Antarctic Monitoring (SAM)

The specific monitoring on the exchange of Antarctic data (SAM) is carried out in January each year. All Antarctic collection stations, NMCs and centres with similar functions located on the principal routes by which Antarctic meteorological data enter the GTS (see Manual on the GTS, Volume II, the Antarctic, figure 2), RTHs and the WMCs operated by Members concerned are requested to participate in the specific monitoring.

The results of the SAM make it possible to compare the availability of the reports received from ABSN/ABCN stations at the collecting centre, at RTHs and at MTN centres. The differences in the availability of data between centres are due to the following main reasons: differences of requirements in the reception of data, shortcomings in the relay of the data on the GTS, data not monitored, differences in the implementation of the monitoring procedures at centres.