MADIS Services for AWIPS Users

All MADIS data files are directly compatible with D2D displays, without the use of the MADIS Applications Program Interface (API). The files are available via ftp or ldm. Please fill out our data application to request access.

Available MADIS services for AWIPS are described in the general categories below.

LDAD Mesonet Ingest

MADIS supplies LDAD-compatible CSV files for many different mesonets. Note that you don't have to select any of the dataset buttons in the data application form, just put "LDAD mesonet CSV" data into the remarks section.

Once you subscribe, we will set you up with an account on our ftp server (even if you're an ldm user). Once you log onto the server, you'll find README instructions for each mesonet, the necessary LDAD metadata files (*Station.txt, *.desc), and any necessary scripts and LDAD preprocessors. The station tables are updated weekly.

Also, where applicable (such as for GPSMET integrated precipitable water vapor), the README file will explain how to customize AWIPS to display additional variables that aren't part of the baseline AWIPS system.

Detailed Information

^*If any mesonets that you're interested in aren't yet on our ftp server, please let us know.

AWIPS Quality Control and Monitoring System

The Quality Control and Monitoring System (QCMS) running on AWIPS is used to supply end-users of mesonet observations with readily-available quality control information and statistics. Two types of QC checks are considered: static checks, which are single-station and single-time checks such as climatological checks and validity checks; and dynamic checks which take advantage of other hydrometeorological information, such as temporal and spatial consistency checks.

For information on the QCMS graphics and text displays click here.

For information on the subjective intervention capability (reject list, accept list) click here.

For the current recommended reject list (covering all mesonet data available from MADIS) click here.

For the current recommended accept list click here.

AWIPS netCDF Files

Supplementary

MADIS supplies some observational datasets that are in addition to what's normally available via the SBN. These files are formatted for display in D2D, and customization packages (including README instructions and the necessary customFiles files to be used in the localization tasks) are provided.

Supplementary datasets currently include:

Observations

Grids

Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) Surface Assimilation System (RSAS) Surface Analyses

The Automated Aircraft dataset is a superset of the MDCRS data received on AWIPS via SBN. In addition to the MDCRS data, MADIS also has some data that come directly from the airlines, as well as AMDAR data from international carriers, and TAMDAR data that are also not currently available on AWIPS. More than 60 TAMDAR sensors have recently been deployed on turboprop aircraft operated by Mesaba Airlines (d. b. a. Northwest Airlink). This fleet of aircraft provides high vertical resolution sounding data at regional airports in the Eastern half of the United States. A map of the Mesaba routes can be found here (the TAMDAR routes are shown in green), and generally provides high temporal resolution data at lower altitudes than is the case with currently available automated weather data from commercial jetliners. The sensors, developed jointly by NASA and AirDat LLC of Raleigh, NC, measure temperature, relative humidity, winds aloft, turbulence, and icing, and report these to the ground in real-time. The sensors will remain on the aircraft for at least 6 months starting in winter 2004, as part of the Great Lakes Fleet Experiment.

The RSAS surface analyses are similar to the MSAS analyses available on AWIPS, since the same software is used in both assimilation systems. The RSAS run, however, is produced on a 15-km grid stretching from Alaska in the north to Central America in the south, and also covers significant oceanic areas. Each hour's analyses are updated every 15 minutes with newly arriving observations, which include all of the highly-dense MADIS integrated mesonet data.

General

The following observational datasets are available in AWIPS netCDF:

These datasets are included in the baseline AWIPS system, so ordinarily you shouldn't need to get these from MADIS. Here are some reasons why you might want to get them:

On-line archive back to July 1, 2001 (for most datasets).
Off-line local modeling and data assimilation activities.^*
The use of MADIS mesonet netCDF files instead of locally-generated LDAD mesonet files, especially for AWIPS and AWIPS-like systems that don't have the LDAD capability (e.g., COMET, FX-Net sites).
The Satellite Soundings data ("POES soundings" on AWIPS) originate from a different source than that used for the SBN feed to AWIPS, and the MADIS version generally contains more data.

^*AWIPS users interested in local data assimilation might want to check out the MADIS WRF 3DVAR software package, or the ESRL/GSD LAPS software analysis package.

Local Data Ingest

Through the APRSWXNET/CWOP mesonet, MADIS can also easily ingest, quality control, and distribute data in your local area collected from weather instruments built by Davis Instruments, Peet Brothers, AAG, Campbell Scientific, Columbia Weather, Rainwise, Oregon Scientific, and others. If you have data that you would like us to ingest and format for your AWIPS, contact Russ Chadwick at Russell.B.Chadwick@noaa.gov. For more information on weather instruments supported through the APRSWXNET/CWOP mesonet, see the CWOP Information Page . For an overview of the APRSWXNET/CWOP mesonet, see the background information page.

Last updated 7 April 2006.