Data flow of spectral UV measurements at Sodankylä and Jokioinen

Abstract

The data flow involved in a long-term continuous solar spectral UV irradiance monitoring program is investigated and structured to provide an overall view on the multiphase process from data acquisition to the final products. The program employing Brewer spectrophotometers as measuring instruments is maintained by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) ever since the 1990s at two sites in Finland: Sodankylä (67° N) and Jokioinen (61° N). It is built upon rigorous operation routines, processing procedures, and tools for quality control (QC) and quality analysis (QA) under continuous development and evaluation. Three distinct levels of data emerge, each after certain phase in the data flow: Level 0 denoting raw data, Level 1 meaning calibrated data processed in near-real time, and Level 2 comprising of postprocessed data corrected for all distinguishable errors and known inaccuracies. The final products disseminated to the users are demonstrated to result from a process with a multitude of separate steps, each required in the production of high-quality data on solar UV radiation at the Earth's surface.