The FIDUCEO project team recently met up at NPL Teddington, UK, for a science workshop and 6 monthly WP leader's meeting.
The science workshop was well attended by the project team and included specially invited NPL staff to discuss various topics.
Peter Harris from the Mathematics and Modelling group at NPL, gave a presentation on Monte Carlo analysis and the Guide to Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/gum.html.
Peter's presentation raised the question "Is applying a Monte Carlo method for uncertainty evaluation consistent with using the GUM?" Through his analysis and worked examples, Peter concluded that
• Applying a Monte Carlo method for uncertainty evaluation is consistent with using the GUM;
• GUM uncertainty framework and a Monte Carlo method are addressing the same problem and that
• Although formulating the problem in practice is often difficult, Monte Carlo provides a straightforward approach to solving it.
At the workshop we also heard from Helen McEvoy and Karen Alston, both NPL, who talked about temperature measurements.
The project team also presented their latest status in their analysis of each of the Fundamental Climate Data Record (FCDR) traceability chains; AVHRR, HIRS, MW and MVIRI.
Initial feedback from the User Requirements analysis was presented by Jon Mittaz, on behalf of Gerrit Holl. The first version of this document is expected to be published on the website later this month and will include important feedback from our key stakeholders on determining what uncertainty information is needed in FCDRs.
Emma Woolliams (NPL) also initiated the discussions on the tools that were needed within the project and these will be subject to further clarification and definition over the next 6 months.