Analysis of Spanish Radiometric Networks with the Novel Bias-Based Quality Control (BQC) Method

Different types of measuring errors can increase the uncertainty of solar radiation measurements, but most common quality control (QC) methods do not detect frequent defects such as shading or calibration errors due to their low magnitude. We recently presented a new procedure, the Bias-based Qualit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2019-05, Vol.19 (11), p.2483
Main Authors: Urraca, Ruben, Antonanzas, Javier, Sanz-Garcia, Andres, Martinez-de-Pison, Francisco Javier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bias
Calibration
Control methods
Datasets
Defects
Energy
Irradiance
Irrigation
Mechanical engineering
Methods
pyranometer
Quality control
reanalysis
satellite-based data
Sensors
Shading
Solar radiation
Spain
Stability analysis
weather stations
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Summary:Different types of measuring errors can increase the uncertainty of solar radiation measurements, but most common quality control (QC) methods do not detect frequent defects such as shading or calibration errors due to their low magnitude. We recently presented a new procedure, the Bias-based Quality Control (BQC), that detects low-magnitude defects by analyzing the stability of the deviations between several independent radiation databases and measurements. In this study, we extend the validation of the BQC by analyzing the quality of all publicly available Spanish radiometric networks measuring global horizontal irradiance (9 networks, 732 stations). Similarly to our previous validation, the BQC found many defects such as shading, soiling, or calibration issues not detected by classical QC methods. The results questioned the quality of SIAR, Euskalmet, MeteoGalica, and SOS Rioja, as all of them presented defects in more than 40% of their stations. Those studies based on these networks should be interpreted cautiously. In contrast, the number of defects was below a 5% in BSRN, AEMET, MeteoNavarra, Meteocat, and SIAR Rioja, though the presence of defects in networks such as AEMET highlights the importance of QC even when using reliable stations.
ISSN:1424-8220
1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s19112483