USACE Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory Quality Controlled, Consistent Measurement Archive

Abstract

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) utilizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoy measurements for validation of their wave models and within coastal applications. However, NDBC data are accessible via multiple archives; each with their own source-specific storage, metadata, and quality control protocols, which result in inconsistencies in the accessible data. Therefore, USACE has developed an independent, quality controlled, consistent (QCC) Measurement Archive that captures the best available NDBC observations with verified metadata. This work details the methodology behind this USACE QCC Measurement Archive; showcasing improvements in data quality via geographical location and wave parameter examples. Note that this methodology only removes known erroneous data, it does not verify data quality from an alternate source. This self-describing, USACE QCC Measurement Archive therefore provides a database of consistently stored, geographically QA/QC’d NDBC data and metadata.