Quality Control procedure on datafile is a useful and needed tool which serves two main groups of users: Data Originator and External users. As concerns EARLINET, the network started its activities in 2000 based on cutting edge lidar instruments for aerosol detection over Europe which agreed on some format of the data and the database was set up in a collaborative way. Going now in the Research Infrastructure path, the set-up of automatic QC procedure is a stringent request to be met. The needs of the network were different in different periods, and based on that some QC procedures were set up.

Since the release of the new version of the database (24 June 2019), all the Level 1 and Level 2 QCs are automatically working on fly during the file submission phase in order to reduce the time for the availability of the data.

Data compliant to all the Quality controls are labelled as Level 2.

Level 1 data are instead data which fails at least one of the Advanced Quality Control. Each file reports which specific quality control procedure(s) has (have) been failed. Users can make use of such data taking into account the issues highlighted by such failed quality control procedure(s).

Data which are not compliant with data format and content technical specification are automatically rejected during the submission phase.

Old data already present on the database and not compliant with technical specification will exist but only in the version related to the previous quality control procedures.

Current quality control procedure is the QCv3.0 and its full documentation is available in the document EARLINET_QC_v3_0_20240325.pdf.

History of the quality control procedures working on the EARLINET database is available in the document EARLINET_Data_Quality_Check_ActionReport_20240325.pdf.

Documentation of previous quality control procedures is available here.

The guidelines for the mobile stations can be accessed here.