Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students

<p>The Global Land and Marine Observations Database aims to produce a comprehensive land-based meteorological data archive and inventory. This requires the compilation of available information on data from land-based meteorological stations from all known available in situ meteorological data...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: S. Noone, A. Brody, S. Brown, N. Cantwell, M. Coleman, L. Sarsfield Collins, C. Darcy, D. Dee, S. Donegan, R. Fealy, P. Flattery, R. McGovern, C. Menkman, M. Murphy, C. Phillips, M. Roche, P. Thorne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2019-11-01
Series:Geoscience Communication
Online Access:https://www.geosci-commun.net/2/157/2019/gc-2-157-2019.pdf
_version_ 1828364363439800320
author S. Noone
A. Brody
S. Brown
N. Cantwell
M. Coleman
L. Sarsfield Collins
C. Darcy
D. Dee
S. Donegan
R. Fealy
P. Flattery
R. McGovern
C. Menkman
M. Murphy
C. Phillips
M. Roche
P. Thorne
author_facet S. Noone
A. Brody
S. Brown
N. Cantwell
M. Coleman
L. Sarsfield Collins
C. Darcy
D. Dee
S. Donegan
R. Fealy
P. Flattery
R. McGovern
C. Menkman
M. Murphy
C. Phillips
M. Roche
P. Thorne
author_sort S. Noone
collection DOAJ
description <p>The Global Land and Marine Observations Database aims to produce a comprehensive land-based meteorological data archive and inventory. This requires the compilation of available information on data from land-based meteorological stations from all known available in situ meteorological data repositories/sources at multiple timescales (e.g. sub-daily, daily, and monthly). During this process the service team members have identified that many of the data sources contain stations with incorrect location coordinates. These stations cannot be included in the processing to be served via the Copernicus Climate Change Service until the issues are satisfactorily resolved. Many of these stations are in regions of the world where a sparsity of climate data currently exists, such as Southeast Asia and South America. As such, resolving these issues would provide important additional climate data, but this is a very labour-intensive task. Therefore, we have developed the Geo-locate project – that enrols the help of undergraduate geography students at Maynooth University, Ireland – to resolve some of the land-based station geolocation issues. To date, we have run two Geo-locate projects: the first in the 2017/2018 academic year and the second in the 2018/2019 academic year. Both iterations have been very successful with 1926 of the 2168 total candidate stations ostensibly resolved, which equates to an 88&thinsp;% success rate. At the same time, students have gained critical skills that helped to meet the expected pedagogical outcomes of the second-year curriculum, while producing a lasting scientific legacy. We asked the class of 2018/2019 to reflect critically upon the outcomes, and we present the results herein; these results provide important feedback on what students felt that they gained from their participation and how we may improve the experience and learning outcomes in future. We will be continuing to run Geo-locate projects over the next few years. We encourage other organizations to investigate the potential for engaging university students to help resolve similar data issues while enriching the student experience and aiding in the delivery of learning outcomes. This paper provides details of the project, and all supporting information such as project guidelines and templates to enable other organizations to instigate similar programmes.</p>
first_indexed 2024-04-14T05:14:46Z
format Article
id doaj.art-ae13d0c862dd43b69be03c9476a9cc78
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2569-7102
2569-7110
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-14T05:14:46Z
publishDate 2019-11-01
publisher Copernicus Publications
record_format Article
series Geoscience Communication
spelling doaj.art-ae13d0c862dd43b69be03c9476a9cc782022-12-22T02:10:24ZengCopernicus PublicationsGeoscience Communication2569-71022569-71102019-11-01215717110.5194/gc-2-157-2019Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate studentsS. Noone0A. Brody1S. Brown2N. Cantwell3M. Coleman4L. Sarsfield Collins5C. Darcy6D. Dee7S. Donegan8R. Fealy9P. Flattery10R. McGovern11C. Menkman12M. Murphy13C. Phillips14M. Roche15P. Thorne16Irish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandDepartment of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandDepartment of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandDepartment of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandDepartment of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF), Shinfield Rd, Reading RG2 9AX, UKIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandTrinity Centre for Environmental Humanities, Department of History, Trinity College, Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandDepartment of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandDepartment of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, IrelandIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland<p>The Global Land and Marine Observations Database aims to produce a comprehensive land-based meteorological data archive and inventory. This requires the compilation of available information on data from land-based meteorological stations from all known available in situ meteorological data repositories/sources at multiple timescales (e.g. sub-daily, daily, and monthly). During this process the service team members have identified that many of the data sources contain stations with incorrect location coordinates. These stations cannot be included in the processing to be served via the Copernicus Climate Change Service until the issues are satisfactorily resolved. Many of these stations are in regions of the world where a sparsity of climate data currently exists, such as Southeast Asia and South America. As such, resolving these issues would provide important additional climate data, but this is a very labour-intensive task. Therefore, we have developed the Geo-locate project – that enrols the help of undergraduate geography students at Maynooth University, Ireland – to resolve some of the land-based station geolocation issues. To date, we have run two Geo-locate projects: the first in the 2017/2018 academic year and the second in the 2018/2019 academic year. Both iterations have been very successful with 1926 of the 2168 total candidate stations ostensibly resolved, which equates to an 88&thinsp;% success rate. At the same time, students have gained critical skills that helped to meet the expected pedagogical outcomes of the second-year curriculum, while producing a lasting scientific legacy. We asked the class of 2018/2019 to reflect critically upon the outcomes, and we present the results herein; these results provide important feedback on what students felt that they gained from their participation and how we may improve the experience and learning outcomes in future. We will be continuing to run Geo-locate projects over the next few years. We encourage other organizations to investigate the potential for engaging university students to help resolve similar data issues while enriching the student experience and aiding in the delivery of learning outcomes. This paper provides details of the project, and all supporting information such as project guidelines and templates to enable other organizations to instigate similar programmes.</p>https://www.geosci-commun.net/2/157/2019/gc-2-157-2019.pdf
spellingShingle S. Noone
A. Brody
S. Brown
N. Cantwell
M. Coleman
L. Sarsfield Collins
C. Darcy
D. Dee
S. Donegan
R. Fealy
P. Flattery
R. McGovern
C. Menkman
M. Murphy
C. Phillips
M. Roche
P. Thorne
Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students
Geoscience Communication
title Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students
title_full Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students
title_fullStr Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students
title_full_unstemmed Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students
title_short Geo-locate project: a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students
title_sort geo locate project a novel approach to resolving meteorological station location issues with the assistance of undergraduate students
url https://www.geosci-commun.net/2/157/2019/gc-2-157-2019.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT snoone geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT abrody geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT sbrown geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT ncantwell geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT mcoleman geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT lsarsfieldcollins geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT cdarcy geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT ddee geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT sdonegan geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT rfealy geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT pflattery geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT rmcgovern geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT cmenkman geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT mmurphy geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT cphillips geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT mroche geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents
AT pthorne geolocateprojectanovelapproachtoresolvingmeteorologicalstationlocationissueswiththeassistanceofundergraduatestudents