Very important!
Application under test.
What is Meteo-Palacio?
This application allows users to consult meteorological data from the Manual Station of Palacio de Doñana.
The manual station, operational since 1978, was part of the AEMET network until 2013 and has since been managed by ICTS-RBD.
Observations are taken daily between 8:00 and 9:00 AM, recording maximum and minimum temperature, the psychrometer, and precipitation.
Since 2024, a CyberTracker application has been implemented for daily digital recording.
Location and Instrumentation
The station is located in a flat area representative of the surrounding environment.
Instruments are housed in a meteorological shelter to prevent external interference.
The station includes:
- Digital thermometer (for maximum, minimum, and current temperatures).
- Six-Bellani thermometer.
- Digital thermo-hygrometer.
- Psychrometer (dry and wet bulb thermometers).
- Hellmann rain gauge (located 3.50 m from the shelter).
Personnel
Observers are responsible for instrument maintenance and accurate data recording. Records are kept in meteorological tables and, since 2024, also in CyberTracker.
Measurement Procedures
Temperature:
Measured using digital thermometers and the Six-Bellani. Reset after readings to prepare for the next observation.
Relative Humidity:
Measured with a psychrometer, using dry and wet bulb thermometers. Regular maintenance of muslin and wick is required to prevent errors.
Precipitation:
Measured using the Hellmann rain gauge and a graduated cylinder in mm of precipitation. Readings are taken at the bottom of the meniscus to avoid errors.
Recorded Variables
- TS: Dry Bulb Thermometer Temperature in °C.
- TH: Wet Bulb Thermometer Temperature in °C.
- Tmax: Maximum Temperature in °C.
- Tmin: Minimum Temperature in °C.
- Tmed: Average Temperature in °C, calculated as (Tmax + Tmin)/2.
- DH: Frost Days: Number of days where Tmin is below 0°C.
- DL: Rain Presence or Absence.
- Prec: Daily Precipitation in mm.
Loading Process
Initial Data Load: Spreadsheets generated by EBD personnel were used, one per hydrometeorological year.
Daily Update Process: Data is collected daily on the log sheet and in the CyberTracker application.
Data Flow
Data Flow Representation:
Observers collect data using a mobile application (CyberTracker). The data is uploaded to the web server database ('meteo_palacio') through a loading process (9:25-9:40 AM).
After this process, the data becomes accessible via the web.
Currently, the loading process is configured so that the available data corresponds to the previous day (D-1).
Monthly Aggregates
To obtain a monthly reference value for certain variables, monthly aggregates are calculated and stored in a specific database table ('measure_aggmonth'), from which they are displayed in the web visualization layer.
Currently, the following monthly aggregate values are being calculated (based on daily values):
| calc_procedure | Unit | Average | Maximum | Minimum | Mode | Totalize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'TS' Dry bulb thermometer temperature in ºC | ºC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 'TH' Humid bulb thermometer temperature in ºC | ºC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 'Tmax' Maximum temperature in ºC | ºC | Yes | Yes | |||
| 'Tmin' Minimum temperature in ºC | ºC | Yes | Yes | |||
| 'Tmed' Average temperature in ºC (Tmax+Tmin)/2 | ºC | Yes | ||||
| 'DH' Frost days T<0 | Yes | |||||
| 'DL' Presence 1 or Non-presence 0 of rain | Yes | |||||
| 'Prec' Daily precipitation in mm | mm | Yes | ||||
| 'PAcum' Daily accumulated precipitation in mm | mm | |||||
| 'Osc' Daily thermal oscillation (Tmax-Tmin) | ºC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Definition of Aggregate Values
- Average: The sum of all values in a dataset divided by the number of elements in that dataset.
- Maximum: The highest observed value in the dataset over a period (in this case, a month).
- Minimum: The lowest observed value in the dataset.
- Mode: The most frequently occurring value in a dataset, representing the most common value during the month.
- Totalize (Cumulative): The total sum of all values in a dataset. In a monthly context, it represents the accumulated amount recorded during the month.
Data Exclusion (Quality Control)
During the quality analysis process, anomalous data were identified and excluded from the visualization and download layers, meaning they are not accessible through the web application.
- Thermal oscillation affected by Error 1 (logic errors).
- Incorrect thermal oscillation due to Error 2 (calculation errors).
- Incorrect maximum temperature due to Error 1 (logic errors).
- Average temperature affected by Error 1 (logic errors).
- Incorrect average temperature due to Error 2 (calculation errors).
- Incorrect minimum temperature due to Error 1 (logic errors).
- Outliers in dry bulb temperature.
- Outliers in wet bulb temperature.