Argo Real-Time Quality Control Intercomparison

The real-time quality control (QC) methods applied to Argo profiling float data by the UK Met Office, the US Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Centre, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the Coriolis Centre are compared and contrasted. Data are taken from the period 2007 to 2011 inclusive and real-time QC performance assessed with respect to Argo delayed-mode QC. An intercomparision of real-time QC techniques is performed using a common data set of profiles from 2010 and 2011. The real-time QC systems are found to have similar power in identifying faulty Argo profiles but to vary widely in the number of good profiles incorrectly rejected. The efficacy of individual QC tests are inferred from the results of the intercomparison. Techniques to increase QC performance are discussed.