List of flags used in ebas

flags

List of flags used in ebas

All flags are grouped in four categories: V (valid measurement), I (invalid measurement), M (missing measurement) or H (hidden and invalid measurements).
 
Flag	V/I/H	Description
Group 9: Missing flags
999	M	Missing measurement, unspecified reason
990	M	Precipitation not measured due to snow-fall. Needed for historic data, should not be needed for new data
980	M	Missing due to calibration or zero/span check
900	H	Hidden and invalidated by data originator
Group 8: Flags for undefined data elements
899	M	Measurement undefined, unspecified reason
890	M	Concentration in precipitation undefined, no precipitation
Group 7: Flags used when the value is unknown
799	I	Measurement missing (unspecified reason), data element contains estimated value
798	V	Measurement missing (unspecified reason), data element contains estimated value. Considered valid.
797	V	Data element taken from co-located instrument
784	I	Low precipitation, concentration estimated
783	M	Low precipitation, concentration unknown
782	V	Low precipitation, concentration estimated
781	V	Value below detection limit, data element contains detection limit
780	V	Value below detection or quantification limit, data element contains estimated or measured value. Use of flag 147 is encouraged.
771	V	Value above range, data element contains upper range limit
770	V	Value above range, data element contains estimated value
760	V	Value estimated by summing up the constituents measured
750	M	H+ not measured in alkaline sample
741	V	Non refractory AMS concentrations. Don't include compounds that volatalises above 600 deg C
740	V	Probably biased gas/particle ratio
701	I	Less accurate than usual, unspecified reason. (Used only with old data, for new data see groups 6 and 5)
Group 6: Mechanical or instrumental problem
699	I	Mechanical problem, unspecified reason
682	I	Invalid due to calibration or zero/span check
681	I	Low data capture
680	V	Undefined wind direction
679	V	Unspecified meteorological condition
678	V	Hurricane
677	I	Icing or hoar frost in the intake
676	V	station inside cloud (visibility < 1000 m)
675	V	no visibility data available
674	V	Icing or hoar frost in the intake, considered valid
670	I	Incomplete data acquisition for multi-component data sets
669	I	Moist or wet filter, invalid
668	V	Moist or wet filter, valid
666	I	Filter damaged, invalid
665	V	Filter damaged, valid
664	I	Instrument flow(s) too far off target value, considered invalid
663	I	Too high sampling flow, data considered invalid
662	V	Too high sampling flow, data considered valid
660	V	Unspecified sampling anomaly, considered valid
659	I	Unspecified sampling anomaly
658	I	Too small air volume
657	V	Precipitation collector overflow. Heavy snowfall/rain shower (squall)
656	V	Wet-only collector failure, operated as bulk collector
655	V	Estimated value created by averaging or splitting samples
654	V	Sampling period longer than normal, considered representative. Observed values reported
653	V	Sampling period shorter than normal, considered representative. Observed values reported
652	V	Construction/acitivity nearby
651	V	Agricultural activity nearby
650	V	Precipitation collector failure
649	V	Temporary power fail has affected sampler operation
648	V	Snow sampler
647	V	Fire/wood burning nearby
646	I	Exceptional traffic nearby
645	V	Exceptional traffic nearby
644	V	Low instrument precision and/or calibration issues
641	I	Aerosol filters installed incorrectly
640	V	Instrument internal relative humidity above 40%
635	I	Internal temperatures too far off target value, considered invalid
632	V	Lid of polyurethane foam (PUF) sampler not closed
630	V	POP concentration from the polyurethane foam (PUF) only
Group 5: Chemical problem
599	I	Unspecified contamination or local influence
593	I	Industrial contamination, considered invalid
591	I	Agricultural contamination, considered invalid
578	I	Large sea salt contribution (ratio between marine and excess sulphate is larger than 2.0). Used for old data only. For newer data use 451/450.
568	I	Dust contamination, considered invalid
567	I	Insect contamination, considered invalid
566	I	Bird droppings, considered invalid
565	I	Pollen and/or leaf contamination, considered invalid
559	V	Unspecified contamination or local influence, but considered valid
558	V	Dust contamination, but considered valid
557	V	Insect contamination, but considered valid
556	V	Bird droppings, but considered valid
555	V	Pollen and/or leaf contamination, but considered valid
549	I	Impure chemicals
541	I	Gold trap passiviated by unknown compound
540	I	Spectral interference in laboratory analysis
534	I	Wrong coated denuder used
533	I	Filters mixed up; incorrect analysis
532	V	Data less accurate than normal due to high field blank value
531	V	Low recovery, analysis inaccurate
530	I	Invalid due to too low or too high recovery
521	V	Bactericide was added to sample for storage under warm climate. Considered valid
Group 4: Extreme or inconsistent values
499	V	Inconsistent with another unspecified measurement
498	V	Gold trap inconsistency in mercury monitor
478	I	Invalid due to inconsistency discovered through ion balance calculations
477	I	Invalid due to inconsistency between measured and estimated conductivity
476	V	Inconsistency discovered through ion balance calculations, but considerd valid
475	V	Inconsistency between measured and estimated conductivity, but considerd valid
471	I	Particulate mass concentration higher than parallell mass concentration measurement with higher cut off 
i.e PM1_mass > PM25_mass and PM25_mass > PM10_mass. Considered invalid.
470	V	Particulate mass concentration higher than parallell mass concentration measurement with higher cut off 
i.e PM1_mass > PM25_mass and PM25_mass > PM10_mass
460	I	Contamination suspected
459	I	Extreme value, unspecified error
458	V	Extremely high value, outside four times standard deviation in a lognormal distribution
457	V	Extremely low value, outside four times standard deviation in a lognormal distribution
456	I	Invalidated by data originator
452	I	Invalid due to large uncertainty
451	I	Invalid due to large sea salt contribution
450	V	Considerable sea salt contribution, but considered valid
440	V	Reconstructed or recalculated data
420	V	Preliminary data
410	V	Sahara dust event
Group 3: Flags for aggregated datasets
395	I	Data completeness less than 90%
394	V	Data completeness less than 90%
393	I	Data completeness less than 75%
392	V	Data completeness less than 75%
391	I	Data completeness less than 50%
390	V	Data completeness less than 50%
382	V	More than 75% of the measurements are below detection limit
380	V	More than 50% of the measurements are below detection limit
370	V	For monthly averages with samples partly in two months, the number of days in each month is used for weighing the sample
Group 2: Exception flags assigned by the database co-ordinator
299	V	Inconsistent with another unspecified measurement
298	V	Gold trap inconsistency in mercury monitor
278	I	Invalid due to inconsistency discovered through ion balance calculations
277	I	Invalid due to inconsistency between measured and estimated conductivity
276	V	Inconsistency discovered through ion balance calculations, but considered valid
275	V	Inconsistency between measured and estimated conductivity, but considered valid
260	I	Contamination suspected
259	I	Unspecified error expected
258	V	Extremely high value, outside four times standard deviation in a log-normal distribution
257	V	Extremely low value, outside four times standard deviation in a log-normal distribution
256	I	Invalidated by database co-ordinator
251	I	Invalid due to large sea salt contribution
250	V	Considerable sea salt contribution, but considered valid
249	V	Apparent typing error corrected. Valid measurement
248	V	Illegal flag was removed by the database co-ordinator. Lost flag information (used for historic data only).
247	V	Overlapping sample interval was corrected by the database co-ordinator. Possible wrong sample time (used for historic data only)
220	V	Preliminary data
211	V	Irregular data checked and accepted by database co-ordinator. Valid measurement
210	V	Episode data checked and accepted by database co-ordinator. Valid measurement
Group 1: Exception flags for accepted, irregular data
191	V	Data not truncation corrected - Valid measurement
190	V	Not corrected for cross-sensitivity to particle scattering
189	V	Possible local contamination indicated by wind from contaminated sector (auto)
188	V	Possible local contamination indicated by low wind speed (auto)
187	V	Possible local contamination indicated by occurence of new particles (auto)
186	V	Possible local contamination indicated by single scattering albedo (auto)
185	V	Possible local contamination indicated by wind direction or velocity
147	V	Below theoretical detection limit or formal Q/A limit, but a value has been measured and reported and is considered valid
120	V	Sample reanalysed with similar results. Valid measurement
111	V	Irregular data checked and accepted by data originator. Valid measurement
110	V	Episode data checked and accepted by data originator. Valid measurement
103	V	CV of replicate ALPHA samplers > 15 %;. Valid measurement
102	V	CV of replicate diffusion tubes > 30 %. Valid measurement
101	V	Denuder capture efficiency < 75%. Valid measurement
100	V	Checked by data originator. Valid measurement
Group 0: Valid data
000	V	Valid measurement