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Applications of BUFR (Why, when and how to use BUFR)

Applications of BUFR (Why, when and how to use BUFR). Jeff Ator NOAA National Weather Service United States of America jeff.ator@noaa.gov. WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION RA II/VI Training Seminar on Table-Driven Codes Muscat, Oman, 10-14 December 2005. Why use BUFR?.

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Applications of BUFR (Why, when and how to use BUFR)

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  1. Applications of BUFR(Why, when and how to use BUFR) Jeff Ator NOAA National Weather Service United States of America jeff.ator@noaa.gov WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION RA II/VI Training Seminar on Table-Driven Codes Muscat, Oman, 10-14 December 2005

  2. Why use BUFR? • Allow the representation of new data elements without changing underlying encoder/decoder software • Exchange large volumes of data efficiently with other centres • Easily include quality control and monitoring information right alongside the data itself • Efficiently store data for processing • Efficiently store data in a local database

  3. Applications – new data • BUFR can be used to quickly encode and exchange new types of data as they become available • New data elements can be included immediately within BUFR messages (eg. adding soil moisture to surface observations) since BUFR is self-describing • If an official element descriptor already exists, then the new BUFR messages remain fully official for international exchange. • Otherwise, a new official element descriptor can be developed and approved through WMO. This process takes some time, but, in the meantime, a local descriptor can be defined and used. • No changes to encoder/decoder software are required since BUFR is table-driven

  4. Applications – data exchange • BUFR is a very efficient mechanism for the exchange of large volumes of data • BUFR is: • Efficient - uses comparatively little communications bandwidth or disk space, especially if messages contain multiple data subsets and the built-in data compression option is used • Standardized - readable by any other centre with a standard BUFR decoder and the proper tables • Flexible - nearly any meteorological data can be encoded in BUFR, and BUFR can even be used to exchange data from other disciplines

  5. Applications – QC and monitoring • BUFR has several mechanisms for including quality control and/or data monitoring information. • Such information can be included by the originator of the data, or it can even be added by a separate processing centre at a later time! • Some of the mechanisms are fairly complex. • Refer to the BUFR guide and/or the WMO No. 306 Codes Manual itself for additional information.

  6. Applications – data storage • The efficiency of BUFR means that substantial disk space savings are possible over other data storage alternatives • It is somewhat dependent on the actual data in question, but large volume reductions compared with alphanumeric or other binary formats are possible

  7. Applications – database • One of the shortcomings of BUFR is the difficulty of searching for specific data subsets or elements without first decoding the entire message. • One method of minimizing this problem is to store BUFR messages in a database (eg. as a “BLOB”, thus preserving the data storage advantages) together with separate indexing information, enabling relevant data subsets or elements to be quickly located. • The optional section 2 of a BUFR message could even be used as a backup location to store this indexing information, enabling the re-creation of such information from the BUFR message itself if the original database index were to later become corrupted! • The data category and/or sub-category in section 1 of a BUFR message can also be used as a quick filter when searching the database for all messages containing a particular type of data (eg. radiosonde, buoy, METAR, etc.)

  8. Acknowledgements • Based on: • Guide to WMO Table-Driven Code Forms • FM94 BUFR and FM95 CREX • (http://www.wmo.int/web/www/WMOCodes/Guides/BUFRCREXPreface_en.html) • Special thanks to: • Charles Sanders BOM-Australia • Simon Elliott EUMETSAT • Joël Martellet WMO

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