This post is to announce two changes that are coming to the Argo GDACs on 30 June 2025. Please help us spread this news to other Argo data users.
- Removal of “ar_greylist.txt”
Argo will be removing the aggregated list “ar_greylist.txt” from the GDACs on 30 June 2025. The aggregated grey list was created in the old TESAC era, when QC flags could not be sent on the GTS, and thus was created as a means for operational users to exclude bad data. Nowadays, with the BUFR format, Argo is sending all its data (including the bad data) on the GTS, together with their QC flags. Users should therefore ingest the QC flags when using Argo data, and not rely on the grey list only. The “grey list test”, now renamed the “supplemental sensor exclusion list test”, is only one of 30+ real-time QC tests in Argo. Moreover, it is only a “supplemental” list of bad data, and does not represent the full suite of bad data detected by other QC efforts. Users who rely on the exclusion list alone and not ingest all the QC flags will not reap the full benefit of all the QC efforts that Argo offers, and will risk including bad data in their usage.
If the removal date of 30 June 2025 presents a significant obstacle for you, please send your comments to Annie Wong (apsw.uw@gmail.com) before 30 April 2025.
- DAC “kordi” rename to “kiost”
Under the GDAC dac directory, “kordi” will be renamed as “kiost”. The code “KO” in Reference Table 4, which is used in all the Argo data files, will remain unchanged.