The World Data Centre for Reactive Gases (WDCRG) is the data repository and archive for reactive gases of the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme. The WDCRG was established January 1. 2016 and took over the responsibility of this part of the GAW programme after Japan Meteorological Agency (which continue to host the World Data Centre on Greenhouse Gases – WDCGG.The first ordinary data reporting deadline was by end 2016 (data for 2015). Data for 2023 are due by 31. Dec 2024.
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The reactive gases to be hosted at WDCRG are: SO2, Oxidized nitrogen species, Ozone (tropospheric) and VOCs (list to be extended as additional variables are added to the monitoring efforts).
Important information about ozone data: From 2025, a new absorption cross section will apply, replacing the one published by Hearn in 1961 (https://www.bipm.org/en/ozone). With the new value, all ozone data measured by UV-absorption will become 1.29% higher. It is thus essential that ozone data reported to EBAS are accompanied with the absorption cross section used to calculate the ozone values. Ideally, we welcome all historic data to be recalibrated according to the new scale (note that NILU will not recalculate any ozone data with unknown information about the absorption cross section). Data providers that wish to recalibrate their historic data can do so by resubmitting all data based on the new ACS value. Data users are recommended to carefully study the meta data element “Absorption Cross section” when using data (old data with no information about ACS are likely based on Hearn, 1961).
To browse for data submitted to WDCRG, please visit http://ebas.nilu.no, then select “GAW-WDCRG” in the “Framework” filter on the top left. Please note that data submitted to WDCRG appear in the database with some delay, since the processing of files, quality checks etc takes weeks to months. Note also that some historic time series previously submitted to WDCGG are made available under the Framework “GAW-WDCRG_Legacy”. These are data for which full documentation is not available, and they should thus be used with care.
GAW-WDCRG utilize the EBAS data infrastructure at NILU, and the procedures and formats etc follow the same approach as for GAW-WDCA, EMEP and ACTRIS
Below is some initial information, and for comments and questions, please contact Kjetil Tørseth (… kt … @ … nilu.no …)
– Instructions and templates for data submissions are found at: http://ebas-submit.nilu.no.
– As NILU hosts databases for several projects and programmes, the meta-data are used to document the association of data to these, and further to regulate the access to data, tracking data use etc. For this reason, data originators MUST as part of their metadata specifically indicate to which programme the data are reported. One can list several affiliations at once, and as such report the same dataset to multiple databases (e.g. “GAW-WDCRG EMEP ACTRIS” to assign data to these three programmes). Reactive gases data intended for GAW must have the Project association (Line 5 of the data header) “GAW-WDCRG”.
– Data reported in near-real-time need to have the Project association “GAW-WDCRG_NRT”. Further instructions will be provided to data originators who wish to implement NRT dataflow (contact pe…@…nilu.no).
