A New Tool for Automated Quality Control of Environmental Time Series (AutoQC4Env) in Open Web Services

Abstract

We report on the development of a new software tool (AutoQC4Env) for automated quality control (QC) of environmental time series data. Novel features of this tool include a flexible Python software architecture, which makes it easy for users to configure the sequence of tests as well as their statistical parameters, and a statistical concept to assign each value a probability of being a valid data point. There are many occasions when it is necessary to inspect the quality of environmental data sets, from first quality checks during real-time sampling and data transmission to assessing the quality and consistency of long-term monitoring data from measurement stations. Erroneous data can have a substantial impact on the statistical data analysis and, for example, lead to wrong estimates of trends. Existing QC workflows largely rely on individual investigator knowledge and have been constructed from practical considerations and with a least theoretical foundation. The statistical framework that is being developed in AutoQC4Env aims to complement traditional data quality assessments and provide environmental researchers with a tool that is easy to use but also based on current statistical knowledge.