Validation testing

[Huw Lewis]

Add new validation tests VT-1DVAR-01 and VT-PP-01 which provide necessary validation of ROPP with equivalent products from other data providers (e.g. UCAR) and/or NWP data (e.g. ECMWF). See ROPP-4 DRI close-out meeting minutes for further guidance.

The validation tests need to be run using data over the order of a week to a month, so it may be that the tests are run outside the Test Folder 'system' and may not be carried out using the full range of compilers available. The results of these tests should however be included in the test folder summary html and version Test Report.

[Huw Lewis]

Validation testing now implemented in stand-alone mode (see GSR 11 and GSR 13). Perhaps not practical to perform these runs as part of generic IDL test folder system (assumes a lot of available disk space to work with archive data).

Move to milestone v5.0.

[Ian Culverwell]

Agree this should be done before any full release, but impractical to contain within test folder.

[cburrows]

The 1dvar module could be tested against locally produced NRT monitoring data from the Met Office operational system (which include 1dvar solutions).

[cburrows]

Code is in place to convert NRT monitoring files to ROPP format which can then be run through the 1dvar module. Additional code is in development to compare 1dvar output with the output from the 1dvar in OPS. Additional plots to analyse the cost function minimisation can also be created.

Some plots will be ready for the ROPP 6 DRI, but a complete report (if that is the preferred format for the testing) for refractivity and bending angle will be ready for 7.0, hence the change of milestone..

[cburrows]

This needs some discussion to determine the sort of testing that would be useful. Perhaps routinely generated stats would be preferable to a one-off report. I will arrange a meeting to discuss this with the key people.