A Review of the Quality and Characteristics of Vehicle-Based Temperature Observations from the Met Office Fleet of Field Service Vehicles

Abstract: The Met Office’s fleet of field service vehicles are fitted with telematics systems, that provide real-time location data and deliver a duty of care for staff working in remote locations. For six vehicles in the fleet, the telematics systems include externally mounted temperature probes, recording near-surface temperatures. Such vehicle-based temperature observations are a potential source of low-cost, high-resolution meteorological information that can increase the spatial coverage of surface observations, particularly as the field service vehicles often visit otherwise data sparse locations. In this study, we review the quality and characteristics of temperature observations from the Met Office vehicles in the UK, to understand their value for use in applications such as numerical weather prediction and nowcasting. We compare the vehicle temperature observations over a 9-month period in 2023 with a range of reference data, including the Met Office UKV 1.5 km and MOGREPS‑UK 2.2 km resolution models, and surface observations from a network of road-side sensors and automatic weather stations. We discuss factors that affect the accuracy of vehicle temperature observations, including ventilation (linked to the vehicle speed), and other influences on temperature such as heating from the engine or the road surface. It is expected that the results will highlight the need for the quality control of vehicle-based temperature observations to enable their utilisation. We also discuss other issues pertinent to the use of vehicle-based observations, including data privacy, and consider the potential for an extensive UK network with observations from other commercial vehicle fleets.

Biography: Gemma Daron is a scientist at the Met Office working in observation research and development. Her role is to support the design of observation networks, by evaluating the quality and reliability of new or opportunistic observations and their potential contribution. She also works to quantify the benefits of existing or new observations as part of cost-benefit analyses. Prior to joining the Met Office in 2022, Gemma worked in the wind energy industry for 12 years, primarily in the field of wind resource assessment. Here, she regularly analysed wind observations and conducted wind flow and energy modelling.