QA, QC, and accuracy for HF ocean radars

Mapping of surface currents using HF ocean radar has become a widely accepted technology in coastal industries and research, and for many long-term installations the data are being archived for open access. One aspect that has not been settled is the standards which are to be followed. This paper describes general standards for data accuracy, QA, QC and data archiving. Data from the Australian Ocean Radar Network are used to illustrate the application of standards. Quality Assurance processes are summarized for the two main commercial HF radar systems, and Quality Control procedures are described for the phased-array genre. Quality Control flags are not presently available for data being archived from the crossed loop genre, and the issues are discussed.