Old Weather
Encyclopedia
Old Weather is an online weather data project that invites members of the public to assist in digitising weather observations recorded in Royal Navy
log books during the early twentieth century. Earlier material may be incorporated in future. It is an example of citizen science
that enlists members of the public to help in scientific research. It contributes to ACRE.
, a part of the Zooniverse
, where the public was asked to classify the images of over 60,000,000 galaxies. Old Weather is a collaboration between researchers at many institutions, including the University of Oxford
, Oxford Martin School
, the International Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth
, Naval-History.Net of Penarth
, JISC which encourages UK colleges and universities in the innovative use of digital technologies, the National Maritime Museum
at Maritime Greenwich, London, and the UK National Archives, Kew, London.
s have proved unable to read handwriting
reliably. It is a task much better performed by the human brain
and the results transferred to a digital form.
No knowledge of meteorology or the Royal Navy is required to take part in Old Weather. In the site's tutorial, would-be volunteers are shown how to digitise a weather record either by reading written instructions or by watching short videos. Further instructions on how to transcribe the logs are available on the associated Old Weather forum.
It is intended that the pages of the logs are digitised by at least three people. The transcriptions will be used to make climate model projections and an improved database of weather extremes.
s which have been scanned page by page.
The digitiser is assigned to a ship (or is able to choose one). From the log books, on a separate page for each day, the digitiser notes: date, location (or voyage
) and the individual watchkeeper
's weather records, usually consisting of wind direction, strength, cloud cover or weather conditions, barometric pressure and between two and four temperature observations. Interesting events or sightings of other ships or landmarks may also be recorded.
Weather readings were usually made four hourly; a seventh observation was sometimes made when ships were at sea. Some ships made hourly weather readings and half-hourly readings were sometimes recorded during particularly bad weather.
At sea, sun sights were taken to record latitude and longitude with reference to the radio time signal.
voyages.
Indeed the readings are still being assessed at a very broad level. But the distribution of temperature by latitude and wind force by latitude have been plotted for the 120,000 results for which 3 readings have been taken.
is a very political issue, interested parties could try to corrupt the data by, say, entering temperature
figures that are too high or too low. Because three sets of records for each data point will be entered, any set from a digitiser showing a marked deviation from the other records should be easily checkable and eliminated. Large-scale fraud
is unlikely because the data is entered one log page at a time, and so is immune to a spam
type of attack. Collaborative projects such as Linux
and Wikipedia
have for the most part been able to rely on the transparent honesty
of those taking part.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
log books during the early twentieth century. Earlier material may be incorporated in future. It is an example of citizen science
Citizen science
Citizen science is a term used for the systematic collection and analysis of data; development of technology; testing of natural phenomena; and the dissemination of these activities by researchers on a primarily avocational basis...
that enlists members of the public to help in scientific research. It contributes to ACRE.
Origins
The project was inspired by Galaxy ZooGalaxy Zoo
Galaxy Zoo is an online astronomy project which invites members of the public to assist in the morphological classification of large numbers of galaxies. It is an example of citizen science as it enlists the help of members of the public to help in scientific research. An improved version—Galaxy...
, a part of the Zooniverse
Zooniverse (citizen science project)
Zooniverse is a citizen science web portal that grew from the original Galaxy Zoo project. It hosts numerous projects which allow users to participate in scientific research from classifying galaxies to collating climate data...
, where the public was asked to classify the images of over 60,000,000 galaxies. Old Weather is a collaboration between researchers at many institutions, including the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Oxford Martin School
Oxford Martin School
The Oxford Martin School was founded in June 2005 as the James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford. It is named after its benefactor, James Martin, author of the influential books, The Wired Society and The Meaning of the 21st Century...
, the International Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
, Naval-History.Net of Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
, JISC which encourages UK colleges and universities in the innovative use of digital technologies, the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
at Maritime Greenwich, London, and the UK National Archives, Kew, London.
Importance of volunteers
Computer programComputer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
s have proved unable to read handwriting
Handwriting
Handwriting is a person's particular & individual style of writing with pen or pencil, which contrasts with "Hand" which is an impersonal and formalised writing style in several historical varieties...
reliably. It is a task much better performed by the human brain
Human brain
The human brain has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times larger than the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size. Estimates for the number of neurons in the human brain range from 80 to 120 billion...
and the results transferred to a digital form.
No knowledge of meteorology or the Royal Navy is required to take part in Old Weather. In the site's tutorial, would-be volunteers are shown how to digitise a weather record either by reading written instructions or by watching short videos. Further instructions on how to transcribe the logs are available on the associated Old Weather forum.
It is intended that the pages of the logs are digitised by at least three people. The transcriptions will be used to make climate model projections and an improved database of weather extremes.
Royal Navy log books
The raw materials of the project are handwritten Royal Navy log bookLogbook
A logbook was originally a book for recording readings from the chip log, and is used to determine the distance a ship traveled within a certain amount of time...
s which have been scanned page by page.
The digitiser is assigned to a ship (or is able to choose one). From the log books, on a separate page for each day, the digitiser notes: date, location (or voyage
Voyage
- In music: :* Voyage * Voyage * Voyage , by In Fear and Faith* Voyage , by Ayumi Hamasaki* Voyage , a disco music group** Voyage, an album by the eponymous band...
) and the individual watchkeeper
Watchkeeper
Watchkeeper WK450 is a £800 million contract awarded in July 2005 to Thales to provide the British Army with an unmanned aerial vehicle for all weather, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance use....
's weather records, usually consisting of wind direction, strength, cloud cover or weather conditions, barometric pressure and between two and four temperature observations. Interesting events or sightings of other ships or landmarks may also be recorded.
Weather readings were usually made four hourly; a seventh observation was sometimes made when ships were at sea. Some ships made hourly weather readings and half-hourly readings were sometimes recorded during particularly bad weather.
At sea, sun sights were taken to record latitude and longitude with reference to the radio time signal.
Progress
The project is broken down into a number of phases and details have been published for the first two. Phase II will start when Phase I is complete.Phase I
, 98% of the logs — 737,311 pages — of this phase have been digitised fully. The logs of 212 ships are complete.Phase II
When Phase I is complete, a second pass will be made of ships that are still outstanding and some whose voyages are not complete under Phase I. It is envisaged early logs from UK and US sources will be coded for ArcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
voyages.
Results
Initial results of Phase I will be published after data collection is complete and conclusions can be made.Indeed the readings are still being assessed at a very broad level. But the distribution of temperature by latitude and wind force by latitude have been plotted for the 120,000 results for which 3 readings have been taken.
Security and Political Considerations
Because climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
is a very political issue, interested parties could try to corrupt the data by, say, entering temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
figures that are too high or too low. Because three sets of records for each data point will be entered, any set from a digitiser showing a marked deviation from the other records should be easily checkable and eliminated. Large-scale fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
is unlikely because the data is entered one log page at a time, and so is immune to a spam
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
type of attack. Collaborative projects such as Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
have for the most part been able to rely on the transparent honesty
Honesty
Honesty refers to a facet of moral character and denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft....
of those taking part.
Accidental Error
Accidental errors, such as reading '4's for '7's are possible, but often context will sort this out. A temperature of 40°F is unlikely to be correct for a latitude in the tropics and may safely be assumed to be 70°F. During the period, the Royal Navy used Fahrenheit.External links
- Article about HMS Acacias weather records
- Naval-History.Net website
- BBC news reference
- Old Weather Joint Information Systems CommitteeJoint Information Systems CommitteeJISC is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body whose role is to support post-16 and higher education and research by providing leadership in the use of ICT in learning, teaching, research and administration...