WMO Resolution 40 SYNOP Data

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Certain SYNOP (i.e. surface synoptic) reports that are received at NCEP are covered under WMO Resolution 40 as "additional data and products". These reports are therefore restricted, and they are stored in the observational database as BUFR type/subtype b000/xx000, separately from the unrestricted SYNOP reports which are stored as b000/xx001. Both datasets are merged during operational model dumps, and therefore the restricted reports are present in certain model dump files containing the name adpsfc as well as in most PREPBUFR files.

The restriction(s):

• Restricted SYNOP reports are not to be exported out of the U.S. nor made available to any commercial entity who would use them to create products for sale. This is especially important to the countries who provide NCEP with access to this data, as many of their local meteorological services must recover a portion of their budgets by creating certain products for sale within their own and neighboring countries. Therefore, they understandably do not want this data to become available to private entities who would use it to create competing commercial products for sale within the same market.
• The restriction does not have an expiration, meaning that all restricted SYNOP reports remain accessible only to the allowable set of recipients for perpetuity.