Why is this old data important?

The climate data collected between 1910-1960 in the DRC is important for a number of reasons. Longer records improve the accuracy of climate change models. Data from the Congo Basin is currently underrepresented in climate models. Not because the data isn’t available, but because the data is not accessible (read: digitally readable). Although annual and monthly averages of the data have been published, contemporary research depends on the original (sub)daily climate observations, which are used for modelling.

As an ecological parameter, climate influences the ebb and flow of biological phenomena within the second largest tropical forest in the world. During colonial times, the observations were used for many purposes, such as the control of grasshoppers, the protection of crops, the safeguarding of the electrical network or the protection of air traffic. Today the historical climate data remains an important complementary dataset for many ongoing research efforts. For example, forestry research started in the Congo Basin in the early 1930’s. Many of the trees /forests alive during colonial times are still the object of study today.

Who gathered the data?

The data in these archives was collected during the colonial period by Belgian scientists, technical staff and volunteers. The Headquarters of the Service for Meteorology and Geophysics was based in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). The service consisted of numerous regional centers and a hundred stations forming a network for synoptic and climatic meteorology. An additional 800 stations cooperated voluntarily, including schools and mission stations. The service was in constant contact with the Institute for Scientific Research in Central Africa and the Institut National pour l’Etude Agronomique du Congo belge (INEAC). On the COBECORE website you find a map of all stations. Jungle Weather will (currently) only transcribe the stations with at least both temperature and rainfall data present.

Was there a strict protocol?

Yes, this is described in an official publication. However, the protocol was amended several times over the 50 year period. From 1939 onward, all measurements across various state services were standardized.

What do I do when I'm uncertain about the cursive numbers?

Below we provide an overview of various cursively written or typed numbers as seen throughout the records. You can use these as a reference when you are unsure about a number. It is also good to remember that any number will be seen by at least two other citizen scientists, only a consensus number will be accepted so occasional errors do not impact the final data. If the example images do not provide you with enough guidance it is always best to provide an answer, if unsure select the number and mark it using the "unclear" button.

Some notes on decimal separators

Note that all values have a comma as a decimal separator. Sadly, the cursive way of writing it looks a lot like a cursive 9. If unsure, remember that all values have decimal separator (comma) and only one value is present after the separator. Below are examples of commas in the center cell and one which is visible in a top adjacent cell. Both commas are indicated with white arrows.

When transcribing commas you can use both a comma or a point, depending on what is the standard on your keyboard and what is most convenient for you. Commas will be replaced in post-processing by points (the common form in programming languages).

Other decimal separator characters

It seems that in a few instances the "degree" symbol (small o at the top of the number) has been used as a decimal separator. Below you see an example which reads 8 degrees (8°). You may transcribe this using a small letter o, a degree symbol, or the words degree / degrees.

What are common other (non numeric) cell values in the table?

The tables contain a number of observations, not all of them are numeric values. In some cases full words or abbreviations are used for certain observations. Below you see that various letter abbreviations are used to summarize the intensity of events or other observations. Below you find mention of for example F for fort (French for strong) for the rain observations (Eau tombee), while the state of the soil (etat du sol) is described with H for humide (humid), or sec (French for dry). Although the majority of the data is numeric you will come across a fair number of text values like these. We'll open a talk instance where you can consult the variety of values as they appear, as we are unsure on the variety of entries ourselves.

Misalignment

When transcribing header images you might find that fields are misaligned, or better their content not filed correctly. Below you find an example of the required fields which need to be completed in the header workflow (outlined with white boxes). From left to right, the month (Janvier), the year (1958) and the station number (11000). Note that all fields might be slightly offset due to input errors by scientists. In all cases, you can deduce what needs to put by remembering that only few options are given for the month, the years are limited to a range from 1938 to 1962 and the station number is just that a large number. In some extraordinary cases the year is missing. In this case you can look for a stamp (see section B) which includes the year in which the data was filed (often not too long after putting it to file).

When transcribing cells some data might be slightly misaligned. In general, transcribe the data well comprised within the two white corner marks. When there is doubt, only consider the data which sits on the dashed line contained by the corner marks. Below you see such and example of a confusing number. In this case, you would transcribe the 21.9, the top cell, as this data sits on the dashed line contained by the white corner marks.