View source for Explore standard interface, conventions and/or platform for inter-comparison tools for observational, remote sensing and modeling data.

{{CandidateAQFocusArea
|Title=Explore standard interface, conventions and/or platform for inter-comparison tools for observational, remote sensing and modeling data.
|Discussion=Participants discussed improving support for observational, satellite and model output inter-comparison as a potential piece of common infrastructure.  This could be as a set of common conventions, requirements, software and/or services.  Current practice is often a “build it ourselves” approach. Several related candidate products were identified: a) requirements statement to identify common desired functionality of such a tool for AQ users, b) definition/conventions of a common “model output” format which, along with existing/improved format conventions for the observational and satellite data would allow greater portability between data and tools, c) an “inter-comparison tool API which would support development of services and clients for this functionality, and d) exploration of actually developing general purpose software and/or services for such a tool.  Note that these first two products (requirements and standard model output formats) are seen as valuable because they inform existing tool developers about community interests in the near term.
|CandidateProduct=<br>
* requirements statement to identify common desired functionality 
* definition/conventions of a common “model output” 
* an “inter-comparison tool API 
* common software and/or services built as part of the common infrastructure

|NearTermAction=Scoping document with outline of functional requirements and feasibility/utility check on development of common model output format.
|AQFocusArea=Improving AQ Information Infrastructure
}}