Skip to content
Nexus Observatory

/

Climate

/

Specialized fields

/

Climate reference stations

Records built to last a century.

Climate trends are small against weather noise, so the stations that record them must be stable for decades: the same site, redundant reference sensors, traceable calibration and every change recorded. Reference stations anchor national climate records and the global reference network.

Plan a deploymentHow it worksStation Builder
Industry
Climate
Measurements
4
Sources cited
4
  1. Climate · Climate reference stations

    Small trends, long records

    Climate trends are small against the noise of weather, so the stations that record them must stay the same for decades: the same site, stable sensors, traceable calibration and every change written down. The global climate observing plan calls for a reference network of such stations in every country.

  2. What is measured

    Everything twice

    Redundant reference sensors measure air temperature in standard screens and precipitation in shielded gauges, alongside humidity, pressure, wind and radiation at standard exposures. Photographs of the surroundings in all directions are taken each year, so changes around the station are on record too.

    Instruments
    Redundant temperature sensors · Shielded gauges · Humidity · Pressure · Wind · Radiation
  3. The base node

    Sensors that check each other

    The node compares the redundant sensors every minute and flags any that disagree, computes daily values to climatological practice and keeps a full local archive, so a failed link or a failed sensor never leaves a gap in the record.

  4. Radio and links

    A record without gaps

    Cellular carries minute data and diagnostics where coverage reaches the site. A satellite path keeps the record complete when terrestrial networks fail during the extremes the station exists to record. Data join the national archive and the global reference network.

    Links
    Public cellular · Satellite
  5. How it works

    From a heatwave to an attribution study

    A record heatwave strikes. Both reference sensors agree on a new maximum, the node files it with its metadata, and the value enters the national record that day. Months later, attribution scientists use the station’s long homogeneous series to show how much climate change made the event more likely.

  6. From order to operation · Order

    Scope the record

    The scope reads the national climate record, long stations at risk, gaps in the reference network and the service’s archive. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the reference station plan, calibration traceability, metadata practice and a price per station and per year.

    Plan a deployment
  7. From order to operation · Survey

    Survey for a century

    Crews survey candidate sites with the service for land that will stay representative for decades: ownership, planned development nearby, exposure, flood and fire risk, and power. Photographs in all directions are taken for the record. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow.

  8. From order to operation · Permits

    Secure the land

    Long-term land agreements protect the site and its surroundings, planning authorities are told of the station so development nearby is considered, and every agreement is kept with the station record, because a moved station breaks its record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.

  9. From order to operation · Build

    Build with traceable sensors

    Redundant sensors are calibrated against references traceable to national standards, stations are assembled, nodes configured to compare sensors, enrolled with their identities and run together for weeks before shipping. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together.

    Open the Station Builder
  10. From order to operation · Install

    Install to the reference standard

    Crews set the enclosure, screens, gauges and mast at standard exposures, install redundant sensors, power and two backhaul paths, and record every height and position. Where a station replaces an older one, both run side by side. The site record is updated before the crew leaves.

  11. From order to operation · Commission

    Overlap and commission

    Each node proves its identity. Redundant sensors are compared with a travelling reference, and where a station replaces another they run in parallel for long enough to measure the difference, so the record stays homogeneous. Results are signed and kept with the site record.

  12. From order to operation · Operate

    Keep the record

    The service sees every reference station, sensor agreement, gaps and metadata. Daily values enter the national climate record and the global reference network, and every change is recorded so future users understand each value. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record.

  13. From order to operation · Maintain

    Change nothing without a record

    Sensors rotate through calibration on the agreed plan with overlaps, surroundings are photographed each year, software updates roll out in rings and every change is written to the metadata. The record stays trusted for decades. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.

    Book field services
  14. Data products

    For climate services and scientists

    Climate services and scientists receive long homogeneous records; attribution and adaptation teams receive extreme event records; network managers receive reference values for quality control; archive and data users receive full station metadata, each value tied to its sensors and calibration.

    See the data products
  15. Evidence

    A record that lasts

    Sensors and exposures follow the WMO instrument guide, records are kept and homogenised to climatological practice, metadata meet the global observing manual, and the stations answer the call for a surface reference network in the global climate observing plan. Every change is on record.

    Drawn against
    WMO-No. 8 · WMO-No. 100 · WMO-No. 1160 · GCOS-244
  16. What you get

    National observing network programmes

    Build-operate-transfer of national observing infrastructure as digital public infrastructure, with transfer of skills and records. Delivered as build-operate-transfer and professional services, for governments, development lenders financing them. Scale: National. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.

    Talk to sales
  17. Next step

    Plan climate reference stations with us

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for climate reference stations. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio

01The place and its hazards

Where it runs, and what can go wrong.

Operating contextClimatological practice sets how long records are kept, homogenised and archived; the global observing manual sets station duties and metadata; and the global climate observing plan calls for a reference network of surface stations with redundant, traceable measurements. National services hold the records that adaptation and attribution rely on.

Hazards

  • Changes of site, sensor or surroundings that break the record
  • Single sensors that fail or drift unnoticed
  • Missing metadata about past changes
  • Urban growth creeping around the station
  • Data gaps in extreme events, when they matter most

02What must be measured

What, where, how often, and under which rules.

Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.

MeasurementWhereCadenceSources
Air temperatureRedundant reference sensors in standard screensEvery minute, daily extremes12
PrecipitationRedundant gauges with wind shieldsEvery minute, daily totals1
Humidity, pressure, wind and radiationStandard exposuresEvery minute1
Station metadata and surroundingsEvery station, with photographs in all directionsOn every change and each year34

03The observation stack

From one base unit to a network.

The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.

  1. 01

    Base unit

    A station: redundant reference sensors on a sensor hub with a node that compares them.

    Build a station →
  2. 02

    Site

    A site: the enclosure on stable, representative land, a mast, power and two backhaul paths.

    Plan a site →
  3. 03

    Fleet

    A national reference network run to one calibration and metadata plan.

    Managed offers →
  4. 04

    Network

    Reference stations join the national climate record and the global reference network through WMO.

    The open protocol →
  • 01Automatic weather station (WMO class)
  • 02Compact weather station
  • 03Sensor and instrument gateway
  • 04Micro node (Nano)
  • 05Cellular modem/router
  • 06LEO flat-panel terminal
  • 07Solar array
  • 08Pole

Radio and links

Public cellular

Cellular carries minute data and diagnostics where coverage reaches the site.

Radio and links

Satellite

A satellite path keeps the record complete when terrestrial networks fail in extremes.

Edge computeThe node compares redundant sensors every minute, flags any that disagree, computes daily values to climatological practice and keeps a full local archive so the record has no gaps.

PowerMains with a long battery backup, or solar sized for the worst season; the station must not stop in the extremes it records.

04How it works

From the instrument to the product.

One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.

Climate reference stations: data path

– of 07

01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Gateway 03 Node – Wrap in an observation envelope with timequality– Measure quality and uncertainty, attachquality flags– Buffer locally (store-and-forward when thelink drops) 04 Backhaul Commit with transactional outbox andpublish, delivered at least once 05 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 06 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 07 Products WMO WIS 2.0WIGOS metadataOGC SensorThings API 08 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC, 48 V DC to the fieldequipment 01 Automatic weather station (WMOclass) SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Compact weather station SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 Sensor and instrument gateway SDI-12 · RS-485 · Analogue I/O ·Ethernet · USB 04 Micro node (Nano) Ethernet · USB · Analogue I/O ·RS-485 · CAN 05 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 06 LEO flat-panel terminal Ethernet Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Long homogeneous climate records Extreme event records Reference values for other networks Station metadata 07 Solar array RS-485 08 Pole SDI-12 · SDI-12 SDI-12 · SDI-12 Ethernet · MQTT 5 Ethernet Ethernet LTE/NR Satellite IP
From the instrument to the published product: each band is a tier, each connector names its interface, and the numbers match the bill of materials. Hover or focus a block to trace its path; scroll or step to follow one observation.
Bill of materials
ItemEquipmentData portsProtocolsPower in
01Automatic weather station (WMO class)Automatic weather station built and sited to WMO-No. 8 instrument and siting classes, reporting WIGOS metadata.SDI-12RS-485EthernetSDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API12 V DC
02Compact weather stationAll-in-one or compact station for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and rain at a site.SDI-12RS-485EthernetSDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API12 V DC
03Sensor and instrument gatewayData logger and gateway that reads instruments on SDI-12, RS-485, analogue and Ethernet ports and publishes observations with calibration and time.SDI-12RS-485Analogue I/OEthernetUSBSDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API, OGC API Connected Systems, OMA LwM2M12 V DC, PoE
04Micro node (Nano)Single-board or module-class node for sensor sites, gateways and low-power deployments.EthernetUSBAnalogue I/ORS-485CANMQTT 5, OMA LwM2M, CoAPPoE, 12 V DC, USB PD
05Cellular modem/routerLTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul.EthernetUSBRS-2323GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M12 V DC, PoE
06LEO flat-panel terminalElectronically steered flat-panel user terminal for low-Earth-orbit broadband constellations.Ethernet—PoE, 48 V DC, AC mains
07Solar arrayPV modules with charge controller sized to the site’s load and climate.RS-485Modbus—
08PoleUtility, street or dedicated pole with clamp positions.———

How it scales

01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces.

SITE

Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality.

CLUSTER

×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites.

FLEET

Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts.

TRUST DOMAIN

TRUST DOMAIN

TRUST DOMAIN

×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange
The smallest deployable unit is one node; the same unit is replicated to meet the demand. Nodes form a site, sites may form a cluster, sites and clusters are coordinated as a fleet, and fleets exchange across independently administered trust domains. Each plane is a separate channel with its own open binding.
Data in the field
MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses.
Telemetry
OpenTelemetry OTLP.
Control
TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2.
Data upstream
At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links.
Evidence
DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts.
Events
Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3.
Exchange
OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0.

05From order to operation

Every step, from the first call to a running site.

The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.

  1. 01 Order

    Scope the record

    The scope reads the national climate record, long stations at risk, gaps in the reference network and the service’s archive. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the reference station plan, calibration traceability, metadata practice and a price per station and per year. 2

  2. 02 Survey

    Survey for a century

    Crews survey candidate sites with the service for land that will stay representative for decades: ownership, planned development nearby, exposure, flood and fire risk, and power. Photographs in all directions are taken for the record. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. 1

  3. 03 Permits

    Secure the land

    Long-term land agreements protect the site and its surroundings, planning authorities are told of the station so development nearby is considered, and every agreement is kept with the station record, because a moved station breaks its record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.

  4. 04 Build

    Build with traceable sensors

    Redundant sensors are calibrated against references traceable to national standards, stations are assembled, nodes configured to compare sensors, enrolled with their identities and run together for weeks before shipping. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together. 1

  5. 05 Install

    Install to the reference standard

    Crews set the enclosure, screens, gauges and mast at standard exposures, install redundant sensors, power and two backhaul paths, and record every height and position. Where a station replaces an older one, both run side by side. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. 1

  6. 06 Commission

    Overlap and commission

    Each node proves its identity. Redundant sensors are compared with a travelling reference, and where a station replaces another they run in parallel for long enough to measure the difference, so the record stays homogeneous. Results are signed and kept with the site record. 4

  7. 07 Operate

    Keep the record

    The service sees every reference station, sensor agreement, gaps and metadata. Daily values enter the national climate record and the global reference network, and every change is recorded so future users understand each value. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 3

  8. 08 Maintain

    Change nothing without a record

    Sensors rotate through calibration on the agreed plan with overlaps, surroundings are photographed each year, software updates roll out in rings and every change is written to the metadata. The record stays trusted for decades. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. 4

06Data products and integration

What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.

Data products

  • Long homogeneous climate recordsClimate services and scientists
  • Extreme event recordsAttribution and adaptation teams
  • Reference values for other networksNetwork managers
  • Station metadataArchive and data users

Integration

  • National climate archiveDaily and minute data enter the service’s archive.
  • Global reference networkData and metadata are shared through WMO.
  • Other networksReference values support the quality control of nearby stations.

Exchanged through WMO WIS 2.0, WIGOS metadata, OGC SensorThings API.

07Questions buyers ask

Before you scope it.

Why redundant sensors?

So a failing or drifting sensor never breaks the record.

What if a site must move?

Old and new stations run in parallel to measure the difference.

How long will it last?

It is designed and sited to run for decades.

Who keeps the metadata?

The service, with every change recorded automatically.

08Resources

The sources behind this page.

Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.

  1. 1WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization
  2. 2GCOS-244: The 2022 GCOS Implementation PlanGlobal Climate Observing System · 2022
  3. 3WMO-No. 1160: Manual on the WMO Integrated Global Observing SystemWorld Meteorological Organization
  4. 4WMO-No. 100: Guide to Climatological PracticesWorld Meteorological Organization · 2018

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

Use case

GBON gap-filler station

A WMO-grade surface station, optional upper-air ground station and a WIS 2.0 node, built to report reliably where the global basic observing network has gaps.The full use case →
Use case

State or provincial mesonet site

A full weather station on a solar-powered tower with soil sensors, one of a dense network run by a university.The full use case →
Solution

National observing network programmes

Build-operate-transfer of national observing infrastructure as digital public infrastructure, with transfer of skills and records.Solutions for climate →
Solution

Observation data products and evidence bundles

Licensed feeds and archives with metadata, quality flags and provenance on every value; evidence bundles for audits and claims processes.Solutions for climate →
Solution

Device and software qualification against the protocol

Test programmes that show a device or release meets the protocol for a stated scope, with published results.Solutions for climate →

10Climate: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Specialized field

Greenhouse gas monitoring

Tall-tower and urban stations that measure carbon dioxide and methane to the global calibration scales, so emissions estimates and policies can be checked against the atmosphere.The full field →
Specialized field

Ecosystem carbon and water fluxes

Eddy covariance towers that measure how much carbon, water and energy forests, crops and wetlands exchange with the air, for climate science, carbon accounting and land management.The full field →
Specialized field

Glaciers, snow and mountain water

Glacier, snow and runoff stations in high mountains, measuring the ice and snow that store water for the valleys below and change fastest in a warming climate.The full field →

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.

Plan a deploymentStation BuilderOpen the StudioTalk to salesRequest a quote