Tier 1 · 1 source(s)
Primary official measurement
Reference monitoring evidence used first when the relevant quality and coverage rules are met.
- Defra UK-AIR Sensor Observation Service — Production usable within stated limitations
API-led source coverage
SCC Air Quality considered 54 registered streams and observed 54 in this run. Each stream is labelled by its real validation stage rather than by whether a credential merely exists.
Evidence weighting
Four-tier source hierarchy
Registration, successful download and analytical fitness are deliberately different states. This hierarchy prevents a supplementary sensor, catalogue hit or contextual record from being presented as equivalent to primary monitoring evidence.
Tier 2 · 11 source(s)
Corroborating official / scientific context
Independent monitoring, meteorology, traffic, modelling, satellite or regulatory evidence used to test competing explanations.
- Defra UK-AIR Atom downloads — Metadata/index only
- Imperial College London LAQN API — Quality checks passed; target linkage pending
- Environment Agency Public Register — Records downloaded; validation pending
- National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory — Metadata/index only
- Department for Transport Road Traffic Statistics API — Records downloaded; validation pending
- OpenAQ v3 — Metadata/index only
- Met Office Weather DataHub Land Observations — Records downloaded; validation pending
- Met Office Weather DataHub Global Spot — Records downloaded; validation pending
- Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service — Records downloaded; validation pending
- Copernicus Data Space STAC Sentinel-5P — Metadata/index only
- NASA Earthdata Common Metadata Repository — Metadata/index only
Tier 3 · 6 source(s)
Supplementary environmental context
Useful supporting information that is not weighted as equivalent to primary reference measurements.
- Planning Data API — Not configured
- World Air Quality Index API — Not configured
- OpenWeather current conditions — Not configured
- PurpleAir API — Records downloaded; validation pending
- Companies House API — Credential present; not harvested
- Local authority planning portals — Not configured
Tier 4 · 36 source(s)
Discovery / catalogue / future capability
Metadata, search, media, disabled or not-yet-operational sources. These cannot become measurement evidence merely because they are registered.
- NewsAPI — Not configured
- NewsData.io — Credential present; not harvested
- SerpAPI — Credential present; not harvested
- Google Drive legacy archive — Legacy archive disabled; not collected or scientifically used
- OpenAI API — Credential present; not harvested
- Gemini API — Credential present; not harvested
- UK-AIR Data Selector — Not configured
- SEPA Public Register — Not configured
- Natural Resources Wales Public Register — Not configured
- Northern Ireland environmental regulation records — Not configured
- Environment Agency flood monitoring API — Not configured
- Ordnance Survey Data Hub — Not configured
- + 24 additional registered source(s) in this tier.
Tier placement describes evidential role, not institutional prestige. Individual records still have to pass their own provenance, quality, timing and use-case checks.
Source register summary
The canonical register tracks 54 current and planned sources through credential, connectivity, metadata, download, schema, quality and production stages. The unproven legacy Drive archive is disabled and has no scientific influence.
Evidence categories
| Evidence categories are populated from the governed source universe below. |
External collectors
- cams: OK.
- cams_decoded_context: OK.
- cdse_sentinel5p: needs review.
- cdse_sentinel5p_mandatory: OK.
- data_led_discovery: OK. National monitoring and inventories lead discovery. Planning and commercial context run only inside data-discovered event windows.
- dft_road_traffic: OK.
- drive_inventory: OK.
- environment_agency_public_register: OK.
- laqn_imperial: OK.
- met_office_global_spot: OK.
- met_office_global_spot_context: OK.
- met_office_land_observations: OK.
- met_office_land_observations_event_specific: OK.
- naei: OK.
- nasa_earthdata_cmr: OK.
- nasa_earthdata_cmr_mandatory: OK.
- nasa_firms: OK.
- nasa_firms_mandatory: OK.
- news: needs review.
- news_context: needs review.
- openaq: OK. Context only; not suitable for source attribution or causal inference.
- openweather: needs review.
- planning_data: needs review.
- purpleair: OK.
- purpleair_screening: OK.
- target_neutrality: needs review.
- uk_air_sos_current_particle: needs review.
- uk_official_air: OK. UK-AIR Atom entries: 544; source links: 5316; Imperial/LAQN endpoints: 5/5. This is official/open monitoring context, not source attribution.
- waqi: needs review.
Official monitoring provenance
Official/open monitoring provenance and comparator context only; not source attribution.
Scientific evidence and software assurance are different
Scientific evidence
Measurements, station and regional coverage, descriptive calculations, source records and stated limitations are the evidence available for review.
Engineering assurance
Automated checks confirm that the pipeline followed its declared rules. They do not constitute peer review, accreditation, regulatory approval or institutional endorsement.
What the source counts mean
Registered is not the same as used. Only record-bearing sources are operational, and only sources that passed the project quality-validation contract are quality validated.
54registered / known sources
9operational record-bearing sources
2quality-validated sources
32potential / not-yet-operational sources
Analytical breadth boundary. Registration does not mean a source contributed to the current pollutant statistics.
Evidence categories
| Evidence dimension | Best current stage | Best available sources |
|---|---|---|
| ground measurement quality | quality validated | uk_air_sos_current_particle, laqn_imperial |
| comparator and background | quality validated | uk_air_sos_current_particle, laqn_imperial |
| official meteorology | operational validation pending | met_office_land_observations, met_office_global_spot |
| traffic activity | operational validation pending | dft_road_traffic |
| regional model context | operational validation pending | cams |
| fire and satellite context | operational validation pending | nasa_firms |
| regulatory and operational context | operational validation pending | environment_agency_public_register |
| competing source assessment | operational validation pending | environment_agency_public_register, dft_road_traffic, met_office_land_observations, met_office_global_spot, cams, nasa_firms |
| uncertainty and missingness | quality validated | uk_air_sos_current_particle, laqn_imperial |
| complete provenance | quality validated | uk_air_sos_current_particle, laqn_imperial |
Complete governed source register
| Source | Stage | Authority | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defra UK-AIR Sensor Observation Serviceuk_air_sos_current_particle | quality validated | official | 237 |
| Defra UK-AIR Atom downloadsuk_air_atom | metadata only | official | 0 |
| Imperial College London LAQN APIlaqn_imperial | quality validated | official_network | 551 |
| Environment Agency Public Registerenvironment_agency_public_register | records downloaded | official | 23,562 |
| Planning Data APIplanning_data | not applicable no discovered event | official | 0 |
| National Atmospheric Emissions Inventorynaei | metadata only | official | 0 |
| Department for Transport Road Traffic Statistics APIdft_road_traffic | records downloaded | official | 10,000 |
| OpenAQ v3openaq | metadata only | provider_attributed | 0 |
| World Air Quality Index APIwaqi | not applicable no discovered event | provider_attributed | 0 |
| OpenWeather current conditionsopenweather | not applicable no discovered event | commercial_provider | 0 |
| Met Office Weather DataHub Land Observationsmet_office_land_observations | records downloaded | official | 576 |
| Met Office Weather DataHub Global Spotmet_office_global_spot | records downloaded | official | 10 |
| Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Servicecams | records downloaded | official_model | 2 |
| Copernicus Data Space STAC Sentinel-5Pcdse_sentinel5p | metadata only | official | 0 |
| NASA Earthdata Common Metadata Repositorynasa_earthdata_cmr | metadata only | official | 26 |
| PurpleAir APIpurpleair | records downloaded | community_sensor | 284 |
| NewsAPInewsapi | not applicable no discovered event | secondary_discovery | 0 |
| NewsData.ionewsdata | credential present | secondary_discovery | 0 |
| SerpAPIserpapi | credential present | secondary_discovery | 0 |
| Companies House APIcompanies_house | credential present | official | 0 |
| Google Drive legacy archivegoogle_drive | archive disabled | mixed_unverified | 0 |
| OpenAI APIopenai | credential present | derived_non_evidentiary | 0 |
| Gemini APIgemini | credential present | derived_non_evidentiary | 0 |
| UK-AIR Data Selectoruk_air_bulk_historical | not configured | official | 0 |
| SEPA Public Registersepa_public_register | not configured | official | 0 |
| Natural Resources Wales Public Registernrw_public_register | not configured | official | 0 |
| Northern Ireland environmental regulation recordsniea_records | not configured | official | 0 |
| Local authority planning portalslocal_planning_portals | not configured | official | 0 |
| Environment Agency flood monitoring APIea_flood_monitoring | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| Ordnance Survey Data Hubos_datahub | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| ONS Open Geography Portalons_geography | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| NOMIS / ONS population datanomis | credential present | contextual_source | 0 |
| Index of Multiple Deprivationimd | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| Get Information About Schoolsget_information_about_schools | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| CQC care directorycqc_care_directory | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| Contracts Findercontracts_finder | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| Find a Tender Servicefind_a_tender | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| Waste Data Interrogatorwaste_data_interrogator | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| WhatDoTheyKnowwhatdotheyknow | not configured | secondary_discovery | 0 |
| ICO decision noticesico_decisions | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| OpenStreetMap / Overpassopenstreetmap_overpass | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
| Department for Transport Port Freight Statisticsdft_port_freight | not configured | official | 0 |
| NASA FIRMS VIIRS and MODIS active fire datanasa_firms | records downloaded | contextual_source | 304 |
| UK Pollutant Release and Transfer Registeruk_prtr | not configured | official | 0 |
| Defra Local Air Quality Management and AQMA recordsdefra_aqma | not configured | official | 0 |
| Local authority LAQM annual status and detailed assessment reportslocal_authority_laqm_reports | not configured | official | 0 |
| National Highways WebTRIS traffic datanational_highways_webtris | not configured | official | 0 |
| OHID Fingertips Public Health Data APIohid_fingertips | not configured | official | 0 |
| ONS Census and population APIsons_census_api | not configured | official | 0 |
| European Environment Agency air quality dataeea_air_quality | not configured | official | 0 |
| EMEP/EBAS atmospheric composition observationsemep_ebas | not configured | provider_attributed | 0 |
| Natural England designated sites datanatural_england_designated_sites | not configured | official | 0 |
| CEDA atmospheric and Earth observation archiveceda_archive | credential present | contextual_source | 0 |
| Google Earth Enginegoogle_earth_engine | not configured | contextual_source | 0 |
Cross-source joins
Routine convergence is separate from episode investigation. This build formed 237 ordinary observation rows and executed 2 of 2 applicable routine meteorology/comparator joins; 0 were fully validated. The configured episode/research register separately records 0 of 11 joins executed and 0 technically validated. A zero episode count or a not-applicable episode join is not evidence that routine cross-source capability is absent. Join-ready means inputs/contracts exist, not that the join was executed or scientifically validated.