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Match station names against SMHI station list

Source: R/check_stations.R
match_station.Rd

Matches reported station names in your dataset against a curated station list ("station.txt"), which is synced with "Stationsregistret": https://stationsregister.miljodatasamverkan.se/.

Usage

match_station(names, station_file = NULL, try_synonyms = TRUE, verbose = TRUE)

Arguments

names

Character vector of station names to match.

station_file

Optional path to a custom station file (tab-delimited). If NULL (default), the function will first attempt to use the NODC_CONFIG environment variable, and if that fails, will use the bundled "station.zip" from the SHARK4R package.

try_synonyms

Logical; if TRUE (default), unmatched names are also compared against the SYNONYM_NAMES column in the database.

verbose

Logical. If TRUE, messages will be displayed during execution. Defaults to TRUE.

Value

A data frame with two columns:

reported_station_name

The input station names.

match_type

Logical; TRUE if the station was found in the SMHI station list (including synonyms if enabled), otherwise FALSE.

Details

This is useful for validating station names and identifying any unmatched or misspelled entries.

If try_synonyms = TRUE, unmatched station names are also compared against the SYNONYM_NAMES column in the station database, splitting multiple synonyms separated by <or>.

The function first checks if a station file path is provided via the station_file argument. If not, it looks for the NODC_CONFIG environment variable. This variable can point to a folder where the NODC (Swedish National Oceanographic Data Center) configuration and station file are stored, typically including:

  • <NODC_CONFIG>/config/station.txt

If NODC_CONFIG is set and the folder exists, the function will use station.txt from that location. Otherwise, it falls back to the bundled station.zip included in the SHARK4R package.

Examples

stations <- c("ANHOLT E", "BY5 BORNHOLMSDJ", "STX999")
match_station(stations, try_synonyms = TRUE)
#> Using station.txt from SHARK4R bundle: /tmp/Rtmpwi1Ibe/station.txt
#> WARNING: Unmatched stations found, check synonyms
#>   reported_station_name match_type
#> 1              ANHOLT E       TRUE
#> 2       BY5 BORNHOLMSDJ       TRUE
#> 3                STX999      FALSE