User support and data reduction for e-MERLIN
User support facilities, documentation and automated pipelines
The e-MERLIN team can provide a full user support service to all e-MERLIN and VLBI users to assist with all stages in a project's life-cycle. This service includes:
- Proposal preparation assistance through face-to-face or electronic interaction with the e-MERLIN science team who have extensive experience covering a wide range of science disciplines.
- On line electronic project planning helpers, including exposure calculators and simulators, see e-MERLIN observing support tool
- Electronic proposal submission, see e-MERLIN observe
- Dynamic scheduling of observations by e-MERLIN staff on behalf of observers
- Automatic quality assessment process for all observations, including production of diagnostic data plots
- Full data reduction support, including
- Physical or remote access to a fully equipped data reduction visitor suite in JBCA, Manchester with suitable computer equipment, disk storage, backing-up facilities etc
- Dedicated face-to-face, and remote support throughout the data reduction processing by a highly skilled and trained set of e-MERLIN user support team. Additional facilities at JBO for data reduction and visitors are also available.
- Access to a fully automated pipeline for the e-MERLIN data reduction in CASA, see e-MERLIN CASA pipeline (eMCP) (Github repository)
- Access to a fully automated pipeline for the e-MERLIN data reduction in AIPS, see e-MERLIN pipeline (Argo 2015 JORS 3(1):e2)
- Automated RFI flagging tools using the SERPent software (Peck & Fenech 2013, A & C, 2, 54) developed for e-MERLIN by the CoBRAS legacy team (download the latest SERPent from the GitHub repo)
- Fully documented cookbook for e-MERLIN data reduction within AIPS e-MERLIN Cookbook (ver 3.0 latest version - date 2015/02/16).
- e-MERLIN Memo on the correction of error in the value of the Cambridge telescope axis-offset. Effect data observed and reduced prior to 16th Feb 2015. Data reduced with latest version of pipeline will have this automatically fixed. CM axis-offset memo.
- Access to various dedicated routines written and documented by e-MERLIN staff to aid in data reduction process (e.g. megapossm.py).
- Models including FITS images of 3C286 (L-band, C-band) for use in setting the flux scale (see Cookbook July 2014 or later and 3C286_README).
- Full support of archival requests, including data reduction assistance for all publically available e-MERLIN or MERLIN data.
- Financial support for EU (non-UK) proposers to visit JBCA for observing and data reduction, via the RadioNet TransNational Access (see e-MERLIN observe page) for further details regarding eligibility.
- Full assistance with all data distribution to remote users, either via ftp/http or distribution of USB disks