It is planned to provide quality checks for the AMBER data in the same way as for data from the other VLT/VLTI instruments. At present the data processing pipeline is still under development and provides basic quality checks.

QC0 involves checks whether the user-defined observational constraints have been respected during the observation. The QC0 checks are done on the raw data (CALIBRATION, SCIENCE or astronomical calibrator data).

In most of the data packages, the observer receives a QC0 report which lists all the programme-specific files, some of their user-defined constraints (as read from the OB Repository which was filled from P2PP), and some of the actual QC0 parameters during observation (as read from the Ambient Database which is fed from the Ambient Site Monitor).

Furthermore, the user also receives an OB status report which contains, per OB, the assessment by the on-site staff of the quality of the raw data.

The user constraints for P78 are:

• weather constraints: Seeing, coherence time and air mass
• MACAO loop should be closed
• LST constraints
• Baseline choice
• Science/calibrator matching.

The data are checked in Paranal for several of these constraints.

Quality Control Level 1 consists of quality checks on pipeline-processed data.

• On the individual observations we verify:
  • if the associated calibration (P2VM) is of good quality,
  • the presence of correlated flux
  • the stability of the fringe observation
• On longer time schedule (nighthly and longer) we study:
• the stability of the instrument using the astronomical calibrators observed.

Trending is monitoring QC1 parameters over time (e.g. Visibility of the calibrator data, The stability of the photometric and interferometric beams (using the P2VM)) Investigating the mutual relations of QC1 parameters is also part of trending. (TBC) Find access to the AMBER QC1 and trending site (TBC).