Data storage and evaluation

The amount of data acquired by the MWA detector is vast. A single scan at maximum radial resolution and full wavelength scope is approximately three orders of magnitude larger than a single wavelength XLA scan. It is recommended to take reasonable measures when storing data, e.g. omitting wavelengths with no absorbance. Biological samples exhibiting only UV absorbance can be reduced in size by 80% if no data for wavelengths greater than 300 nm is stored.

The binary files the MWA data is stored in consists of a header, a list of recorded wavelengths, and a data section with intensity readings according to the grid defined in the header. The definitions are specified here. The data format has been designed to store all data as it comes from the instrument, without any reduction of data at this stage. Apart from this, the format was kept as close as possible to the binary file format definition suggested by Borries Demeler but for some minor modifications.

The file header contains all relevant information on the scan itself: time of acquisition, current angular velocity and runtime integral, sample specification etc.

Data evaluation is still at an early stage due to the innovative nature of the MWA detector. Borries Demeler's Ultrascan III and Walter Stafford's SedAnal are the first programs capable of handling MWA data and performing global fits on multiwavelength data fields.

Of course, any other AUC evaluation software can be used to analyse single wavelengths extracted from MWA data.