[CF-metadata] New area_type table and new links from standard name table

From: Karl Taylor <taylor13>
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:19:37 -0800

Hi Alison,

No original suggestions from me, but I think John's suggestions are
definitely worth careful consideration.

Karl


John Graybeal wrote:
> Alison,
>
> All these changes sound excellent.
>
> I have a few suggestions for the area_type info. Well, more like questions.
>
> An area_type that I imagine being useful within a year or two, if not
> within months, is the benthic floor (i.e., land under the sea). And by
> analog: land under a lake, or the more general water_covered_ground. I'm
> not recommending those changes now, but they raise the following
> question: Is 'land' is intended to be all-encompassing in this regard?
> Definitions would help make this clear. As a general observation,
> discussing terms without associated definitions can lead to confusion on
> all parts.
>
> I don't see how all_standard_names makes sense as an area_type.
>
> If lake_ice_or_sea_ice excludes icebergs, does sea_ice? This is
> counterintuitive to a lay person, admittedly not the target audience.
> (Also note, this is where the relation between terms is useful
> information to have -- somewhere in my assumed hierarchy
> floating_ice
> lake_ice_or_sea_ice
> sea_ice
> there is a discrepancy, perhaps intentional. Suggest the discontinuity
> be made explicit in the definition (i..e, explain why
> lake_ice_or_sea_ice excludes icebergs, while floating_ice does not; and
> address whether sea_ice includes icebergs. The definition is where
> people will look to understand the relationships.
>
> I assume the absence of lake_ice is deliberate. (Just a thought:
> Sometimes completeness is helpful for clarity, especially when there are
> no definitions, even though there may not be any immediate use for the
> term. Otherwise it makes some of us wonder why something *wasn't*
> included.)
>
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>
> On Dec 4, 2008, at 6:03 AM, Pamment, JA (Alison) wrote:
>
>> Dear All,
>>
>> Velimir and I have been working on creating the new table of
>> standardized area_type strings as agreed under trac ticket 17. The
>> table lists the values permitted in variables with a standard_name of
>> area_type. To view version 1 of the table please go to
>> http:// cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/documents/cf-standard-names/area-type-table/cur
>> rent/area-type-table. Clicking on the individual table entries will
>> reveal explanatory text, although currently there is only help available
>> for the two new floating_ice strings. Please let us know if you have
>> any comments about the format of the table.
>>
>> For ease of reference, there is also now a link from the area_type
>> description text in the html version of the standard_name table to the
>> new area_type table.
>>
>> At the top of the standard name table a link has been created to the
>> standard name Guidelines document. This has been done with the
>> intention of giving greater prominence on the website to the existence
>> of the Guidelines.
>>
>> The html copy of the standard name table has been rebuilt to add the new
>> links, but this in no way affects the contents of the table which
>> remains at version 11. There are no changes to the xml version of the
>> table.
>>
>> Velimir has converted the standard name Guidelines document to the
>> docbook format (similar to the conventions document) and this hopefully
>> will make it more navigable. In addition, we have introduced version
>> numbering of the Guidelines. This is in response to the fact that there
>> has been a number of recent changes to the document and it looks likely
>> that there will be more in the future. The Guidelines are currently at
>> version 1 and this number will be incremented each time a change is
>> made.
>>
>> If you have any comments regarding any of the above, please send them to
>> the list.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>> Alison
>>
>> ==> Please note new email address: alison.pamment at stfc.ac.uk <==
>>
>> ------
>> J Alison Pamment Tel: +44 1235 778065
>> NCAS/British Atmospheric Data Centre Fax: +44 1235 446314
>> Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Email: alison.pamment at stfc.ac.uk
>> Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0QX, U.K.
>>
>> --Scanned by iCritical.
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>
>
> John
>
> --------------
> John Graybeal <mailto:graybeal at mbari.org> -- 831-775-1956
> Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
> Marine Metadata Interoperability Project: http:// marinemetadata.org
>
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>
Received on Thu Dec 04 2008 - 10:19:37 GMT