[CF-metadata] Seeking new CF standard names (9) for sea surface wave parameters

From: Jonathan Gregory <j.m.gregory>
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:43:09 +0100

Dear Roy

> The usable data comprise an hourly set of 'statistics' at a given location. Describing the derived values as 'parameterisations' might give a clearer picture of what they represent. I therefore think that these belong in standard names rather than cell methods.

Thanks for this description. Actually this doesn't sound so different to me
from the distinction between daily min and daily max temperature, for example.
In that case there is a timeseries of values, one for each interval (day),
within which a statistic has been evaluated from the subdaily data. In the case
of waves, you have a timeseries of hourly values, and within each hour a
statistic is automatically calculated from subhourly data. Could we not clearly
describe this by a time entry in cell_methods, with the standard name stating
the quantity which had been statistically processed i.e. wave height? We
would need extensions to cell_methods to deal with all the cases proposed, but
they might turn out to be useful for other quantities too.

Best wishes

Jonathan
Received on Tue Sep 21 2010 - 10:43:09 BST