I like what you are suggesting Nan. Let's be sure we do it in a way
that is happy with both heights and depths.
On 2/28/2012 3:33 PM, Nan Galbraith wrote:
> Hello all -
>
> I'd been hoping that I would not outlive my ability to ignore the CF
> FeatureTypes,
> but apparently it's not to be. As a fallback position, now I'm hoping
> that we can
> add a type, to accommodate data collected on stationary moorings,
> where there
> are time series of variables at a single x,y location, at multiple
> depths, on a single
> time base. The majority of the data in the OceanSITES project fits
> into this category,
> and there is no existing feature type to describe it, as far as I
> understand.
>
> Presently, to use any of the feature types, we would need to store
> data from each
> depth in an individual file. This is a serious problem, in part
> because we have
> dozens of instruments - 30 or 40 in some cases - on each mooring, but
> also
> because, for most of our data users, the most convenient files contain
> z-merged
> data; for example, a single time series containing all the
> temperatures and salinities.
>
> Back in 2009, I made the suggestion to change the list of types that
> cover time series,
> from the single:
> * stationTimeSeries: a time-series of data points at the same
> location, with varying time
> to the pair:
> * TimeSeries: a time-series of data points at one X,Y,Z with varying T
> * stationTimeSeries: a time-series of data points at one X,Y, with
> multiple Z and T
>
> or, alternatively,to change the definition of stationTimeSeries to
> something like 'a
> time-series of data points at one geographical location and one or
> more depths'.
>
> The exact terms don't matter much to me (although there's a cultural
> problem
> with including the word 'profile' in the name of a 2D timeseries) but
> we still DO
> need a way to describe these stations.
>
> Here's an excerpt from a CDL for a typical moored station's data.
> dimensions:
> TIME = 129139 ;
> DEPTH = 16 ;
> LATITUDE = 1 ;
> LONGITUDE = 1 ;
> variables:
> double TIME(TIME) ;
> TIME:standard_name = "time" ;
> double DEPTH(DEPTH) ;;
> DEPTH:standard_name = "depth" ;
> double LATITUDE(LATITUDE) ;
> LATITUDE:standard_name = "latitude" ;
> double LONGITUDE(LONGITUDE) ;
> LONGITUDE:standard_name = "longitude" ;
> double TEMP(TIME, DEPTH) ;
> TEMP:standard_name = "sea_water_temperature" ;
> TEMP:coordinates = "TIME, DEPTH, LATITUDE, LONGITUDE" ;
>
> There are several threads in the CF mail archive about this, mostly
> under subject lines containing the phrase 'point obs' - but as far
> as I know, it was never resolved, at least not to the satisfaction of
> those who work with mooring data.
>
> Regards -
> Nan
>
--
Jim Biard
Government Contractor, STG Inc.
Remote Sensing and Applications Division (RSAD)
National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Ave.
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
jim.biard at noaa.gov
828-271-4900
Received on Wed Feb 29 2012 - 09:38:28 GMT
