[CF-metadata] how to represent a "pft" dimension

From: Jonathan Gregory <j.m.gregory>
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:23:00 +0100

Dear Etienne

> The problem with area_type is that it mostly deals with "vegetation
> types" rather than "plant function types", some models make a
> distinction between them.
> For example, a "savanna" vegetation type is made of several "plant
> function types", such as grass, shrubs and deciduous trees

I would see no objection to adding some PFTs to the area_type table. They
can be area types too, of course i.e. you could have an area covered by
grass or shrubs.

> Numeric values are easier to deal with in many models, and also in
> displaying (e.g. in grads)

Yes, I appeciate that. If you use flag_values and flag_meanings, you can
have a data variable with numerical values, and it's still self-describing
because the flag attributes record a "key" to translate the numbers into
strings.

Best wishes

Jonathan
Received on Wed Jun 13 2012 - 13:23:00 BST