Skip to content.
Intranet


Forgot your password?
 

SEACOOS Data Dictionary Version 2.0

Document Actions
The SEACOOS netCDF relied upon the Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata netCDF Conventions v1.0 wherever possible (per IOOS DMAC). The main digression from CF that SEACOOS took was that SEACOOS netCDF gets standard names and additional metadata from the SEACOOS Data Dictionary instead of the CF Standard Name Table. While many of the terms are similar to terms in the CF Standard Names Table v1.0, there are slight differences and additional terms not available in CF Standard Names Table v1.0. The standard name table used by SEACOOS is documented here.
Prepared by Sara Haines, UNC Chapel Hill, Department of Marine Sciences, December 2004

This dictionary is also available in the following formats:

Adobe PDF • Excel Spreadsheet

















Term Definition Short Name Long Name data class units axis valid range
latitude Y-coordinate of dependent observation in geographic coordinate. North is positive. lat latitude coordinate degrees_north Y -90.,90.
longitude X-coordinate of dependent observation in geographic coordinate. East is positive. lon longitude coordinate degrees_east X -180.,180
z Z-coordinate of observation. Zero (z=0) is defined by reference. Up is positive. z vertical coordinate coordinate meter Z
depth Z-coordinate of observation in vertical distance below reference. Down is positive. (sea surface | geiod | ellipsoid | MSL | MLLW | AGL ) depth measurement depth coordinate meter Z
height Z-coordinate of observation in vertical distance above reference. Up is positive. (sea surface | geiod | ellipsoid | MSL | MLLW | AGL ) height height above reference coordinate meter Z
altitude Z-coordinate of observation in vertical distance above reference. Up is positive. (sea surface | geiod | ellipsoid | MSL | MLLW | AGL) altitude altitude above reference coordinate meter Z
skin Upper millimeter to centimeter of a surface. skin skin coordinate meter Z -0.01, 0.01
surface Upper 1-2 meters of an interface between two layers, commonly the sea surface. surface surface coordinate


bottom Bottom of a layer, commonly ocean bottom. bottom bottom coordinate


time Time coordinate of observation based on number of seconds since the defined reference time. (UDUNITS {sec | hr | day} since YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.xxx {+/- ZONE}) time Time time sec since 1970-1-1 00:00:00 T
sample_interval Time period between observations. sample_interval sampling time interval sensor seconds T
averaging_interval Time periood over which several observations are averaged. average_interval averaging time interval sensor seconds T
wind_speed Magnitude of wind velocity. wspd true wind speed met m s-1 T,Z 0.,150.
wind_from_direction Direction from which wind is blowing. Meteorological Convention. wdir true wind direction meteorological convention met degrees_true T,Z 0.,360.
wind_to_direction Direction toward which wind is blowing. Oceanographic convention. wdir true wind direction oceanographic convention met degrees_true T,Z 0.,360.
wind_gust Maximum instantaneous wind speed (usually no more than but not limited to 10 seconds) within a sample averaging interval. wgust wind gusts met m s-1 T,Z 0., 250.
eastward_wind East/West component of wind vector. Eastward wind is positive. east_wind east/west component of wind met m s-1 T,Z -150., 150.
northward_wind North/South component of wind vector. Northward wind is positive. north_wind north/south component of wind met m s-1 T,Z -150., 150.
upward_wind Up/Down component of wind vector. Up is positive. z_wind upward velocity of air met m s-1 T,Z -150., 150.
wind_stress Magnitude of wind stress. Wind stress is the force of wind imposed on a unit area. tau surface wind stress met N m-2

wind_stress_to_direction Direction toward which wind stress is acting. tau_dir surface wind stress to direction met degrees_true

eastward_wind_stress East/West component of wind stress. Eastward is positive. tau_x eastward surface wind stress met N m-2

northward_wind_stress North/South component of wind stress. Northward is positive. tau_y northward surface wind stress met N m-2

air_temperature Temperature of air, in situ. air_temp air temperature met celsius T,Z -10.,40.
dew_point_temperature Temperature at which air begins to condense. dew_point dew point temperature met celsius T -10.,40.
wet_bulb_temperature Temperature of evaporative cooling. wet_bulb_temp wet bulb temperature met celsius T -10.,40.
relative_humidity Amount of moisture in the air as vapor relative to how much it can possibly hold at the same temperature. rel_humid relative humidity met precent T 0.,105.
mixing_ratio The ratio of mass of water vapor to the mass of dry air in the sample. mix mixing ratio met g kg-1 T
air_pressure Pressure exerted by overlying air air_press atmospheric pressure met hPa T 822.,1040.
air_density Mass of air per unit volume. air density air density met kg m-3 T
precipitation_accumlated_daily Amount of wet equivalent precipitation accumulated for a 24 hour period. precip_accum accumulated precipitation met mm T
precipitation_rate Amount of wet equivalent precipitation per unit time. precip_rate instantaneous precipitation rate met mm hr-1 T
cloud_cover Percent of sky covered by clouds of all types. cloud cover percent cloud coverage met percent T 0., 100.
latent_heat_flux Evaporative exchange of heat from the atmosphere to the ocean. Positive is downward. Q_latent latent heat flux air-sea W m-2 T -600., 20.
sensible_heat_flux Conductive or convective exchange of heat from the atmosphere to the ocean. Positive is downward. Q_sensible sensible heat flux air-sea W m-2 T -200., 20.
net_heat_flux Combined net shortwave, net longwave, sensible and latent heat fluxes. Positive is downward. Q_net net heat flux air-sea W m-2 T -1000., 600.
sound_velocity Magnitude of velocity of sound in water. sound_velocity sound velocity physical m s-1 T,Z
northward_current North/South component of ocean current. Northward is positive. water_v N/S component of current physical cm s-1 T,Z -300., 300.
eastward_current East/West component of ocean current. Eastward is positive. water_u east/west component of current physical cm s-1 T,Z -300.,300.
vertical_current Upward/Downward component of ocean current. Upward is positive. water_w vertical velocity of water parcel physical cm s-1 T,Z
current_speed Magnitude of velocity of ocean current. c_spd speed of current physical cm s-1 T,Z 0.,300.
current_to_direction Direction towards which ocean current is going. c_dir direction of current relative to true north physical degrees_true T,Z 0.,360.
water_temperature In situ temperature of the ocean. wtemp water temperature physical celsius T,Z 10., 35.
conductivity Ability of a material to pass an electrical current. Inverse of resistance. cond conductivity physical siemens | uS T,Z
specific_conductance Ability of a specific volume (1 cubic centimeter) of water to pass an electrical current. sp_cond specific conductance physical uS cm-1

salinity Measure of salt content of a seawater sample follows UNESCO standards; approximately parts per thousand. salinity salinity physical PSS T,Z 22.,38.
water_density Mass of water per unit volume density density physical kg m-3

surface_elevation Height or altitude of the sea surface above specified reference. surf_el sea surface elevation physical meter T
water_pressure Amount of pressure caused by overlying water column. water_press water pressure physical Pa | bar | dbar | atm T,Z
swell_wave_height Average height of the highest one-third of the swells, if a separation between swell and wind-wave energy peak exists. swell_ht swell wave height wave meter T
swell_from_direction Direction the swell is coming from. swell_dir swell wave direction wave degrees_true T
swell_wave_period Period of the swells. Average time in seconds between swell crests swell_per swell wave period wave second

wind_wave_height Average height of the highest one-third of the wind-waves, if a separation between swell and wind-wave energy peak exists. wind_wv_ht wind wave height wave meter T
wind_wave_from_direction Direction the wind-waves are coming from. wind_wv_dir wind wave direction wave degrees_true T
wind_wave_period Period of wind-waves.Average time in seconds between wave crests wind_wv_per wind wave period wave second

signifcant_wave_height Average height of the highest one-third of the waves. sig_wv_ht significant wave height wave meter T
signifcant_wave_from_direction Significant wave direction. sig_wv_dir signifcant wave direction wave degrees_true T
significant_wave_period Period of the significant wave.Period of higher waves measured during wave sampling sig_wv_per significant wave period wave second

wave_steepness Measure of departure from typical wave slope.taken from wave height and wave period-relationship of steepness
wave


oxygen_concentration Concentration in water of dissolved oxygen. oxygen_concen oxygen concentration chem ug L-1 T
oxygen_saturation Concentration at which oxygen becomes saturated in water. oxygen_sat oxygen saturation chem ug L-1 T
transmittance Ratio of transmitted power to incident power transmittance percent transmittance
percent T 0.,100.
nitrate_concentration
nitrate nitrate concentration chem ug L-1 T
pCO2 partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or ocean-primarily for flux measurements

chem


chl_concentration concentration of chloropyll-a in a defined volume of water chl_conc Chlorophyll Concentration bio ug L-1 (not kg m-3) T
cdom colored (or chromophoric) dissolved organic matter, of riverine origin cdom colored dissolved organic matter bio mg/l or 1/m T
electromagnetic_wavelength specific frequency of energy within the electromagnetic spectrum. wavelength wavelength em m

spectral_irradiance Light energy of specific wavelength from all directions at a point and time in space. E spectral irradiance em W m-2 m-1

downwelling_irradiance Irradiance from above. Ed downwelling irradiance em W m-2 m-1

upwelling_irradiance Irradiance from below Eu upwelling irradiance em W m-2 m-1

spectral_radiance Light energy of specific wavelength from a set of directions (solid angle) at a point and time in space. L spectral radiance em W m-2 m-1 sr-1









downwelling_radiance Radiance from below. Ld downwelling radiance em W m-2 m-1 sr-1

upwelling_radiance Radiance from above. Lu upwelling radiance em W m-2 m-1 sr-1

water_leaving_radiance Radiance from below, leaving the water surface. Luw water leaving radiance em W m-2 m-1 sr-1

spectral_reflectance Upwelling irradiance (Eu) divided by downwelling radiance (Ed) at a specific spectral wavelength. R reflectance em 1

remote_sensing_spectral_reflectance Upwelling radiance (Lu) divided by downwelling radiance (Ed) at a specific spectral wavelength. Rrs remote-sensing reflectance em sr-1

photosynthetically_available_radiation Integrated downwelling irradiance for wavelengths from 400 to 700nm. PAR photosynthetically avail radiation em W m-2

black_white_radiance Radiance for black body and white light source. bw_rad Black & White shortwave radiance em W m-2 sr-1

black_white_irradiance Irradiance for black body and white light source. bw_irrad Black & White shortwave irradiance em W m-2

downwelling_uv_radiance Integrated downwelling radiance for wavelengths in the ultraviolet region. uv_rad UV radiance em W m-2 sr-1

downwelling_uv_irradiance Integrated downwelling irradiance for wavelengths in the ultraviolet region. uv_irrad UV irradiance em W m-2

downwelling_shortwave_irradiance Integrated downwelling irradiance for spectral wavelengths less than 700nm. psp_irrad shortwave irradiance em W m-2

downwelling_longwave_irradiance Integrated downwelling irradiance for spectral wavelengths greater than 700nm. pir_irrad longwave irradiance em W m-2

downward_longwave_radiation Downward IR radiation. Positive is downward. Q_dlw downward longwave radiation em W m-2 T 250., 450.
net_longwave_radiation Net IR radiation, includes reflected IR radiation. Positive is downward. Q_lw net longwave radiation em W m-2 T -200., 20.
downward_shortwave_radiation Downward solar insolation. Positive is downward. Q_dsw downward shortwave radiation em W m-2 T 0., 1400.
net_shortwave_radiation Net solar insolation considering albedo effects. Positive is downward. Q_sw net shortwave radiation em W m-2 T 0., 1400.
albedo Fraction of downward radiation that is reflected or scattered alb albedo em
T 0., 1.
visibility Greatest distance an object can be seen and identified. Usually refering to visibility in air, but could be other medium. visibility visibility measurement m









light_attenuation_coefficient Measure of combined effects on light caused by absorption and scattering over a defined distance for a specific wavelength of light. attenuate light attenuation measurement m-1

turbidity Measure of light scattering due to suspended material in water. turb turbidity measurement NTU

number_profile_bins Number of uniformely spaced depth cells where data is collected number_bins number of bins in profile adcp


transducer_frequency Operating frequency of ADCP trans_freq adcp transducer frequency adcp kHz

bin_size Width distance between bins bin_width
adcp meters

bin_velocity Current velocity of bin bin_vel current velocity of bin adcp cm s-1 T,Z -300.,300.
bin_direction Current direction of bin bin_dir current direction of bin adcp cm s-1 T,Z 0.,360.
transducer_height Height of transducer above bottom or from surface.

adcp


blanking_height Distance from instrument to first bin measurement

adcp


number_of_transducer_beams Number of directionally independent beams of the ADCP number_beams number of adcp beams adcp

2,6
beam_velocity Current velocity measured parallel to the path of beam 1 beam_vel current velocity from beam1 adcp cm s-1 T,Z -300..,300.
beam_echo_intensity Measure of the echo intensity returning to beam 1 from the ADCP transmit pulse beam_echo beam 1 echo intensity adcp db T,Z 0.,200.
bottom_tracking_depth Distance to sea floor determined by a series of long pulses sent out from ADCP btm_track_depth bottom tracking depth navigation meters

bottom_track_heading
btm_track_hdg ship heading from bottom tracking navigation degrees

relative_wind_speed Magnitude of wind velocity relative to a moving platform, e.g. ship. rel_wndspd relative wind speed navigation m s-1 T 0.,70.
relative_wind_from_direction Direction from which wind is blowing relative to a moving platform, e.g. ship. rel_wnddirec relative wind direction meteorological conv navigation degrees_true T 0.,360.
















































Term Definition data class




















pH
wqm




dissolved_oxygen
wqm




turbidity
wqm




chlorophyll_flourescence
wqm












range_cell
hfradar




range_bin
hfradar




temporal_radial_velocity
hfradar




spatial_radial_velocity
hfradar




total_velocity
hfradar




beam_pattern
hfradar












sample_interval Time period between observations. sensor




averaging_interval Time periood over which several observations are averaged. sensor




reporting_interval Time periood between reports to storage media local to station or sensor and/or remotely. sensor




voltage
sensor












sampling_interval
qc




sample_average_interval
qc




reporting_interval
qc




sensor_resolution
qc




sensor_accuracy
qc




maximum The largest value or upper limit of a quantity or measured value. qc




minimum The lowest value or lowest limit of a quantity or measured value. qc




threshold
qc




sigma_t A defined or empirically derived standard deviation (sigma_t) for a given time difference (delta_t) for each parameter of interest. qc




delta_t The difference between the time of last acceptable measurement or value and the time of the measurement or value of interest. qc




delta_m The difference between the last acceptable measurement or value and the measurement or value of interest. qc












rangeTest The check to ensure that all measurements or values fall within established upper and lower limits. qc




timeContinuityTest This test evaluates the rate of change of a parameter with time. The difference between two consecutive measurements or values of a parameter (delta_m) is verified to be less than a maximum allowable change (sigma_t) defined for a specific time period (delta_t). If delta_m is greater than sigma_t then the measurement fails. If delta_t is greater than maximumTime then the sigma_t evaluated for the maximumTime is used. qc