Data Usability (netCDF ACDD)

From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)

The following NetCDF Attribute Convention for Data Discovery variable attributes are highly recommended for data usability.

ACDD variable attributes for Usability - Highly Recommended

ConceptDescriptionDialect (Fit) Paths
Parameter Name (Standard)The name of a parameter included in the resource from a standard vocabulary.ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:contentInfo/mrc:MD_CoverageDescription/mrc:attributeGroup/mrc:MD_AttributeGroup/mrc:attribute/*/mrc:name/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:code/gco:CharacterString
netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:variable/nc:attribute[@nc:name='standard_name']/@nc:value
Standard Name VocabularyThe name of the shared vocabulary from which variable standard names are taken.ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords/gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:title/gco:CharacterString
ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords[mri:type/mri:MD_KeywordTypeCode='theme']/mri:thesaurusName/cit:CI_Citation/cit:title/gco:CharacterString
netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:variable/attribute[@nc:name=standard_name_vocabulary]/@nc:value
UnitsThe units of the variables data values.ISO /gmi:MI_Metadata/gmd:contentInfo/gmi:MI_CoverageDescription/gmd:dimension/gmd:MD_Band/gmd:units
ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:contentInfo/mrc:MD_CoverageDescription/mrc:attributeGroup/mrc:MD_AttributeGroup/mrc:attribute/mrc:MD_SampleDimension/mrc:units
netCDF metadata/variables/variable@units/@nc:value
Coverage Content TypeAn ISO 19115-1 code to indicate the source of the dataISO /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:contentInfo/gmd:MD_CoverageDescription/gmd:contentType/gmd:MD_CoverageContentTypeCode
ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:contentInfo/mrc:MD_CoverageDescription/mrc:attributeGroup/mrc:MD_AttributeGroup/mrc:contentType/mrc:MD_CoverageContentTypeCode

xPath Note: The xPaths included in this table use several wildcards. // means any path, so //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty indicates a gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty anywhere in an XML file. /*/ indicates a single level with several possible elements. This usually indicates one of several concrete realizations of an abstract object. For example /*/gmd:identificationInfo could be gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo or gmi:MI_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo and gmd:identificationInfo//*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords could be gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords or gmd:identificationInfo/srv:SV_ServiceIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords. Fit: The fit of the dialect path with the concept is estimated on a scale of 1 = excellent two-way fit, 2 = one-way fit or some other problem, 3 - extension required.