Proposing Standard Names for data from Current Meters and Profilers

From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)
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This is workspace for developing a DRAFT list of terms and definitions to be proposed to the Climate and Forecast standard names committee. Please consider adding your ideas!

Working principles

  • CF is unconcerned with methodologies, and wants to include terms that convey a concept; so e.g. the instrument_heading field should represent the same concept whether the data is from a shipboard ADCP or a current meter attached to a mooring line. In the former case, the value is derived from external sensors (ships gyro, among others) and known constants that describe the instrument's alignment with respect to the ship's hull; in the latter case, it's recorded by the instrument. Broadly applicable terms will be most useful.
  • Likewise, it might be possible to define a term like echo_amplitude and re-use it for any number of beams; using variable names and long_name attributes to distinguish between them (EAMP1: long_name='echo_amplitude_beam_1"). This takes a lot of the complexity out of the project, because we don't need names for the outputs of differently configured instruments.
  • We can't request standard names for every output of every type of instrument, at least not if we hope to get anything approved, so let's concentrate on instrument alignment first, and then some common outputs (percent good, error velocity ...). Where possible, we should use earth coordinate systems, not relative-to-platform terms.
  • The most useful terms will be for processed data that's got earth-relative velocities; this is the data most often shared and so most in need of standard names (and definitions).

Links

Existing Vocabularies

  1. From CODAS NetCDF output:
 *u:long_name = "Zonal velocity component" ;
 *v:long_name = "Meridional velocity component" ;
 *amp:long_name = "Received signal strength" ;
 *pg:long_name = "Percent good pings" ;
 *heading:long_name = "Ship heading" ;
 *tr_temp:long_name = "ADCP transducer temperature" ;
 *uship:long_name = "Ship zonal velocity component" ;
 *vship:long_name = "Ship meridional velocity component" ;
  1. From IOOS parameter vocabulary (selected terms related to currents)
* northward_current_speed: North/South component of ocean current. Northward is positive.
* bin_direction: Current direction of bin (?)
* vertical_current: Upward/Downward component of ocean current. Upward is positive.
* current_to_direction: Direction towards which ocean current is going
 * number_profile_bins: Number of uniformly spaced depth cells where data is collected
  • bin_size: Width distance between bins
  • number_of_transducer_beams: Number of directionally independent beams of the ADCP
  • bin_velocity: Current velocity of bin
  • sound_velocity: Magnitude of velocity of sound in water
  • transducer_height: Height of transducer above bottom or from surface
  • transducer_frequency: Operating frequency of ADCP
  • beam_velocity: Current velocity measured parallel to the path of beam 1
  • current_speed: Magnitude of velocity of ocean current
  • beam_echo_intensity: Measure of the echo intensity returning to beam 1 from the ADCP transmit pulse
  • eastward_current_speed: East/West component of ocean current. Eastward is positive.
  • blanking_height: Distance from instrument to first bin measurement
  • bottom_track_heading: no definition
  • bottom_tracking_depth: Distance to sea floor determined by a series of long pulses sent out from ADCP