ACDD Variable Attributes Recommendations
ACDD Variable Attributes for Usability - Highly Recommended
The following NetCDF Attribute Convention for Data Discovery variable attributes are highly recommended for data usability.
Source: ACDD Release 1.1| Concept | Description | Dialect (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 Vocabulary | The 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:thesaurusName/cit:CI_Citation/cit:title/gco:CharacterString THREDDS //thredds:dataset/thredds:dataset/thredds:variables/@vocabulary netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:variable/attribute[@nc:name='standard_name_vocabulary']/@nc:value |
| Units | The 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 Type | The coverage content type is an ISO codeList describing the general content type of the resource. The content types are: image, thematicClassification, physicalMeasurement, auxiliaryInformation, qualityInformation, referenceInformation, modelResult | ISO /*/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 netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:variable/nc:attribute[@nc:name='coverage_content_type']/@nc:value |
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.
