The YOPP Supersite-Model Intercomparison Project (YOPPsiteMIP) is a coordinated effort to collect land-based polar observation data and ship-based campaign data at specified ‘supersites’ during identified special observing periods (Feb – Mar 2018, July – Sept 2018). In an effort to collate the data collected, Merged Observatory Data Files (MODFs) have been developed to standardize the formatting of data into netCDF files with standardized nomenclature, metadata and structure. The MODFs are created on the basis of the H-K Variable Schema Table (Hartten and Khalsa, 2022) developed for the YOPPsiteMIP. Creating MODFs using the H-K Variable Schema Table requires collection of extensive information to populate global and variable attribute fields, since MODFs amalgamate data from a large number of sensors often operated by different research groups. The A-M Variable & Attribute Table (with authors Akish and Morris) provides an organizational structure and machine-readable format for MODF creators to gather and input the required global and variable attribute information. The attributes collected in this table are drawn from the current Attribute Convention for Data Discovery (ACDD) and the current NetCDF Climate Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions that were also identified in the H-K Variable Schema Table (Hartten and Khalsa, 2022). The A-M Variable & Attribute Table organizes data in three specified CF Feature Types (timeSeries, timeSeriesProfile and TrajectoryProfile), and allows the user to more easily interpret missing fields in their metadata records. This allows for the MODF maker and users of the MODFs to more easily track where information came from and where they can learn more about the data and its processing. As well as supporting the creation of MODF files, the A-M Table can also be used to create datagrams, a graphical metadata tool designed for humans (Morris and Uttal, 2022).
This work was supported by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Laboratories and Programs including the Physical Science Laboratory, the Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program, and the Climate Program Office, as well as by the NOAA Cooperative Agreement with CIRES.
{"references":["Hartten, Leslie M., & Khalsa, Siri Jodha S. (2022). The H-K Variable SchemaTable developed for the YOPPsiteMIP (1.2). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6463464","Morris, S., & Uttal, T. (2022). Datagrams: Diagrammatic Metadata for Humans, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 103(5), E1343-E1350. Retrieved Jun 21, 2022, from https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/103/5/BAMS-D-21-0219.1.xml"]}