Hello Markus, In the SeaDataNet profile of CF 1.6 documented in http://www.seadatanet.org/content/download/16251/106283/file/SDN2_D85_WP8_Datafile_formats.pdf we have addressed this issue by adopting the INSTANCE dimension from the CF 1.6 manual set to the number of timeseries packed into the file - see page 39 of the SeaDataNet document. We then have a series of vectors of size INSTANCE to carry the metadata. Some of these - like latitude and longitude - are co-ordinate variables, but others such as SDN_REFERENCES are not and carry text information - in this case URIs to external metadata resources - such as a person's name or reference (e.g. ORCID).
Cheers, Roy. Please note that I partially retired on 01/11/2015. I am now only working 7.5 hours a week and can only guarantee e-mail response on Wednesdays, my day in the office. All vocabulary queries should be sent to enquir...@bodc.ac.uk. Please also use this e-mail if your requirement is urgent. ________________________________________ From: CF-metadata <cf-metadata-boun...@cgd.ucar.edu> on behalf of Markus Fiebig <markus.fie...@nilu.no> Sent: 08 February 2016 11:58 To: 'cf-metadata@cgd.ucar.edu' Subject: [CF-metadata] temporally / spatially variable metadata in NetCDF-CF Dear colleagues, in the group here, we recently came across a question where we thought we needed a NetCDF-CF wizard, and I'm sure these wizards are on this mailing list. We are running a data archive for time series data on atmospheric constituents measured at surface stations across the globe. The data are archived properly together with metadata, making them usable also without direct contact with the archive or data provider. However, since much of the data is considered research grade, we have the obligation to deliver information on the principal investigator (PI) of the data together with the data, in order for the data user to agree on how to acknowledge the data PI. If you only look at one dataset of one station, putting this data into a NetCDF-CF file is a straight forward exercise - you simply add all metadata items as global attributes to the NetCDF-CF file. To make using our data easier for (model) users, we'd like to put data from several stations, all measuring the same parameter, into one file. This results in a file with several time series, each having different metadata that needs to be included. Putting this metadata into global attributes isn't an option since the metadata aren't constant for the whole file. The metadata items comprise e.g. station position, altitude, PI contact information (variable in time), instrument type, etc. Some of these items are with advantage used as co-ordinate variables, e.g. station position, but that's not a solution for the rest of metadata items. Does anybody have a smart idea? Best regards, Markus -- Dr. Markus Fiebig Senior Scientist Dept. Atmospheric and Climate Research (ATMOS) Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) P.O. Box 100 N-2027 Kjeller Norway Tel.: +47 6389-8235 Fax : +47 6389-8050 e-mail: markus.fie...@nilu.no skype: markus.fiebig P Please consider the environment before printing this email and attachments ________________________________ This message (and any attachments) is for the recipient only. NERC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the contents of this email and any reply you make may be disclosed by NERC unless it is exempt from release under the Act. Any material supplied to NERC may be stored in an electronic records management system. ________________________________ _______________________________________________ CF-metadata mailing list CF-metadata@cgd.ucar.edu http://mailman.cgd.ucar.edu/mailman/listinfo/cf-metadata
