Translating to the New Document Format
December 8, 1995
To: All BOREAS Investigators and Staff
From: Jeff Newcomer, BOREAS Information Scientist
[(301) 286-7858] [newcomer@ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov]
Subject: Data Set Documentation Changes
At the October Workshop, I mentioned changes that were being worked out with
the ORNL DAAC regarding data set documentation. BORIS has accepted the ORNL DAAC
Guide Document format to help improve the transfer of data from BORIS to the
DAAC. Since the Guide Document format meets the overall DAAC requirements,
the ORNL DAAC will have much less manual conversion to perform if the BOREAS
data set documentation comes to them in the needed format. Also as I mentioned
at the workshop, the Guide Document content is essentially the same as the
existing BOREAS document outline that was previously distributed to you. At
this point, as you update any existing documentation or supply initial
documentation to BORIS, we will require you to submit the documentation in
the new Guide Document Format to consider it in our tabulation of 'Delivered
Documentation'.
In addition to sending you the Guide Document outline, BORIS has prepared a
look-up table for you to use in moving sections from your existing BOREAS
documents to the new format. Both of these items are included at the end of
this message. Lastly, we ask that you follow the following guidelines in
developing your documents.
1) Left justify all text and section headings
2) Do not mix graphics in with the text. We are still working on details
regarding graphics. For now, please submit digital versions in separate
files and clear hardcopy versions of any graphics you refer to in the text
sections and leave a labeled/designated space for the graphic's inclusion.
3) Do not use tabs for formatting tables. Please use blank spaces to get the
desired spacing.
4) Let text lines wrap naturally unless specific line breaks are required for
tables and new paragraphs.
5) Set your margins to allow a maximum of 80 characters per line and use a
fixed width font rather than proportional ones. We suggest using a 10 pt
Courier font with left and right margins of 1.0 and 0.8 inches, respectively.
6) When using acronyms, spell them out first followed by the acronym in
parentheses. Please include all acronyms in Section 19 in alphabetic order.
7) Use dates in the form of dd-mon-yyyy (e.g., 10-JAN-1994). Day of Year may
be used but also include this standard date format.
8) References in section 17 should be left justfied and allow the text lines
to wrap naturally as the other text. Separate references with blank text
lines.
Data Set Document Title
Summary:
(An abstract about the data set)
Table of Contents
* 1 Data Set Overview
* 2 Investigator(s)
* 3 Theory of Measurements
* 4 Equipment
* 5 Data Acquisition Methods
* 6 Observations
* 7 Data Description
* 8 Data Organization
* 9 Data Manipulations
* 10 Errors
* 11 Notes
* 12 Application of the Data Set
* 13 Future Modifications and Plans
* 14 Software
* 15 Data Access
* 16 Output Products and Availability
* 17 References
* 18 Glossary of Terms
* 19 List of Acronyms
* 20 Document Information
1. Data Set Overview
1.1 Data Set Identification
1.2 Data Set Introduction
1.3 Objective/Purpose
1.4 Summary of Parameters
1.5 Discussion
1.6 Related Data Sets
2. Investigator(s)
2.1 Investigator(s) Name and Title
2.2 Title of Investigation
2.3 Contact Information
(Include name(s), address, telephone number, FAX number, E-mail address)
3. Theory of Measurements
4. Equipment:
4.1 Sensor/Instrument Description
4.1.1 Collection Environment
4.1.2 Source/Platform
4.1.3 Source/Platform Mission Objectives
4.1.4 Key Variables
4.1.5 Principles of Operation
4.1.6 Sensor/Instrument Measurement Geometry
4.1.7 Manufacturer of Sensor/Instrument
4.2 Calibration
4.2.1 Specifications
4.2.1.1 Tolerance
4.2.2 Frequency of Calibration
4.2.3 Other Calibration Information
5. Data Acquisition Methods
6. Observations
6.1 Data Notes
6.2 Field Notes
7. Data Description
7.1 Spatial Characteristics
7.1.1 Spatial Coverage
7.1.2 Spatial Coverage Map
7.1.3 Spatial Resolution
7.1.4 Projection
7.1.5 Grid Description
7.2 Temporal Characteristics
7.2.1 Temporal Coverage
7.2.2 Temporal Coverage Map
(Table listing the dates when the data was
collected at the various locations)
7.2.3 Temporal Resolution
7.3 Data Characteristics
7.3.1 Parameter/Variable
7.3.2 Variable Description/Definition
7.3.3 Unit of Measurement
7.3.4 Data Source
7.3.5 Data Range
7.4 Sample Data Record
8. Data Organization
8.1 Data Granularity
(BORIS and ORNL DAAC to fill in)
8.2 Data Format(s)
9. Data Manipulations
9.1 Formulae
9.1.1 Derivation Techniques and Algorithms
9.2 Data Processing Sequence
9.2.1 Processing Steps
9.2.2 Processing Changes
9.3 Calculations
9.3.1 Special Corrections/Adjustments
9.3.2 Calculated Variables
9.4 Graphs and Plots
10. Errors
10.1 Sources of Error
10.2 Quality Assessment
10.2.1 Data Validation by Source
10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgement
10.2.3 Measurement Error for Parameters
10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments
10.2.5 Data Verification by Data Center
(For BORIS and ORNL DAAC Use)
11. Notes
11.1 Limitations of the Data
11.2 Known Problems with the Data
11.3 Usage Guidance
11.4 Other Relevant Information
12. Application of the Data Set
13. Future Modifications and Plans
14. Software
14.1 Software Description
14.2 Software Access
15. Data Access (This section for BORIS and ORNL DAAC Use)
15.1 Contact Information
(Include name(s), address, telephone number, FAX number, E-mail address.)
15.2 Data Center Identification
15.3 Procedures for Obtaining Data
15.4 Data Center Status/Plans
16. Output Products and Availability
16.1 Tape Products
16.2 Film Products
16.3 Other Products
17. References
17.1 Platform/Sensor/Instrument/Data Processing Documentation
17.2 Journal Articles and Study Reports
17.3 Archive/DBMS Usage Documentation
18. Glossary of Terms
(Think of this as a place to define discipline related jargon and
the wealth of scientific notations/symbols that may be used in the text)
19. List of Acronyms (Basic list for you to add to)
BOREAS - BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study
BORIS - BOREAS Information System
DAAC - Distributed Active Archive Center
EOS - Earth Observing System
EOSDIS - EOS Data and Information System
GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ORNL - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
URL - Uniform Resource Locator
20. Document Information
20.1 Document Revision Date (Use dd-mon-yyyy format)
20.2 Document Review Date(s) (Use dd-mon-yyyy format)
BORIS Review:
Science Review:
20.3 Document ID (For BORIS and ORNL DAAC Use)
20.4 Citation (Currently leave this blank)
20.5 Document Curator (For BORIS and ORNL DAAC Use)
20.6 Document URL (For BORIS and ORNL DAAC Use)
Look-up table to go from Current BOREAS document to new Guide Document Format
Guide
BORIS Document
Section Section
Number BOREAS Section Title Number Guide Document Section Title
------ --------------------- ------- ------------------------------
NA (For BORIS/ORNL Use) 10.2.5 Data Verification by
Data Center
NA (For BORIS/ORNL Use) 13 Future Modifications and
Plans
NA (For BORIS/ORNL Use) 20.3 Document ID
NA (For BORIS/ORNL Use) 20.5 Document Curator
NA (For BORIS/ORNL Use) 20.6 Document URL
1 Title 1 Data Set Overview
1.1 Data Set identification 1.1 Data Set Identification
1.2 BORIS Data Base Table Name NA For BORIS and ORNL DAAC Use
1.3 CD-ROM File Name NA For BORIS and ORNL DAAC Use
1.4 Document History 20.1 Document Revision Date
1.4 Document History 20.2 Document Review Date
2 Investigator 2 Investigator(s)
2.1 Investigator(s) Name And Title 2.1 Investigator(s) Name And Title
2.2 Title Of Investigation 2.2 Title Of Investigation
2.3 Contacts 2.3 Contact Information
2.4 Requested Form of Acknowledgment 20.4 Citation
3 Introduction 1.2 Data Set Introduction
3.1 Objective/Purpose 1.3 Objective/Purpose
3.2 Summary of Parameters 1.4 Summary of Parameters
3.3 Discussion 1.5 Discussion
4 Theory of Measurements 3 Theory of Measurements
5 Equipment 4 Equipment
5.1 Instrument Description 4.1 Sensor/Instrument Description
5.1.1 Platform 4.1.2 Source/Platform
5.1.2 Mission Objectives 4.1.3 Source/Platform
Mission Objectives
5.1.3 Key Variables 4.1.4 Key Variables
5.1.4 Principles of Operation 4.1.5 Principles of Operation
5.1.5 Instrument Measurement 4.1.6 Sensor/Instrument Measurement
Geometry Geometry
5.1.6 Manufacturer of Instrument 4.1.7 Manufacturer of Instrument
5.2 Calibration 4.2 Calibration
5.2.1 Specifications 4.2.1 Specifications
5.2.1. Tolerance 4.2.1.1 Tolerance
5.2.2 Frequency of Calibration 4.2.2 Frequency of Calibration
5.2.3 Calibration Information 4.2.3 Other Calibration Information
6 Procedure 5 Data Acquisition Methods
6.1 Data Acquisition Methods 5 Data Acquisition Methods
6.1 Data Acquisition Methods 4.1.1 Collection Environment
6.2 Spatial Characteristics 7.1 Spatial Characteristics
6.2 Spatial Characteristics 7.1.2 Spatial Coverage Map
6.2 Spatial Characteristics 7.1.4 Projection
6.2 Spatial Characteristics 7.1.5 Grid Description
6.2.1 Spatial Coverage 7.1.1 Spatial Coverage
6.2.2 Spatial Resolution 7.1.3 Spatial Resolution
6.3 Temporal Characteristics 7.2 Temporal Characteristics
6.3.1 Temporal Coverage 7.2.1 Temporal Coverage
6.3.1 Temporal Coverage 7.2.2 Temporal Coverage Map
6.3.2 Temporal Resolution 7.2.3 Temporal Resolution
7 Observations 6 Observations
7 Observations 6.1 Data Notes
7.1 Field Notes 6.2 Field Notes
8 Data Description 7 Data Description
8 Data Description 7.3 Data Characteristics
8.1 Table Definition With Comments NA (For BORIS/ORNL Use)
8.2 Type of Data NA (For BORIS/ORNL Use)
8.2.1 Parameter/Variable Name 7.3.1 Parameter/Variable
8.2.2 Parameter/Variable Description 7.3.2 Variable Description/
Definition
8.2.3 Data Range 7.3.5 Data Range
8.2.4 Units of Measurement 7.3.3 Unit of Measurement
8.2.5 Data Source 7.3.4 Data Source
8.3 Sample Data Record 7.4 Sample Data Record
8.4 Data Format(s) 8 Data Organization
8.4 Data Format(s) 8.1 Data Granularity
8.4 Data Format(s) 8.2 Data Format(s)
8.5 Related Data Set 1.6 Related Data Sets
9 Data Manipulations 9 Data Manipulations
9.1 Formulae 9.1 Formulae
9.1.1 Derivation Techniques/Algorithms 9.1.1 Derivation Techniques and
Algorithms
9.2 Data Processing Sequence 9.2 Data Processing Sequence
9.2.1 Processing Steps 9.2.1 Processing Steps
9.2.2 Processing Changes 9.2.2 Processing Changes
9.3 Calculations 9.3 Calculations
9.3 Calculations 9.3.2 Calculated variables
9.3.1 Special Corrections/ 9.3.1 Special Corrections/
Adjustments Adjustments
9.4 Graphs and Plots 9.4 Graphs and Plots
9.5 Related Processing Software 14 Related Software
9.5 Related Processing Software 14.1 Software Description
9.5 Related Processing Software 14.2 Software Access
10 Errors 10 Errors
10.1 Sources of Error 10.1 Sources of Error
10.2 Quality Assessment 10.2 Quality Assessment
10.2.1 Data Validation by Source 10.2.1 Data Validation by Source
10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy 10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy
Judgment Judgement
10.2.3 Measurement Error for 10.2.3 Measurement Error for
Parameters Parameters
10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments 10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments
11 Notes 11 Notes
11.1 Known Problems With The Data 11.1 Limitations of the Data
11.1 Known Problems With The Data 11.2 Known Problems With The Data
11.2 Usage Guidance 11.3 Usage Guidance
11.2 Usage Guidance 12 Application of the Data Set
11.3 Other Relevant Information 11.4 Other Relevant Information
12 References 17 References
12.1 Satellite/Instrument/Data 17.1 Platform/Sensor/Instrument/
Data Processing Documentation
12.2 Journal Articles and Study 17.2 Journal Articles and Study
Reports Reports
12.3 Archive/DBMS Usage 17.3 Archive/DBMS Usage
Documentation Documentation
13 Data Access 15 Data Access
13.1 Contacts for Archive/Data 15.1 Contact Information
Access Information
13.2 Archive Identification 15.2 Data Center Identification
13.3 Procedures for Obtaining Data 15.3 Procedures for Obtaining Data
13.4 Archive/PLDS Status/Plans 15.4 Data Center Status/Plans
14 Output products and availability 16 Output products and
availability
14.1 Tape Products 16.1 Tape Products
14.2 Film Products 16.2 Film Products
14.3 Other Products 16.3 Other Products
15 Glossary of Acronyms 18 Glossary of Terms
15 Glossary of Acronyms 19 Glossary of Acronyms
16 Key Words At end. No given section number
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Last Updated: December 21, 1995
