Archive Formats
From Ocean Teacher Library
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Background
Archive formats are similar in many ways to spreadsheets, but they contain more than one row format. Typically they have one format to indicate cruise information, another for station information, and another for the actual measured parameter values. Archive formats developed in some of the major ocean data centers as a way to save space in true spreadsheets by taking frequently repeated information (e.g. cruise information and station information) and placing this information in special rows that only appeared when there was a change in cruise or station data. Also, since these formats were developed many years ago when computer storage capacity was expensive, they tended to be "formatted" so the data fields are run together. In general, these formats are completely incomprehensible to the uninitiated, and require careful use of a field specification to be understood. One thing you must look for in them is the way that "cruise rows" and "station rows" are identified, or set off from the normal data rows. Archive format files can never be sorted or re-sorted in a spreadsheet program, because the different row formats would defeat the program's usual operation.
World Ocean Database Format
- Used by the Ocean Climate Lab of the US NODC for the World Ocean Database 2005(WOD05); ASCII, but usually "G-zipped" (*.GZ)
- Each separate cruise in the file begins with B, followed by codes for the cruise, then for the station and finally the data. This sequencing repeats again for the next station or cruise, and so on. Virtually the only thing recognizable to the human eye is a contact telephone number. Fortunately almost no one needs to know this format, because the Ocean Data View program can read the zipped versions of the files directly. Notice that it is exactly 80 characters wide, corresponding to the old paper punch card format.
- Example:
B33677938119299101874 913-452-15323326682160 11111002461511330505143307831777037 10022229110729233037901100004421700002204600442153000220910044214300033018300442 12600033036600332990003305490033263000330732003324200044010970033229000440128000 33231000440146300332340004401646003323400044018290033233000440219500332310004402 74300332300004403658003322800044045720033226000 B33847938119399101874 917-452-24403331832170 11161002461511330505143307831777040 70023229110729233037901100004421750002204600442175000220910044217400033018300442 13200033036600442112000330549003326100033073200332560003309140033255000440109700 33248000440128000332380004401463003323200044016460033230000440174300332260004401 8290033229000440219500332270004403658003322500044045720033225000 B316579381582991018981012-452-16504421175140 11131002461511330505143307831777037 00030229110729233037701100004421680002202500442157000220500044214800022075004421 48000
- Available files:
- ocldb1239803523.384.OSD.gz - Ocean station data offshore Namibia, from WOD05
- ocldb1239803523.384.MBT.gz - Mechanical bathythermograph data offshore Namibia
- ocldb1239803523.384.XBT.gz - Expendable bathythermograph data offshore Namibia
- ocldb1248094214.6982.CTD.gz- Conductivity/Temperature/Density data offshore Namibia
- ocldb1248094214.6982.PFL.gz- Profiling float data offshore namibia
ICES Profile Format
This format, also 80 characters wide, has flags at the right side to identify row types. 0J indicated a cruise, 03 contained station information, and 76 contained sample data.
- Sample:
64TR30053259019591990050708 704057 0J 64TR300532590195919900507080005180836390p 03 64TR300532590195919900507080010180236408p 03 64TR30053259019591990050708001218113642538006 004000 76 64TR300532590195919900507080015178936413p 03 64TR300532590195919900507080020177736417p 03 64TR30053259019591990050708002217463647548010 007000 76 64TR300532590195919900507080025176236416p 03 64TR300532590195919900507080030174736414p 03 64TR30053259019591990050708003017333649550004 006000 76
US NODC SD2 Format
Also 80 characters wide, the flags 1, 2 and 3 on the right indicated cruise, station and sample information. This format was widely used the US NODC for archiving, publishing and exchange.
- Example:
0 0650007013219 110696864N19380E0662503650304098MT 027852475 00022475 1 031013999-9999 0222 351 2351210138025010193102 002000020 2 00002 2616 2 361673 904922 142 00162 9000 0011200118272 3 00025 2594 2 361673 904882 142 00172 9000 0007200118272 3 00049 2504 2 363973 904652 142 00372 9000 0009200218232 3 00073 2472 2 3640 2 904292 142 00512 9000 0065200218222 3 00098 2296 2 362863 901922 142 01352 9006 0006201418052 3 00147 1963 2 358513 900062 142 02192 9016 0007208017872 3 00196 1779 2 358433 900062 142 02302 9021 0005209017822 3 00294 1458 2 357923 900062 142 02482 9029 0267207217782 3 00392 1339 2 357453 900062 142 02562 9034 0087211817762 3 00490 1243 2 356543 900102 142 02572 9039 0095217617752 3 00588 1169 2 356073 900042 142 02602 9046 0042226117752 3 00784 1031 2 355123 900052 142 02772 9058 0005221317732 3 00980 0893 2 354063 900082 142 02992 9070 0006231117722 3 01225 0711 2 352093 900312 142 03002 9087 0004237417702 3 01470 0571 2 350673 900702 142 03032 9103 0004239417712 3 01715 0425 2 349373 901342 142 02692 9121 0005238917752 3 01800 0328 2 348513 901962 153 03042 9130 0005238217792 3 02025 0264 2 348003 902432 153 02662 9138 0005235617812 3 02250 0225 2 347803 902582 153 02622 9143 0007237017822 3 02475 0201 2 347563 902672 153 02662 9145 0008237217832 3
GETADE GF3 Format
In the last decades of the 20th century, considerable effort was expended by the IOC's Group of Experts on Technical Aspects of Data Exchange (GETADE) to develop a general data archiving and exchange format, named GF3. Although very carefully studied and well-documented, the format never achieved wide usage. A set of specifications is cited below. GF3 was followed by the so-called GETADE format, which was never formally and completely published.
Additional Resources
- GF3 Subsets - Descriptions of the 14 different data types for which a GF3 profile ("subset") was created.
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Information about this article
Short title: Archive Formats
Description: Archive formats are similar to spreadsheets, but contain more than one row format. Typically they have one format to indicate cruise information, another for station information, and another for the actual measured parameter values.
Expertise level: beginner
Author: Murray.Brown
Approval status: approved
Approved by: Murray.Brown
Last change: 2009-7-27
Subsection of: Marine Data Format Types
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