Data submission
BODC relies on the expertise of the data originators to supply fully processed, quality-controlled data sets with supporting comprehensive metadata. A complete set of metadata will enable the data set to stand alone for long-term future use and thereby maximise the legacy of the consortium.
The following is a summary of the submission process. Further information can be obtained from our general guidelines on submitting data to BODC or by contacting Mark Hebden.
BODC is the repository for all observational and model output from the FASTNEt consortium.
Observational data
FASTNEt data should be lodged at BODC within six months of instrumentation recovery and/or sample analysis. Data should be in a processed, finalised form and be readily usable by third parties. BODC also recognises the merits of storing the raw data streams from certain instruments used by FASTNEt and will review such benefits on a case by case basis. If this is applicable, please ensure that the data set in question is accompanied by a fully processed version, which is required in order to help meet the scientific objectives of FASTNEt.
Near real-time data streams from FASTNEt should also be lodged with BODC for archive. We will explore opportunities to disseminate such data to relevant stakeholders, for example the Global Telecommunication System (GTS), with the prior consent of the FASTNEt community.
Model data
Archive of model data should be restricted to definitive runs that address the fundamental objectives of FASTNEt. Please contact Mark Hebden to discuss archive suitability and formats in further detail.
FASTNEt data may be submitted to BODC in the following ways
- Email attached files, no larger than 5 Mb in size, to Mark Hebden. Please check size restrictions for email attachments with your IT service manager.
- Place your data on an FTP server and email retrieval instructions to Mark Hebden.
- Copy your data onto CDROM or DVD and send to Mark Hebden, British Oceanographic Data Centre, Joseph Proudman Building, 6 Brownlow Street, Liverpool L3 5DA.
- For collaborators based at SAMS, FASTNEt data may also be submitted to BODC using the internal SAMS data submission system, available via the SAMS intranet. Further details can be found on our partners pages for SAMS data submission or by contacting the SAMS data manager, Steve Gontarek.
If none of the methods listed above are suitable, please contact us to determine a method.
Formats
We can accept most recognised file formats. If in doubt, please ask.
Accompanying information
Please ensure that the following information is in or clearly linked to the data files
- Sampling mechanism (e.g. CTD, rosette, zooplankton net)
- Cast and station references where appropriate
- Date and time of sample in GMT (or other specified time reference)
- Depth/height of sample
- Bottle/rosette reference for CTD rosette sampling
- Clear definition of all units
IMPORTANT - Please include in Word or text document
- Name and institution of the data originator and the principal investigator
- Specific details of sampling methods
- Specific details of instrumentation
- Details of analytical procedures employed
- Details of any problems encountered, along with comments on data quality
- A list of associated data files
With prior arrangement BODC has the capacity to process some data types on behalf of the consortium. In this case raw data files can be submitted to BODC for processing. It must be stressed that BODC does not have the resource to process raw data without specific agreement. Unprocessed data cannot readily be incorporated into the relational database system and distribution is limited to copies of the original files via a data set inventory. In the case of NERC funded research the submission of unprocessed data alone to a designated data centre does not meet the data management criteria of the grant.
