13. TYPES OF DATA TO BE ROUTINELY EXCHANGED WITHIN THE IODE SYSTEM
This section describes the data which should be routinely exchanged within the IODE system.
In general, these data should have been proceeded for all instrumental corrections and calibrations, and should have received a generally acceptable level of quality control. National standards of quality control exist for some data types and the C-IODE is working on an international set of standards. The data should then be exchanges through the World Data Center system or to other permanent centres according to the principles specified in this manual.
The following list covers many of the major kinds of standard oceanographic and marine meteorological data recorded in connection with oceanographic observations:
13.1 Values of air temperature, ocean surface temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, speed and direction of wind, precipitation, visual observations of cloud cover and weather, visibility, other atmospheric phenomena and sea ice.
13.2 Visual and instrumented in-situ observations of waves, sea and swell, including calculated parameters and spectra.
13.3 Colour and transparency using standard Secchi discs, and standard colour scales. The methods used in obtaining these data should be described in detail.
13.4 Values of temperature, salinity (or conductivity) and chemical properties from water bottle samples at surface and at depth, and data from continuous records of physical properties from instruments such as bathy-thermographs (BT and XBT) and salinity-conductivity-temperature depth (STD & CTD) records, also values of other physical-chemical observations from research vessels, shore and fixed stations, drifting or moored buoys.
13.5 Surface and sub-surface current velocities from moored instruments, and surface and sub-surface Lagrangian drifters.
13.6 Sea-levels from recording gauges or tide-staffs. Reduced data from offshore oceanic tide gauges.
13.7 Values of primary production, plant pigments, zooplankton biomass and micro-nekton biomass. The methods used in obtaining these biological data exchanged should be described in detail. (Phytoplankton and benthos biomass are temporarily omitted from the list of standard data pending the development of better standardized methods.)
13.8 Description of geological bottom samples: Data from cores, grab and dredge samples sediment and bedrock; geological period and rock type. For cores, length and short qualitative description. Where possible, estimates of the probable age of top and bottom parts are especially desirable. For other samples; short qualitative description and method of collection.
13.9 Underway records of gravity, magnetics, and bathymetry, provided in recognized formats.
13.10 Oil pollution observations reported in the MARPORMON standard as presented in IOC Manual No.13 for Monitoring Oil and Dissolved/Dispersed Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Marine Waters and on Beaches.
The source: IOC Manual and Guides 9, Manual on International Oceanographic Data Exchange, revised edition, 1991
ACRONYMS
C-IODE : Committee on IODE
IOC : Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UNESCO
IODE : International Oceanographic Data & information Exchange promoted by IOC