Contents 1. Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 2. General Background................................................................................................. 1 2.1 Data Management Coordinating Committee (DMCC)......................................1 2.2 Information Management within SEACOOS ....................................................2 2.3 Data Scope .........................................................................................................3 3. File Format Background ......................................................................................... 4 3.1 Network Common Data Form (netCDF) ...........................................................4 3.2 Common Data Language (CDL)........................................................................5 3.3 NetCDF Conventions .........................................................................................6 4. Publishing and Sharing Data.................................................................................. 7 5. Data Format Categories ........................................................................................... 7 6. Required Variables ..................................................................................................10 6.1 Time Variable ..................................................................................................10 6.2 Longitude Variable ..........................................................................................10 6.3 Latitude Variable ..............................................................................................10 6.4 Vertical Variable ..............................................................................................11 7. Data Variables...........................................................................................................11 7.1 Wind .................................................................................................................11 7.2 Water Temperature ..........................................................................................12 7.3 Water Level......................................................................................................11 7.4 Ocean Currents.................................................................................................13 8. Filename .....................................................................................................................14 9. Global Attributes......................................................................................................14 9.1 Required Global Attributes ..............................................................................14 9.2 Recommended Global Attributes.....................................................................16 10. Variable Attributes ................................................................................................18 10.1 Required Variable Attributes .........................................................................18 10.2 Other Variable Attributes...............................................................................18 11. Standard Names ....................................................................................................20 12. Units ..........................................................................................................................20 13. Future Directions...................................................................................................20 14. References ..............................................................................................................21 Appendix A ....................................................................................................................22 A.1 fixed-point .......................................................................................................22 A.2 fixed-profiler ...................................................................................................24 A.3 fixed- map ........................................................................................................26 A.4 moving-point-2D.............................................................................................28 A.5 moving-point-3D.............................................................................................30 A.6 moving-profiler ...............................................................................................32