BOREAS RSS-11 Ground Sunphotometer Data

7.3 Data Characteristics

7.3.1 Parameter/Variable

The parameters contained in the data files on the CD-ROM are:

         Column Name
------------------------------
SITE_NAME
SUB_SITE
DATE_OBS
TIME_OBS
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_340
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_380
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_440
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_500
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_670
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_870
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_1020
COLUMN_WATER_VAPOR
AIR_TEMP
AIRMASS
CRTFCN_CODE
REVISION_DATE

7.3.2 Variable Description/Definition

The descriptions of the parameters contained in the data files on the CD-ROM 
are:

         Column Name                             Description
------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------
SITE_NAME                      The identifier assigned to the site by BOREAS, 
                               in the format SSS-TTT-CCCCC, where SSS identifies
                               the portion of the study area: NSA, SSA, REG, 
                               TRN, and TTT identifies the cover type for the 
                               site, 999 if unknown, and CCCCC is the identifier
                               for site, exactly what it means will vary with 
                               site type.
SUB_SITE                       The identifier assigned to the sub-site by
                               BOREAS, in the format GGGGG-IIIII, where GGGGG is 
                               the group associated with the sub-site 
                               instrument, e.g. HYD06 or STAFF, and IIIII is the
                               identifier for sub-site, often this will refer to 
                               an instrument.
DATE_OBS                       The date on which the data were collected.
TIME_OBS                       The Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) when the data were
                               collected.
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_340          The aerosol optical thickness measured between 
                               0.339 and 0.341 micrometers.
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_380          The aerosol optical thickness measured at 0.380
                               micrometers.
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_440          The aerosol optical thickness measured between 
                               0.438 and 0.441 micrometers.
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_500          The aerosol optical thickness measured at 0.499
                               or 0.500 micrometers.
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_670          The aerosol optical thickness measured between 
                               0.669 and 0.672 micrometers.
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_870          The aerosol optical thickness measured between 
                               0.871 and 0.873 micrometers.
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_1020         The aerosol optical thickness measured at 1.022
                               micrometers.
COLUMN_WATER_VAPOR             The amount of precipitable water within a
                               vertical column of air with a cross-section of 1
                               centimeter squared and a fixed depth (usually 
                               from the ground to the top of the atmosphere).
AIR_TEMP                       The measured air temperature.
AIRMASS                        The relative distance measurement of the
                               atmosphere through which the radiance measurement 
                               is taken.
CRTFCN_CODE                    The BOREAS certification level of the data.
                               Examples are CPI (Checked by PI), CGR (Certified 
                               by Group), PRE (Preliminary), and CPI-??? (CPI 
                               but questionable).
REVISION_DATE                  The most recent date when the information in the
                               referenced data base table record was revised.

7.3.3 Unit of Measurement

The measurement units for the parameters contained in the data files on the CD-
ROM are:

         Column Name                                Units
------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------
SITE_NAME                      [none]
SUB_SITE                       [none]
DATE_OBS                       [DD-MON-YYYY]
TIME_OBS                       [HHMM GMT]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_340          [unitless]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_380          [unitless]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_440          [unitless]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_500          [unitless]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_670          [unitless]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_870          [unitless]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_1020         [unitless]
COLUMN_WATER_VAPOR             [grams][millimeter^-2]
AIR_TEMP                       [degrees Celsius]
AIRMASS                        [unitless]
CRTFCN_CODE                    [none]
REVISION_DATE                  [DD-MON-YYYY]

7.3.4 Data Source

The source of the parameter values contained in the data files on the CD-ROM 
are:

         Column Name                          Data Source
------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------
SITE_NAME                [Assigned by BORIS Staff]
SUB_SITE                 [Assigned by BORIS Staff]
DATE_OBS                 [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
TIME_OBS                 [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_340    [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_380    [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_440    [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_500    [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_670    [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_870    [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_1020   [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
COLUMN_WATER_VAPOR       [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AIR_TEMP                 [Cimel sun photometers, Miami handheld sun photometers]
AIRMASS                  [Demonstrat software]
CRTFCN_CODE              [Assigned by BORIS Staff]
REVISION_DATE            [Assigned by BORIS Staff]

7.3.5 Data Range

The following table gives information about the parameter values found in the 
data files on the CD-ROM.

                     Minimum        Maximum        Missng  Unrel  Below   Data
                     Data           Data           Data    Data   Detect  Not
Column Name          Value          Value          Value   Value  Limit   Cllctd
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SITE_NAME            NSA-999-WTH01  TRN-999-FFN02  None    None   None    None
SUB_SITE             RSS11-SPH01    RSS11-SPH01    None    None   None    None
DATE_OBS             01-JAN-1994    30-DEC-1996    None    None   None    None
TIME_OBS             0              2359           None    None   None    None
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_   .015899        6.079923       -999    None   None    Blank
340
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_   .017223        6.168681       -999    None   None    Blank
380
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_   .008924        5.590672       -999    None   None    Blank
440
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_   .000247        5.315648       -999    None   None    Blank
500
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_   .000386        3.080577       -999    None   None    None
670
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_   .000049        3.084524       -999    None   None    None
870
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_   .000005        3.109977       -999    None   None    Blank
1020
COLUMN_WATER_VAPOR    0.61          53.06          -999    -888   None    None
AIR_TEMP             -34.8          41.3           None    None   None    Blank
AIRMASS              1.16           7.08           None    None   None    Blank
CRTFCN_CODE          CPI            CPI            None    None   None    None
REVISION_DATE        30-DEC-1996    17-JUN-1997    None    None   None    None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimum Data Value -- The minimum value found in the column.
Maximum Data Value -- The maximum value found in the column.
Missng Data Value  -- The value that indicates missing data. This is used to
                      indicate that an attempt was made to determine the
                      parameter value, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
Unrel Data Value   -- The value that indicates unreliable data.  This is used
                      to indicate an attempt was made to determine the
                      parameter value, but the value was deemed to be
                      unreliable by the analysis personnel.
Below Detect Limit -- The value that indicates parameter values below the
                      instruments detection limits.  This is used to
                      indicate that an attempt was made to determine the
                      parameter value, but the analysis personnel determined
                      that the parameter value was below the detection
                      limit of the instrumentation.
Data Not Cllctd    -- This value indicates that no attempt was made to
                      determine the parameter value.  This usually
                      indicates that BORIS combined several similar but
                      not identical data sets into the same data base table
                      but this particular science team did not
                      measure that parameter.

Blank -- Indicates that blank spaces are used to denote that type of value.
N/A   -- Indicates that the value is not applicable to the respective column.
None  -- Indicates that no values of that sort were found in the column.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.4 Sample Data Record

SITE_NAME,SUB_SITE,DATE_OBS,TIME_OBS,AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_340,
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_380,AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_440,AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_500,
AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_670,AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_870,AEROSOL_OPT_THICK_1020,
COLUMN_WATER_VAPOR,AIR_TEMP,AIRMASS,CRTFCN_CODE,REVISION_DATE
'NSA-999-WTH01','RSS11-SPH01',01-JAN-1994,1758,,,,.11434,.105501,.058529,,2.0,,
5.14,'CPI',17-JUN-1997
'NSA-999-WTH01','RSS11-SPH01',08-JAN-1994,1554,,,,.866478,.582966,.457381,,
16.22,,1.51,'CPI',17-JUN-1997
