File names and formats

In naming the files in this report we have been constrained by a requirement that the names conform to the ancient and restrictive 8+3 format. The problem arises because some CD software still requires the 8+3 format for filenames. So in order to assure that the CD will be readable in all circumstances we have used the 8+3 format.

This name convention has resulted in filenames that are not very descriptive, but we have tried to use names that do uniquely identify file contents. Some hints:

Files from Aanderaa current meters begin with aa.
Files from the Sontek ADCP begin with so.
Files from Seabird MicroCats begin with mc.
Most downloadable files contain an integer that denotes depth (e.g., 500 identifies data from an instrument whose intended depth was 500 meters).
Files that contain current meter or MicroCat records have names that contain the letter r.
Files that contain plots have names that contain the letter p.
The names of files that contain information from Mooring 1 will have a 1 somewhere in the name; and similarly for Mooring 2.

Some examples:

Time series from the Aanderaa current meter deployed at 750 m on Mooring 2 will be found in a zip archive named aa750r2.zip . The archive contains just one file. That file (which you produce by unzipping the archive) has the OSU Buoy Group's Stranger format, which is described below.
Plots from the Aanderaa current meter deployed at 750 m on Mooring 2 have been placed in a zip archive named aa750p2.zip. Note that the name of the plot file is the same as that of the corresponding current record except that the former contains an r whereas the latter contains a p. When you extract the contents of this zip archive you will have a number of plots in Postscript format.
Time series from the MicroCat at 501 m on Mooring 1 are in a file named mc501r1.zip.
All of the velocity time series from the Sontek ADCP at Mooring 1 have been placed in a file named sovelr1.zip. This zip archive contains 50 files. Each of the 50 corresponds to one bin and has the Stranger format.
Measurements that the ADCP made at its own depth (temperature, pressure, heading, pitch, and roll) will be found in a file named so150r1.zip. Plots of these variables are in so150p1.zip.

The names of files within the zip archives need not and do not conform to the 8+3 convention, because they are hidden. Those names are longer and more descriptive than the 8+3 names.

Data format

All of the Bussol Strait mooring data can be downloaded from this website. We include here an example of the Buoy Group's Stranger format:


    22 header lines
 11831 data lines
(i4,3i3,f8.2,f7.1,2f8.2,f8.3,f8.1,i6)                                   
Experiment name:  BEST (ACM4)             
Mooring name:     BEST 4                  
Mooring position:  30.003 deg S,   5.996 deg E
Instrument depth:   210 meters
Seafloor depth:    5180 meters
Instrument type:   Aanderaa RCM5
CMDB accession number:   1000
Parameters:  
      hour 
      day  
      month
      year 
      speed (cm/sec)    
      dir (deg true)    
      u (cm/sec)        
      v (cm/sec)        
      temp (deg C)      
      pressure (db)     
      line count
1800 23  6 92   16.61  283.0  -16.19    3.74  14.352   232.0     1
1900 23  6 92   15.75  289.0  -14.89    5.13  14.477   231.2     2
2000 23  6 92   17.19  286.0  -16.52    4.74  14.139   231.2     3
2100 23  6 92   20.35  282.0  -19.91    4.23  14.050   230.5     4
2200 23  6 92   18.34  275.0  -18.27    1.60  14.103   230.5     5
2300 23  6 92   18.91  276.0  -18.81    1.98  13.935   230.5     6
   0 24  6 92   19.20  276.0  -19.10    2.01  14.094   230.5     7
 100 24  6 92   19.20  275.0  -19.13    1.67  13.855   230.5     8
 200 24  6 92   20.06  272.0  -20.05    0.70  13.563   230.5     9
 300 24  6 92   15.46  261.0  -15.27   -2.42  13.837   230.5    10
      .
      .
      .

This listing shows the header and the first 10 lines of data of a current meter record. MicroCat records have essentially the same format. In this case, metadata occupy the first 21 lines. Following the metadata, each line represents one sampling cycle and contains hour, day, month, year, speed, direction, eastward component, northward component, temperature, pressure and a line count. Note that if you read this file with a computer program, the first line of the file tells the program where the data begins, the second line tells it how many lines of data there are, and the third line describes the format of the data. The file is composed of ASCII characters and is readily intelligible to both humans and computers.

Plots

As you follow the links on this site, you will encounter a large number of data plots. If you wish to have hard copies of the plots you can obtain them directly with any of a number of widely available screen capture utilities. However, we have included here Postscript versions of all the plots. The Postscript plots have been placed in downloadable zip archives. You can make paper copies by extracting the plots from the archives and sending them to a Postscript-capable printer. If you do not have access to a Postscript printer, Ghostscript will print them on any printer. Ghostscript is a free (GNU) utility that is available for the UNIX, Linux, and Windows environments.

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