Data Policy

The Lake Erie Project Data Policy will follow the procedures set forth by the GLOBEC Data Policy and summarized by the CoOP Data Policy. Please read these data policies and follow their guidelines. Below are some preliminary thoughts about the International Field Years on Lake Erie (IFYLE) Data Policy.

Data Exchange and Dissemination:

• Following each cruise, the Chief Scientist will submit the Cruise Operations Log to the IFYLE Project Data Manager
• Data/measurements which do not involve lengthy analyses will be submitted to the IFYLE Project Data Manager within 6 months after collection (end of cruise)
• All other measurements and results of analyses will be submitted to the IFYLE Project Data Manager within 1 year after collection (unless otherwise specified in your proposal)
• Data will be available to IFYLE Project PI's ONLY for 4 years after all data collection is complete (Winter 2010)
• After 4 years, data will be publicly available
• PIs must apply to the IFYLE Program Planning Team for exceptions (e.g., novel synthetic experiments or analyses conducted in the laboratory or while underway)

Data Submission:

Data should be submitted to Anne Clites. If file size makes emailing difficult, please use the NOAA/GLERL ftp area at: ftp://anonymous:%22www.glerl%40noaa.gov%22@ftp.glerl.noaa.gov/incoming.

The IFYLE database is based on MySql and pHp. The preferred way to submit data is in Excel, in columns, including the identifiers shown. (If Excel is not available, a flat file containing the above information is fine).

To expedite the process of getting your data into the shared database, please submit it in an Excel or flat file containing the following columns:

• plog number - the cruise activity number that corresponds to this data file
• date - mm/dd/yyyy
• day of year - 3-digit identifier for date
• time - EDT, without colon (e.g., 2358, rather than 23:58)
• ship - name of vessel
• station_id - IFYLE station name
• latitude - location in degrees and decimal minutes
• longitude - location in degrees and decimal minutes
• data - in columns, units in header; sensor specs in metadata file

Metadata

Metadata (text file containing location, time, units, accuracy, precision, method of collection, method of analysis or processing, sensor calibration, name of analyst or operator, etc) must accompany each data submission. Contact information is essential! Examples: see the IFYLE Metadata page or http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/eegle/data/data.html (1st click on any parameter, 2nd on meta).
Example for microzooplankton: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/eegle/data/1998/microzoo_lavrentyev/microzoo.meta.txt

Station ID

IFYLE-standard Station ID’s must be used. Click here for Station List (.xls).

Cruise Operations Log:

A Cruise Operations Log will be the responsibility of the Chief Scientist of each cruise, who will insure an accurate record of all activities. Each activity (defined as “anything put over the side”) will be a separate line in the log, and will contain the following:

1. Op Number, consisting of the following:
   • 1-letter designation for Ship ID ( L=Laurentian, G=Lake Guardian, N=Limnos, C=Cyclops, O=ODNR
   • followed by 1 or 2-letter designation for Cruise Type (Transect=T, Diel=D, Fixed=F, Buoy=B, Habs=H, Tracer=TR, Transect/Diel=TD)
   • Year (4 digits)
   • Day of year (3 digits).
   • Daily Task Number (2 or more digits), starting at .01 each day
2. Activity (see Activity Codes below)
3. Date
4. Time (EDT - local time)
5. Station ID (see Station ID list)
6. Station Depth (meters below surface)
7. Lat (degrees and decimal minutes)
8. Lon (degrees and decimal minutes)
9. Name of PI associated with the task
10. Name or Initials of person making the entry (usually the Chief Scientist)

Examples of entries might be:

Following each cruise, the Cruise Operations Log will be submitted by the Chief Scientist to the Data Manager. The Data Manager will then make it available on the web and will generate a detailed list of activities for that cruise.

Notes for Cruise OP Logs:

• Instrument Deployments and Retrievals (e.g., Sediment traps, current meters) should have different OP Numbers (corresponding to the DOY). However, the data generated by the instrument should be associated with the Deployment Op Number.
• For continuous measurements (e.g., PSS, TRAWL), record the start time/lat/lon upon start of tow as well as the end time/lat/lon upon completion of tow. They should have the same OP Number, with an “S” appended for start of tow and an “E” for end of tow.
• For multiple activities at station (e.g. attaching a thermistor to a current meter deployment), use different Op Numbers or append a “.01”,“.02”, etc. to the single Op No.
• Be careful not to overlap Op Nos. Each ship should have unique Op Nos corresponding to the DOY and task number. If the current task is not the first of the day, be sure to find out the Op No of the previous task. This can easily be accomplished by using a single Cruise Log for each ship, where each activity (and Op No) is listed on a line in the log.

Activity Codes:

The following is a partial/preliminary list of activity codes (followed by their explanations) to be used in the Cruise Operations Log: click here for Activity Codes.

Activity Codes

• AC-B Acoustics begin
• AC-E Acoustics end
• ADCP-AND ADCP-anchor deployment
• ADCP-ANR ADCP-anchor retrieval
• ADCP-D ADCP-deployment
• ADCP-R ADCP-retrieval
• BOD-B Dissolved oxygen experiments begin
• BOD-E Dissolved oxygen experiments end
• BTR-B Bottom trawl begin
• BTR-E Bottom trawl end
• BUCKET Bucket cast for water
• CM-D Current meter-deployment
• CM-R Current meter-retrieval
• CORE B Sediment core-box
• CTD Vertical CTD cast
• CTD-C Horizontal CTD, continuous
• CTD-WAT Water sample, collected with CTD cast
• DO-CTD Dissolved oxygen with CTD cast
• FLI-B FRRF begin (Twiss)
• FLI-E FRRF end (Twiss)
• FLI-V Rapid repetition flurometer/fluroprobe, stationary vertical toss (Silbe)
• GN-RET Gill net retrieval
• GN-SET Gill net set
• HVS High volume (aerosol) sampler
• HYP Hyperspectral light meter measurement
• METB-D Met buoy deployment
• MWTR-B Midwater trawl begin
• MWTR-E Midwater trawl end
• PONAR Ponar grab
• PROF Vertical Profile
• PSS-B Plankton Survey System, continuous (begin)
• PSS-E Plankton Survey System, continuous (end)
• SAT Satlantic deployment
• SECCHI Secchi disk
• SIZE Vertical profile of particle size
• THERM-AND Thermistor-anchor
• THERM-ANR Thermistor-retrieval
• THERM-D Thermistor stringr-deploy
• THERM-R Thermistor string-retrieval
• TRAWL-B Bottom fish trawl-continuous (begin)
• TRAWL-E Bottom fish trawl-continuous (end)
• TR- B Dye tracking begin
• TR-E Dye tracking end
• TRI-D Tripod-deployment
• TRI-R Tripod-retrieval
• TRP-D Sediment trap-deployment
• TRP-R Sediment trap-retrieval
• WP-ISO Water pumped for isotope samples (Paytan’s group)
• WP-TOX Water pumped 1 meter below surface for tox samples, stationary
• WP-WI Pumped water 1m below surface for zooplankton (Wisconsin net)
• WP-ZP Pumped water 1m below surface for zooplankton
• ZNET Vertical zooplankton net tow (64um or 153um)
• ZNET-WI Vertical Wisconsin net zooplankton tow (63um)
• Z-PUMP-B Begin pumping for zooplankton
• Z-PUMP-E End pumping for zooplankton

Data Organization:

IFYLE cruise sample data can be accessed via the IFYLE Cruise Data web page. The database is searchable by any combination of the following parameters: ship, cruise type, month, day of year, station, activity, or oplog number.

Existing long-term and IFYLE-specific physical environmental variables for Lake Erie can be found on the Lake Erie Physical Data Sets page.