The standard_name attribute for each variable identifies
the physical quantity, for example "air_temperature",
"divergence_of_wind", or "plant_respiration_carbon_flux".
The
standard name is independent of units of measure, which are specified
in the units attribute.
The standard name is also
independent of coordinate variables used to describe its
variation.
There are Guidelines for constructing CF standard names, and anyone can
propose and justify the need for new names.
As a standard for
naming physical quantities, the table of names is independent of
netCDF.
