Re: [cf-satellite] very rough draft of way to represent band

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  • To: Jim Biard <Jim.Biard@xxxxxxxx>
  • Subject: Re: [cf-satellite] very rough draft of way to represent band
  • From: Tom Whittaker <whittaker@xxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:39:10 -0500
Hi Jim...
> I used "the_image" because I was too lazy to hunt up a proper name.  I think
> the standard name for the image data will vary widely depending on the
> contents.  It could be brightness temperature, radiance, or something else
> altogether.  I don't think there will be a single standard name.

As long as an application can uniquely identify such a variable as "an
image" (where appropriate), I don't think a standard_name would even
been needed.  That, to me, is the central issue:  an application gets
the attributes for a variable and needs to figure out what it is.  If
there were a generic standard_name, that would help; however, in the
absence of that, then the app would have to look at the shape and/or
coordinates and explore those variables to see if any of them stands
out as meaning "this is an image".

> In this example, there is no problem with sequential-valued coordinate
> variables.  The only true coordinate variable is the one named bandit.  The
> others are data variables that are identified as auxiliary coordinates in
> the coordinates attribute of the image variable.  These variables can have
> values that repeat, alternate, etc.  Everything is driven by the parametric
> coordinate variable bandit.  (Which, as I suggested previously, could be an
> array of strings that uniquely named the different bands instead of an array
> of integers.  It functions as a key.)

My head is thick, obviously.  But I've got it now:  we have a
"dimension" which is also a "coordinate variable" with a unique
"_CoordinateAxisType".  The contents (values) of the variable,
however, could be most anything -- the key is that it is easily
recognized as such and is used to dimension other variables with
metadata (like central wavelengths or something).

Thanks...

tom

-- 
Tom Whittaker
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Space Science & Engineering Center (SSEC)
Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)
1225 W. Dayton Street
Madison, WI  53706  USA
ph: +1 608 262 2759



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