Element Description
The Characteristics sub-elements can be used to describe attributes unique to the parent element. Currently, characteristics can be provided for the Platform, Instrument, and "ComposedOf" parent elements. While providing characteristics is optional, if provided, all of the sub-elements are required. The Characteristic sub-elements include:
- Name: A title of the characteristic attribute.
- Description: A short description of the characteristic attribute.
- DataType: A specification for the values accepted in the Characteristics/Value field. This must be selected from an enumeration list.
- Unit: The unit associated with the Characteristics/Value field.
- Value: The actual value of the characteristic attribute.
Best Practices
Characteristics/Name:
- The name should identify what the characteristic is in relation to the parent element.
- The name must be unique if multiple characteristics are listed under the same platform/instrument/sensor.
- The name does not have to be unique across different platforms/instruments/sensors.
Characteristics/Description:
- The description should be brief and provide a definition for the characteristic name plus any other useful information.
Characteristics/DataType:
- This element is controlled by an enumeration list (STRING, FLOAT, INT BOOLEAN, DATE, TIME, DATETIME, DATE_STRING, TIME_STRING, DATETIME_STRING). This should correspond to whatever is provided in the Characteristics/Value field.
Characteristics/Unit:
- The unit should correspond to whatever is provided in the Characteristics/Value field. There will be cases where a unit does not apply for the value. In these cases, since Unit is still a required field, it is recommend that "n/a" or "Not Applicable" be listed as the Unit.
Characteristics/Value:
- The actual characteristic value should be provided here and should correspond to the data type and unit defined. For example, if the unit specified is 'degrees' then the value should be provided in degrees and not in radians.
Examples:
Example for the ICESat Platform:
Characteristics/Name: OrbitInclination
Characteristics/Description: The angle between the orbit plane and the Earth's equatorial plane.
Characteristics/DataType: FLOAT
Characteristics/Unit: Degrees
Characteristics/Value: 94.0
Example for the GLAS Instrument:
Characteristics/Name: SwathWidth
Characteristics/Description: The width of the sensor scan as the satellite moves along the ground track.
Characteristics/DataType: INT
Characteristics/Unit: Kilometers
Characteristics/Value: 2
Example for a photon counter sensor:
Characteristics/Name: Wavelength
Characteristics/Description: The wavelength at which photon returns were measured.
Characteristics/DataType: INT
Characteristics/Unit: Nanometers
Characteristics/Value: 532
Element Specification
Providing Characteristics is optional. An unlimited number of Characteristics may be specified (Cardinality: 0..*). If Characteristics are provided, all 5 sub-fields (Name, Description, DataType, Unit, Value) are required.
<parent>: For the complete element mappings, please see the appropriate parent element page: Platform, Instrument, ComposedOf
Model | Element | Type | Constraints | Required? | Cardinality |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UMM-Common | <parent>/Characteristics/Name | String | 1 - 80 characters | Yes, if applicable | 1 |
UMM-Common | <parent>/Characteristics/Description | String | 1 - 2048 characters | Yes, if applicable | 1 |
UMM-Common | <parent>/Characteristics/DataType | Enumeration | STRING FLOAT INT BOOLEAN DATE TIME DATETIME DATE_STRING TIME_STRING DATETIME_STRING | Yes, if applicable | 1 |
UMM-Common | <parent>/Characteristics/Unit | String | 1 - 20 characters | Yes, if applicable | 1 |
UMM-Common | <parent>/Characteristics/Value | String | 1 - 80 characters | Yes, if applicable | 1 |
Metadata Validation and QA/QC
All metadata entering the CMR goes through the below process to ensure metadata quality requirements are met. All records undergo CMR validation before entering the system. The process of QA/QC is slightly different for NASA and non-NASA data providers. Non-NASA providers include interagency and international data providers and are referred to as the International Directory Network (IDN).
Please see the expandable sections below for flowchart details.
Dialect Mappings
UMM Migration
None
History
UMM Versioning
Version | Date | What Changed |
---|---|---|
1.15.5 | 12/3/2020 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.15.4 to 1.15.5 |
1.15.4 | 9/18/2020 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.15.3 to 1.15.4 |
1.15.3 | 7/1/2020 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.15.2 to 1.15.3 |
1.15.2 | 5/20/2020 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.15.1 to 1.15.2 |
1.15.1 | 3/25/2020 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.15.0 to 1.15.1 |
1.15.0 | 2/26/2020 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.14.0 to 1.15.0 |
1.14.0 | 10/21/2019 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.13.0 to 1.14.0 |
1.13.0 | 04/11/2019 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.12.0 to 1.13.0 |
1.12.0 | 01/22/2019 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.11.0 to 1.12.0. |
1.11.0 | 11/28/2018 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.10.0 to 1.11.0. |
1.10.0 | 05/02/2018 | No changes were made for Characteristics during the transition from version 1.9.0 to 1.10.0. |
ARC Documentation
Version | Date | What Changed | Author |
---|---|---|---|
1.0 | 05/04/18 | Recommendations/priority matrix transferred from internal ARC documentation to wiki space | Jeanne' le Roux |