Help:Best Practices

This page describes best practices for adding new datasets and entering metadata into the catalog. In case you think some information is missing, please indicate it on GitHub Ruisdael Data Catalog project.

General guidelines for all submissions

Naming

The first required field for submitting a new dataset is the name. This name is used to identify the new dataset within the Catalog environment. To name the dataset, please use the following convention: Institute Sensor/Campaign/Product/Model at Location.

 Institute Sensor/Campaign/Product/Model at Location

Examples:

• TU Delft optical disdrometer Parsivel² PAR001 at Cabauw
• KNMI DALES model outputs over Cabauw
• TU Delft CMTRACE Level 2 Wind field at Cabauw

Geographic coordinates

For datasets produced by stationary instruments (in-situ, remote sensing) and for single-column model outputs, the latitude and longitude coordinates should be entered with a precision of at least 4 digits (approx 11 meters). However, the use 5 or 6 significant digits is recommended.

For non-stationary in-situ and remote sensing observations, use the description field to indicate the measurement domain. For example, the coordinates from the starting and ending points could be mentioned.

Special Characters & Formatting

MediaWiki uses Unicode (UTF-8) for character encoding. This allows for a wide range of characters. For more information about this issue, see https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Special_characters

Dataset description field

Use the description field to provide key details about the dataset, including its source, content, and purpose. A well-written description allows users to understand the dataset without downloading it and improves discoverability. For clarity, longer descriptions can be structured into sections such as 'Purpose,' 'Measurement Specifications,' and 'Data Processing'. Use the checklists below to ensure all essential information is included.

Checklist for in-situ and remote sensing datasets

• sensor name, model and brand
• location, site name and description of surrounding environment
• spatial and temporal resolution of measurements
• scanning mode(s) (if applicable)
• sensor calibration details (if applicable)
• physical variables contained in the dataset
• purpose of the dataset
• context of the experiment/measurement
• for non-stationary instruments: latitude, longitude, height from starting and ending point.

Checklist for datasets related to campaigns

• name and goal of the campaign
• duration of the campaign
• other relevant sensors or models that were used during the campaign
• special operating modes or variable resolutions used
• information on how certain data/products were derived
• link(s) to papers, methods or websites that contain more details

Checklist for model outputs

• model type, version and configuration
• model grid size(s), domain size and extent
• spatial and temporal resolution(s) of output(s)
• initial conditions, forcing(s) and data assimilation schemes