>> NODC Ocean Archive System - Sample Searches

Linked index to information below:
Sea area sample | Institution search sample

Sample search using sea area: Due to the fact that not all data accessions are marked with a sea area, your search results using this parameter may not come out as expected. A small number of data sets have the sea area designated in the metadata. Therefore, you must use this function carefully to obtain all data for a certain sea area. For example, if you want all data for the Gulf of Mexico, you will want to check the box for sea area. But, unless you also use the boundary information in your search you will not find all data sets in your area. So do this: search on sea area and click Gulf of Mexico, plus also check the boundary boxes and plug in the latitude and longitude of the Gulf of Mexico. This will result in getting the data sets you want. (Note: remember that these are original sets of data files sent to us "as is" to archive. If you want quality controlled data profiles for a parameter such as temperature or salinity in a certain area, please use WODselect).

Institution search: Problems with searching on an institution may arise when one doesn't know how a certain institution is entered into the database. For example, if you want all datasets sent to us by the National Ocean Service, you will not find it looking under the "N" for National. You must either know ahead of time that it is listed as US DOC;NOAA;National Ocean Service, or you must search for it in the vocabulary tables. To do this, click on Parameter Utilities, then Institutions Vocabulary, then in the acronym field enter Acronym like NOS and click search. All instances of NOS will show up there. Take that information back to the Ocean Archive Search page and click on it in the Institutions search area.

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