EXPOCODE, or the "expedition code", is a unique alphanumeric identifier defined by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) of the US. The code defines a standard nomenclature for cruise labels of research vessels and intends to avoid confusion in oceanographic data management. The code was used by international projects (WOCE, CarboOcean) and is considered a de facto standard in the international hydrographic community beginning with the Climate Variability Program (CLIVAR) and the EU-Project Eurofleets. The format of an expocode for an oceanographic cruise is defined in the format NODCYYYYMMDD where:
NODC is NOAA's National Oceanographic Data Center's 4-character research vessel identifier, consisting of country and ship code YYYYMMDD is the GMT date when the cruise left port. Example for a cruise of the US research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer, starting on 2011-02-19: 320620110219 (Code of US = 32, code of Palmer = 06, date when cruise starts 2011-02-19)
External links NODC country codes NODC ship codes CLIVAR and Carbon Hydrographic Data Office (CCHDO)