earth science

SeaDataNet

SeaDataNet is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SeaDataNet rather than just read about it. In short: SeaDataNet is an international project of oceanography. Its main goal is to enable the scientific community to access historical datasets owned by national data centers.

Key takeaways

SeaDataNet belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SeaDataNet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SeaDataNet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SeaDataNet is an international project of oceanography. Its main goal is to enable the scientific community to access historical datasets owned by national data centers.

Description This project aims to provide a web service permitting to retrieve validated datasets (temperature, oxygen, salinity, nutrients, etc.) from 45 different National Data Centers of 35 countries having coasts along European seas. Therefore SeaDataNet is a standardized system for managing the large and diverse data sets collected by the oceanographic fleets and the automatic observation systems. Additional objectives consist in creating product with aggregated data such as climatological descriptions. This European funded project has started in 2004, the project is currently in its second phase with fundings for 2012 to 2016. Most of the datasets are free of access, but some are restricted to institutes. In term of harmonization SeaDataNet has chosen standards, vocabularies, tools that are used in the different NODC(National Oceanographic Data Center). For example they use Ocean Data View to validate or visualize datasets, they also use DIVA software to perform objective analysis. Datasets are covering the years 1800 up to 2012. In 2012 400 data originators are registered into Seadatanet project.

Usage Users of SeaDataNet who want to retrieve datasets coming from multiple Data Centers log to the Common Data Index web-service to define their request. They can provide many details such as the type of platform wanted, the parameter wanted, the rate of sampling, the position, the originator country, etc. Then users send their request, the request is analysed and split into as much request as there are data centers concerned. At the end the user receive an email giving a FTP address where to retrieve all the data ordered in the file format wanted (ASCII, NetCDF or Ocean Data View format).

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

Logo of SeaDataNet project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SeaDataNet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SeaDataNet claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SeaDataNet before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SeaDataNet ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SeaDataNet

In research: SeaDataNet appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SeaDataNet in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SeaDataNet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Information technology organizations based in Europe, Oceanography stubs, Physical oceanography, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SeaDataNet outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SeaDataNet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SeaDataNet means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SeaDataNet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SeaDataNet in simple terms?

SeaDataNet is an international project of oceanography. Its main goal is to enable the scientific community to access historical datasets owned by national data centers.

Why does SeaDataNet matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SeaDataNet?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SeaDataNet.