1.1.1
ICARTT File Naming and Verification
The format for an ICARTT filename is as follows:
dataID_locationID_YYYYMMDD[hh[mm[ss]]]_R#[_L#][_V#][_comments].ict
(Note: brackets ‘[]’ enclose optional fields of the file name and are not part of the filename, ‘#
‘is also not part of the filename it should be a number)
dataID
Project acronym with a short description of measured parameters/species,
instrument, model, etc. (e.g. Discoveraq-CH2O)
locationID
Short description of the site, platform, or source (e.g., GROUND, P3B, DC8,
MODEL, SATELLITE, etc.)
YYYY
Four (4) digit year
MM
Two (2) digit month
DD
Two (2) digit day
hh
Two (2) digit hour, optional
mm
Two (2) digit minutes, optional
ss
Two (2) digit seconds, optional
R#
Revision parameter and associated number of data (alphanumeric) (e.g., R0, R10)
L#
Launch parameter and associated number (numeric only), optional (e.g., L2, L5)
V#
Volume parameter and associated number (numeric only), optional (e.g., V2, V6)
comments
Additional information, optional (e.g., _allData, _CalibratedData)
.ict
Filename extension
A sample filename for a TOLNet file would be: TOLNet -O3DIAL_UAH_20111024_R0.ict
1.1.2
Sample header for TOLNet files
This section is intended to provide an abbreviated explanation of the ICARTT format header for
TOLNet files. The areas highlighted in yellow are areas where PIs are suppose to provide more
detail. The areas highlighted in green are areas that usually change from file to file. Values
highlighted in Blue may or may not change from file to file. The value in blue for line one should
always change if you change any other value highlighted in blue. If you change the number of
reported primary or auxiliary variables for some reason, then make sure you modify the
appropriate scale factor and missing data lines.
This header assumes that the O3 data is reported at a constant altitude increment. If you need
to report at non-constant altitudes you could report the altitude as a primary variable (array)
and make the increment 0.
Line
Header
Number
Description
1
51, 2310
total number of lines in
header, File Format Index
2
Michael J. Newchurch
PI Name
3
University of Alabama in Huntsville
PI Organization/affiliation
4
UAH_O3_DIAL
Data Source description
(instrument name, model
number, etc.)
5
Ground LIDAR Network for Troposperic O3 Profiles
(TOLNet)
Mission/Project Name
6
1, 1 (sometimes more than 1 file)
file volume number,
number of file volumes (
usually 1,1 unless you
require more than one file
per day)
7
2011, 10, 24, 2011, 12, 06 (must change)
data collection date, data
processing date
8
0
Time interval; the value of
0 indicate that start and
stop time of the
integration should be
reported
9
Altitude above sea level, (~196m)
bounded independent
variable for TOLNet
10
UTC_start, sec, start time of the integration period in
UTC seconds from 00:00 UTC of the measurement day
unbounded independent
variable; it is required to
report data in UTC time.
11
2
Number of data variables,
reported in the file, other
than independent variables
12
1.0, 1.0
Scale Factor(s) for data
variable(s); the number of
scale factors on this line
should the same as the
number of the data
variables
13
-999, -999
missing data code(s) for
data variable(s); the
number of missing data
code on this line should
the same as the number of
the data variables
14
O3MR[], ppbv, O3 mixing ratio and measurement
uncertainty array of 318
Data variable, unit, a long
name or description
15
O3MRSigma[], ppbv, O3 mixing ratio and measurement Data variable, unit, a long
uncertainty array of 318 (in percentage)
name or description
16
5
Number of auxiliary
variables
17
1,1,1,1,1
Scale Factor(s) for auxiliary
variable(s), i.e., non-array
data variable; the number
of scale factors on this line
should equal number of
auxiliary variables
18
-999, -999, -999, -999, -999
missing data code(s) for
auxiliary variable(s), i.e.,
non-array data variables;
the number of scale factors
on this line should equal
number of auxiliary
variables
19
UTC_stop, sec, end time of the integration period in
UTC seconds
Auxiliary variables, nonarray data variable; short
name, units, optional long
name or description
20
Obs_date, date, date of the measurement in
yyyymmdd
“
21
NumAlts, (none), number of altitudes at current time
(# of alt points)
“
22
GeoAltBeg, (m), geometric altitude at which data begin
“
23
alt_increment, (m), altitude increment between
observations (30m or other?)
“
24
7
number of special
comment lines not
including this line (special
comment lines are below)
25-31
-------comments---------------The UAH O3 DIAL, developed jointly by the
UAHuntsville and NASA/GSFC, retrieves ozone profiles
from 0.5 to ~10-km altitude
at 10-minute intervals with a vertical resolution of
better than 750 m while it reports ozone every 30 m.
The wavelengths are
285 and 291 nm. The receiving system has two
telescopes, a 40-cm Newtonian telescope, which
covers the altitudes from 3 to 10 km
with a precision better than 20%, and a 10-cm
Cassegrain telescope for altitudes between 0.5 to 5 km
with a precision better
than 10%. The ozone retrievals of the two altitudechannels join between 4 and 5 km, typically. -----comments end------------32
NASA Ground-based LIDAR measurements for O3
Profiles at University of Alabama in Huntsville (give site
name here)
Special comment line, this
line is optional for TOLNet
files
33
18
number of normal
comment lines below, not
including this line
34
PI_CONTACT_INFO: University of Alabama in
Huntsville, Research Institute RI-E47, 301 Sparkman
Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899, mike@nsstc.uah.edu or
256-961-7825
Normal comments/
Required meta data
35
PLATFORM: Site Name = UAHuntsville?
“
36
LOCATION: latitude = 34.7250N; longitude = 86.6450W
and elevation = 196
“
37
ASSOCIATED_DATA: N/A
Normal comments/
Required meta data, may
not apply for TOLNet
INSTRUMENT_INFO: UAH O3 DIAL (ref or URL), Kuang
et al. 2010 IEEE,
http://nsstc.uah.edu/atmchem/lidar/dial_data.html
Normal comments/
Required meta data: a brief
description with reference
and/or URL
38
39
DATA_INFO: Data processed using calibration on ????,
key assumptions? Atm density source: colocated
ozonesonde profile within one week or 1976 US
standard if ozonesonde is NA.
Normal comments/
Required meta data: a brief
note related to data
processing
40
UNCERTAINTY: Reported in data stream, in the file.
Normal comments/
Required meta data:
uncertainty may be
reported in the header if it
is a constant percentage or
can be calculated with a
formula
41
ULOD_FLAG: -7777
Normal comments/
Required meta data: flag
for data above upper limit
of detection
42
ULOD_VALUE: N/A
Normal comments/
Required meta data: value
for upper limit of detection
43
LLOD_FLAG: -8888
Normal comments/
Required meta data: flag
for data below lower limit
of detection
44
LLOD_VALUE: N/A
Normal comments/
Required meta data: value
for lower limit of detection
45
DM_CONTACT_INFO: Shi Kuang,
kuang@nsstc.uah.edu, (256)961-7520
Normal comments/
Required meta data
46
PROJECT_INFO: Ground LIDAR Network for
Tropopheric Ozone Profiles - TOLNet
Normal comments/
Required meta data:
project name
47
STIPULATIONS_ON_USE: The users are strongly
encouraged to consult with the PI for proper data use.
Normal comments/
Required meta data: NASA
data policy requires open
data access to public
48
OTHER_COMMENTS: N/A
Normal comments:
optional
49
REVISION: R0
Revision number should be
consistent with the file
name, starting from 0 in
ascending order
50
R0: No comments for this revision.
Revision note: highlight the
revision changes. This is a
required entry. Revision
notes are cumulative and
should be in descending
order
51
UTC_start, UTC_stop, Obs_date, NumAlts,
GeoAltBeg,alt_increment, O3MR[], O3MRSigma[]
Last normal comment line
should consist of the short
names of the unbounded
independent variable , the
auxiliary variable(s) and
data variables {Note:
names are comma
separated}