Documentation
Cruises associated with GEOTRACES require high standards of data management. To meet these requirements, the cruise Principal Scientist is expected to submit pre-cruise and post-cruise metadata to the GEOTRACES International Data Assembly Centre (GDAC). This information will help the whole GEOTRACES community keep track of up-coming cruises.
Guide to cruise chief scientists
In order to guide cruise leaders who wish to develop a research programme to be designated as a GEOTRACES cruise or compliant data, we recommend the flowchart available for download in PDF form here.
Pre-cruise information
To help GDAC manage sample data all cruises associated with GEOTRACES are required to keep detailed event logs and detailed CTD logs. Example logs are provided; event log, CTD log, underway sample log.
Post-cruise information
After the cruise, the Principal Scientist is required to submit the following to the GDAC
- A Cruise Summary Report (CSR) form (formerly known as ROSCOPs) — within two weeks.
- Electronic or paper copies of all event and log sheets — within two weeks.
- A cruise form updates the information already provided on the pre-cruise metadata form — (should be completed by the Principal Scientist and sent to the GDAC within two weeks).
- A cruise report (a guide to cruise report writing is available) — within six months.
- Processed CTD and underway data.
Parameter naming
When submitting cruise metadata or data files please use parameter names from the naming convention provided here.
Data submission
When submitting data to GEOTRACES, scientists are invited to follow the guidelines provided here. Please contact the GEOTRACES Data Assembly Centre team if you require any help before submitting your data.
Additional useful information
- The IMBER Data Management Cookbook — A Project Guide to good Data practices
