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Home > 1. Data Basics

1. Marine Data Basics

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PC Tips:

• 1.1 General Purpose Folder Structure - Install and use this folder structure to organize your files

  • For File-Naming, see below

• 1.2 Online Marine Data Calculators - Collection of sites; some are lists of sites

• 1.3 Running 32-Bit Saga on a Mac with WINE - A beta test, but it is reported to work well

• 1.4 Managing Your Identity and Digital Communications in Marine Science - It's time to clean up your ID act

• 1.9 Online Map Sketching - Deprecated

• 1.13 General File-Naming Convention for Earth Science Datasets - Expanded OceanTeacher article

Data Tips:

• Integration Schematic - How data, formats and software fit together (image/no text)

• 1.5 Data Sources for MDL Exercises - Links back to original sources

• 1.6 Common Data Formats Used by Marine Scientists - Most-frequently encountered formats, with doc links

• 1.7 Essential Global Data Layers for Marine Atlases - Used in GIS training, where local/regional data are not yet found

• 1.8 Selected Marine Data Software - Software in MDL, plus a few related favorites; not comprehensive

• 1.10 Marine Data Product Atlases - Can be used for quick comparison/QC purposes

• 1.11 Raster Scales and Vector Resolution - Rough methods to estimate both

• 1.12 Randomize and/or Subsample Table Data in Excel - Especially useful for converting data products to pseudo-datasets

MDL Secrets of Happiness:

• FILENAMES:  Use detail-rich, long filenames to identify your data files (see article above)

  • The complete folder path plus long filename cannot exceed 256 characters on most PCs.

• AVOID SEASON NAMES:  Never use spring, summer, fall (or autumn) and winter, because they will cause confusion.  Your work will be more understandable with season labels like JFM or JAS or NDJ, or however you group the months.    Even if your work is obviously in the far north or south, avoid problems by avoiding words that can be misinterpreted. 

  • POSSIBLE EXCEPTION:  If you're referring to clearly understood seasonal phenomena, you can use terms like "local autumn overturn", etc.

• ASCII EDITORS: 

  • Install and use ConText or NOTEPAD++ for all ASCII editing. 

  • Never use WordPad or NotePad because they sometimes make undesirable changes

• ZIPPING or UNZIPPING:  If you don't have WinZip, install and use 7zip

• FILE/FOLDER MANAGEMENT:  

  • View and manage all files and folders in Windows Explorer. 

  • Never use My Computer or its child windows.

  • Always view DETAILS for the folder contents, and never view icons.

  • Find the control for hiding extensions of known file types and turn it off (somewhere in Windows Explorer); you must SEE those extensions!

• FILE SAVING:  Whenever you use SAVE AS, or SAVE TARGET AS

  • Check the file to make sure that Windows has not added an informational header, such as "Downloaded from...etc."

  • Check for TXT added incorrectly to the end of a filename.