Dear Dan > I found the list on the CF web site here: > http://cfconventions.org/Data/cf-standard-names/docs/area-type-table.html
You probably saw John Graybeal's posting that he has put the up-to-date list at http://mmisw.org/ont/cf/areatype. > The only references to area_type in the CF conventions doc (v1.6) appear to > be in section 7.3.3 Statistics applying to portions of cells. However our > data are point values (obtained by interpolating point observations) so we > are not defining bounds for the spatial coordinates and therefore do not have > a cell method for 'area'. Is it still possible to use area_type as a > coordinate variable in this situation? Yes. It has a special role in that section, but it is always permissible to attach coordinate variables to quantities to describe the data variable, and the area_type is often needed for such a purpose. > x=180 > y=290 > time=UNLIMITED > ntypes=1 > maxlen=20 > > lat(y,x) > lon(y,x) > > surface_type(ntypes,maxlen) > surface_type:standard_name="area_type" > surface_type="grass" > > surface_temperature(time,ntypes,y,x) > surface_temperature:coordinates = "lat lon surface_type" > surface_temperature:cell_methods = "time: minimum within days time: mean > over days" > Personally I'm not that keen on having to add a dimension You don't have to add a dimension. You can use a scalar coord var, thus: > x=180 > y=290 > time=UNLIMITED > maxlen=20 > > lat(y,x) > lon(y,x) > > surface_type(maxlen) > surface_type:standard_name="area_type" > surface_type="grass" > > surface_temperature(time,y,x) > surface_temperature:coordinates = "lat lon surface_type" > surface_temperature:cell_methods = "time: minimum within days time: mean > over days" This might be a good subject for the FAQ because it has come up before. Best wishes Jonathan _______________________________________________ CF-metadata mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.cgd.ucar.edu/mailman/listinfo/cf-metadata
