Dear Lars

> integral_of_air_temperature_excess_wrt_time
> "integral_of_Y_wrt_X" means int Y dX. The data variable should have an axis 
> for X specifying the limits of the integral as bounds. "wrt" means with 
> respect to. Air temperature is the bulk temperature of the air, not the 
> surface (skin) temperature. The air temperature excess is the air temperature 
> minus the air temperature threshold, where only positive values are included 
> in the integral. Its integral with respect to time is often called after its 
> units of "degree-days". 
> 
> And the corresponding change to the explanation of the standard_name 
> integral_of_air_temperature_deficit_wrt_time
> 
> Furthermore, recalling your response to my recent question 
> (http://mailman.cgd.ucar.edu/pipermail/cf-metadata/2016/058800.html) I 
> suggest that a sentence elaborating on the temperature threshold should be 
> included. You wrote
> "The data variable of the integral should have a scalar coordinate variable 
> or a size-one coordinate variable with the standard name of 
> air_temperature_threshold, to indicate the threshold."

I think these changes would all be fine.

> why does it  have to be a scalar or size-one coordinate variable? If we 
> consider the practical example of heating degree-days the threshold may not 
> be the same over a large region (as is the case for Europe), in which case 
> one would like to have a two-dimensional threshold variable. 

That is an interesting question. We're regarding it as a coordinate i.e. it's
an independent variable on which the data depends. Coordinate variables are
one-dimensional. The situation you're thinking of is analogous to, for example,
temperature at the tropopause. Unlike the surfaces of 10 km altitude, or
200 hPa pressure, "tropopause" can't be defined with a single-valued numeric
coordinate, so for that reason we include the name of this surface in the
standard name of the quantity e.g. tropopause_air_temperature. If you have
a geographically varying air temperature threshold, is there a constant
definition which is being applied to obtain it?

Best wishes

Jonathan
_______________________________________________
CF-metadata mailing list
[email protected]
http://mailman.cgd.ucar.edu/mailman/listinfo/cf-metadata

Reply via email to