One of the contributors to the CMIP6 archive has contributed data with a `cell_methods` string of the form: `area: time: mean (interval: 1 month) where sea_ice`. CF Checker 4.0.0 reports this as an error `ERROR: (7.3): Invalid syntax for cell_methods attribute`.
The relevant paragraph of the convention, the first in [sub-section 7.3.2](http://cfconventions.org/cf-conventions/cf-conventions.html#recording-spacing-original-data), states that "To indicate more precisely how the cell method was applied, extra information may be included in parentheses () after the identification of the method." The author of the data file is interpreting the reference to "after the identification of the method" as meaning directly after `mean` in the `cell_methods` string. This is consistent with the usage of the word "method" throughout section 7.3. The conformance document, on the other hand, specifies that the the parentheses should come at the end of the phrase specifying the method, i.e. `area: time: mean where sea_ice (interval: 1 month)`, and the CF Checker, as we expect, follows the conformance document. My personal preference would be to follow the interpretation of the conformance document, provided this is consistent with the original intention of the sub-section in 7.3, but this would, I believe, require some clarification of the text, e.g. "To indicate more precisely how the cell method was applied, extra information may be included in parentheses () at the end of the phrase identifying the method." -- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: https://github.com/cf-convention/cf-conventions/issues/274 This list forwards relevant notifications from Github. It is distinct from [email protected], although if you do nothing, a subscription to the UCAR list will result in a subscription to this list. To unsubscribe from this list only, send a message to [email protected].
