Marine Geoscience Data System

MGDS Vocabulary: Data Type

TermDescription
Gravity:Field
Seismic:WideAngleWide source-receiver offset seismic data
PhysicalDescription
Chemistrydata concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions
ReflectorDepth:MohoSeismically-derived depth to the Moho
TurbidityAn indication of the cloudiness of a fluid associated with suspended particles. Can be measured with a variety of sensors including transmissometers, nephelometers, or secchi disks.
Biology:StableIsotopes
Interpretation:Geologic:SedimentaryEnvironments
Backscatter:AcousticAcoustic backscatter intensity, the intensity of sound that is scattered back toward an acoustic transducer.
SubsidenceRate
PhysicalProperties:Rock:AncillaryAncillary data, such as a calibration file, related to physical properties of rock.
Earthquake:Catalog:Microseismicity:FocalMechanismsEarthquake focal mechanism solutions
PhotographA still image acquired with a digital or film camera.
Geodesy:VelocityGPS velocity derived from geodetic (GPS) measurements.
CrustalAgeMeasurement of the amount of time the crustal rock material has been isolated from the convecting mantle.
BathymetrySeafloor depth data.
HydroacousticWaveform data collected by sound-channel moored hydrophones typically used for monitoring undersea seismicity or marine mammal activity.
ThermalGradientTemperature as a function of depth
Photograph:Video:TimeLapseA video assembled from time-lapse images
LayerThickness:CrustCrustal thickness, may be in depth or twtt. May be determined from seismic, radar, gravity etc.
Biology:GeneticSequenceA succession of letters representing the primary structure of a DNA molecule or strand.
TransmissivityThe fraction of incident light at a specified wavelength that passes through a sample
Chemistry:Fluiddata concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of fluids, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions
Earthquake:CatalogAn inventory of earthquake positions and magnitudes.
Elevation:Surface
MeteorologicalMeasurement of data related to atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting.
BottomStressBottom stress refers to the shear stress experienced within the bottom boundary layer of a fluid and is a crucial component when understanding sediment transport.
Earthquake:Catalog:MicroseismicityAn inventory of earthquake positions and magnitudes.
Bathymetry:SinglebeamBathymetry data derived from a single beam echosounder.
Seismic:Passive:ComplianceMeasurements of the vertical displacement of the seafloor related to low frequency ocean waves (infragravity waves).
Backscatter:OpticalA measurement of the cloudiness of a medium derived from measuring the amount of light scattered by particles.
Interpretation:Geologic:Fault/Fissure
DocumentationUse this data type for documentation that can be specifically tied to a data set, then map the two data sets. This data type will capture much of what we used to put in the entry_url table.
Elevation:Bedrock
Temperature:DiffusivityA measure of thermal diffusivity
PhysicalProperties:SedimentA measure of the physical properties (eg density, porosity, magnetic susceptibility) of sediments, usually from a sediment core logger/scanner device.
Gravity:Anomaly:BouguerSimple (marine) Bouguer anomaly with no correction for modeled topography of a constant thickness, constant density crust.
Seismic:ReceiverFunctionReceiver function calculated from earthquake data
Chemistry:SedimentGeochemistry data derived from sediment samples.
MagnetizationQuantity of magnetic moment per unit volume
WaveMeasurementMeasurements related to characteristics of waves such as wave height, period, direction.
Seismic:WideAngle:ESPsExpanding Spread Profile seismic data collected during active (also known as controlled) source experiments involving two ships.
AcousticScintillationThermometryA measurement of slight fluctuations in water temperature based on changes in the backscattered signal between successive sonar scans of an area of the seafloor.
ElectromagneticMeasurement of physical field produced by electrically charged objects.
Biology:MicrobiologyData about microorganisms, including eukaryotes (fungi and protists), and prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea).
ResistivityA measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current.
Biology:Microbiology:CultureA pure microbiological culture is produced by promoting mircroogranisms to reproduce in predetermined culture media under controlled laboratory conditions.
Sediment:DescriptionCan include grain size distribution data derived from sediment samples, classfication of sediments (sand, mud clay) and/or descriptions of environmental parameters relevant to ecological processes.
EnvironmentalDebrisData quantifying anthropogenic environmental debris on the environment.
Chemistry:Fluid:Electrochemistrydata concerning chemical reactions which take place in a solution at the interface of an electron conductor (a metal or a semiconductor) and an ionic conductor (the electrolyte), and which involve electron transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution.
Chemistry:Fluid:pHA measure of the acidity of a fluid.
Seismic:Active:SubbottomData on reflectivity of sedimentary or rock layers beneath the seafloor collected with CHIRP and similar systems typically operating in the few Hz up to about 50 Hz range
Biology:Microbiology:DiversityA measure of the variety of microorganisms at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels.
RadiationThe measurement of energy emitted by a body.
Seismic:Reflection:MCSData collected using the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflected seismic waves generated by multiple sound sources.
Gravity:Anomaly:MantleBouguerResidual
Seismic:NavigationInformation about the position of the equipment during seismic data acquisition. This should include date, time, x and y.
RugosityMeasurement of surface roughness (of a fluid)
Seismic:Passive:OBSData from Ocean Bottom Seismometers deployed to detect ground motions generated by natural seismic sources, eg earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.
Gravity:Anomaly:MantleBouguer
GeodesyMeasurement of crustal deformation.
Photograph:WebGalleryA gallery of photographs that can be viewed and explored through an internet browser.
Interpretation:Geologic:LavaFlow
Biology:Species:AbundanceA quantification of species abundance in a particular sample.
HeatflowMeasurement of the transition of thermal energy from a hotter object to a cooler object
FluorescenceMeasurement of luminescence that is mostly found as an optical phenomenon in cold bodies, in which the molecular absorption of a photon triggers the emission of a photon with a longer (less energetic) wavelength, though a shorter wavelength emission is sometimes observed from multiple photon absorption.
TravelTime:AcousticTravel time for acoustic waves between, say, a modem and a logger such as those used in seafloor geodesy studies
IceConcentrationArea of a surface covered in ice. Often an image or diagram that shows sea ice over bodies of water.
Interpretation:Geologic:PlateBoundary
SampleInfo:RockAn inventory of rock samples physically acquired at a field site.
Seismic:Active:OBS:TravelTimePicksSeismic wave travel time picks derived from active-source shooting to OBS instruments
Bathymetry:ReferenceSurfaceA bathymetry grid produced over a flat area of seafloor that is used to test the performance of a multibeam sonar system.
LayerThickness:Ice
Seismic:WideAngle:OBSWide source-receiver offset data collected during active (also known as controlled) source experiments using Ocean Bottom Seismometers as the receivers.
Tide:Height
DensityThe density, or more precisely, the volumetric mass density, of a substance is its mass per unit volume.
Magnetic:AnomalyMeasurement of the local variation in the Earth's magnetic field
PressureThe force per unit area applied to the surface of an object.
SidescanBackscatter intensity data acquired with a sidescan sonar or similar data acquired with a multibeam sonar.
Observation:BirdField observations of birds noted during science operations.
Radar:ReflectionElectromagnetic waves scattered from any large change in the dielectric or diamagnetic constants.
Chemistry:Fluid:EhThe redox potential of a fluid, an indication of the tendency of chemical species to acquire electrons and thereby be reduced.
SampleInfo:SedimentAn inventory of sediment samples physically acquired at a field site.
ReflectorDepth:SeafloorSeismically-derived depth to the seafloor
Chemistry:RockGeochemistry data derived from rock samples.
Visualization:GoogleEarthAn assembly of information (e.g. images, lines, placemarks) written in KML/KMZ format for display in Google Earth.
RadiometricDatingData describing the age of materials, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates.
Photograph:Video:FrameGrabStill images frame grabbed from video stream.
Permeability
PhysicalProperties:Sediment:AncillaryAncillary data such as calibration files.
Visualization:FledermausFledermaus formatted visualization files (*.sd, *.scene) of surfaces and/or volumes that can be viewed with free software from IVS3D (www.ivs3d.com).
X-radiographType of data used, for example, in analysis of sediment core stratigraphy. Produced by a specialised x-ray machine.
Seismic:PassiveMeasurements of ground motions generated by natural seismic sources, eg earthquakes, volcanic eruptions
CurrentMeasurementA measure of fluid velocity based on the path of a fluid parcel over time or in-situ measurements of fluid flow.
Magnetic:Anomaly:IGRFMagnetic Anomaly with the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF), a standard mathematical description of the Earth's main magnetic field, removed
Seismic:Velocity:ModelSeismic velocity data obtained from a model. Model inputs generally include information on layer thickness, source-receiver geometry, weighting factor, etc.
Mineralogy:SedimentCharacterization of the mineral composition of sediments.
Gravity:Anomaly:FreeAirmeasurement of the difference between observed gravity and theoretical gravity that has been computed for latitude and corrected for elevation of the station above or below the geoid, by application of the normal rate of change of gravity for change of elevation, as in free air.
Interpretation:GeologicAn interpretation of the characteristics of some component of the earth based on scientific assessment of one or more data types.
SampleInfo:MicrobiologyAn inventory of microbiological samples physically acquired at a field site.
Photograph:VideoStreaming images generated on film or digital media.
SampleInfo:FluidAn inventory of fluid samples physically acquired at a field site.
TemperatureA measurement of how hot or cold a substance is.
Biology:ElectrobiologyData describing the electrical phenomena of living organisms.
ParticleFluxA measure of the rate at which settling particles pass through a parcel of air or water.
MagnetotelluricMeasurement of the electric currents under the Earth's surface induced by natural variations in the earth's magnetic field.
Gravity:Predicted:PlateCoolingPredicted gravity contribution of plate cooling.
Bathymetry:PhaseBathymetry data derived from the phase difference measured between two closely spaced receiving arrays.
ModelParametersGeneral data type for any files used to define the parameters of a model. Includes calibration, configuration, geometry, weighting information and so on.
FluidFlowMeasurement of fluids (liquids and gases) in motion.
Interpretation:Geologic:Map
Radiation:VisibleThe measurement of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to (can be detected by) the human eye.
NavigationInformation about the position of a platform or device. Minimally this includes x and y, but often date and time are also included.
Velocity:Particle
SalinityA measure of the dissolved salt content of a body of water. Often computed from Conductivity.
Bathymetry:SwathBathymetry data derived from a multibeam sonar.
SampleInfo:BiologyAn inventory of biological samples physically acquired at a field site.
Flux:Air-SeaFluxes of momentum, sensible heat, and carbon dioxide over the ocean.
LayerThickness:SeismicLayer2ASeismic 2A layer thickness, in meters or two way travel time.
Radiation:GammaMeasurement of radiation of photons with a frequency of greater than 1019 Hz.
SampleInfoMetadata about physical samples that were acquired.
Navigation:PrimaryPrimary ship navigation data product
Bathymetry:PaleobathymetryA reconstruction of a past bathymetric surface derived from sub-seafloor observations.
Seismic:WideAngle:OBHWide source-receiver offset data collected during active (also known as controlled) sorurce experiments using Ocean Bottom Hydrophones as the receivers.
Biology:Species:DistributionInformation about the observed spatial distribution of different species.
Pseudorange:GNSSThe apparent distance between a satellite and a navigation satellite receiver.
Radiation:InfraredThe measurement of electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light (400-700 nm), but shorter than that of terahertz radiation (100 µm - 1 mm) and microwaves (~30,000 µm). Infrared radiation spans roughly three orders of magnitude (750 nm and 100 µm).
PhysicalProperties:RockA measure of the physical properties (e.g. permeability, porosity) of a rock sample.
Seismic:Reflection:SCSData collected using the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflected seismic waves generated by a single sound source.
Chemistry:ParticulateChemistry data derived from particulate materials
Biology:Species:ListA list of organisms that were identified to species.
Photograph:MosaicAn assemblage of images that have been rotated and scaled to create a composite view or image.
Conductivity:ThermalA measure of the ability of a medium to conduct heat.
TurbulenceA measure of the chaotic, stochastic property changes of a fluid flow.
Biology:SymbiontPhysiologyInformation about the function of the living systems of organisms that live within host organisms.
VisualizationA rendering of volumes, surfaces, illumination sources, etc, sometimes with a temporal component.
ConductivityA measure of the ability of a medium to conduct electricity.
Velocity:SoundThe speed of sound.
Seismic:Passive:OBHData from Ocean Bottom Hydrophones deployed to detect water column motions generated by natural seismic sources, eg earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.
Magnetic:FieldThe measurement of the Earth's total magnetic field.
OxygenA measurement of oxygen in a substance. May be dissolved oxygen, % oxygen saturation, etc.
Biology:LarvalFluxFlux of larvae measured at a particular location
Bathymetry:BPIBathymetric Positioning Index (BPI) derived from ArcGIS Benthic Terrain Modeler(BTM). The BPI is a measure which allows calculating where a certain location with a defined elevation is relative to the overall landscape.
Biology:LarvalDistributionInformation about the larval population in an area. Could include spatial distribution information and/or species distribution.
Velocity:DopplerA continuous-wave trajectory-measurement using the Doppler effect.