How are data files organized?

Observational and instrumented data products (with the exception of eddy covariance data) are divided into many small files in the Comma Separated Values (CSV) format. Each file contains data for a single data product at one site over one month, and at an additional level of granularity. For observational data products, the level of granularity is a type of data collection activity. For example, in the ground beetle trapping data, this includes individual tables for field data, sorting, initial identification, and later expert identification (if needed). A file containing metadata about data validation is also included.

For instrumented data products (except for eddy covariance), the level of granularity is the vertical and/or horizontal position of the sensor collecting the data. A single field site often has multiple sensors of the same type (for example, soil moisture sensors along an array), each at a different location. Eddy covariance data are delivered in the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF5)as a 'bundle' of many data products that are not delivered individually. Similarly to other instrumented data products, each data file contains data for a single site and month.

The Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) only flies over each site once in a year. AOP data files are organized by data product and site (sometimes two sites if they are close to one another), and year of collection. The data portal and API allow for a more granular approach to downloading data files because files may be very large.Each science subsystem (observational, instrumental, eddy covariance, and airborne) uses its own naming convention for data files. For more information about these conventions, visit the File Naming Conventions webpage.