Data submission

Data submissions do not follow certain rules in format or procedure, but if data are submitted to mailto:info@pangaea.de, we appreciate if the provider would keep the following points in mind to minimize the preparatory work for upload to Pangaea.

Data should be accompanied by metadata:
 * Author(s); one author name (principle investigator) is mandatory
 * Data set title (similar to the title of a publication)
 * Source
 * Institute or
 * Reference if data are supplementary to a publication
 * In case data become citable as a data publication, an extended abstract must be added
 * Documentation e.g. methodological descriptions, quality control, parameter definitions, reports, further readings/information, other versions etc.

Advices for data provision:
 * Preferred format for data tables is TAB-delimited TEXT-files (ASCII), submitted as ZIP-archive.
 * any formatting is discarded (data are processed by a relational database and thus must be in machine readable form for import.
 * Several data tables with different formats should be provided on different sheets.
 * Parameter name (not abbreviated) with unit should appear in the header line (Pangaea parameter ID would be perfect).
 * Use propper event/site/sample labels, e.g. as defined during an expedition (if appropriate).
 * Format for positions (lat/long) should be degree/decimal minutes (65°45.7'S) or decimal degree (-65.1234) (S and W are negative).
 * When providing links to documents, handles (hdl, doi, sref, urn) are prefered; URLs should be avoided.
 * Do not use any other characters than numbers in numeric parameter fields; exception see quality flags.
 * Columns with text parameters can be filled to a maximum of 255 characters per field.
 * If the result of a scientific analysis is zero, the corresponding field in the data table must be filled with 0 (and not left empty).
 * Fields without data should be left empty (NOT filled with '-', 'n/a', -9999 or '*' etc).
 * Data of several events with identical parameters may be prepared in one file: parameters in columns, events in lines.
 * Remove empty lines and columns; those will not be imported.
 * Avoid abbreviations.
 * Use the decimal point.

Work flow during data archiving & publication (make data available latest when the publication is accepted) Author or pinciple investigator (PI) is responsible for
 * 1) scientific quality of the data,
 * 2) preparation of import format including complete metadata,
 * 3) submission of data to the curator/editor of the project or institute,
 * 4) proof read,
 * 5) data set DOI should be used in the publication as a reference/link to the primary data.

Curator is responsible for
 * 1) checking completeness of metadata and data consistency,
 * 2) technical quality control,
 * 3) import and check with Pangavista,
 * 4) password protection (if applicable),
 * 5) submit DOI to PI for proof read of data sets,
 * 6) make corrections, iteration between curator and author until the data set is OK,
 * 7) final publication.

 Example data sets given by DOI:
 * Moorings with trap/current meter
 * Vertical oceanographic profile
 * Horizontal profile/ships track
 * Horizontal distribution of irregular distributed samples
 * Vertical profile
 * Bulk sediment parameter
 * Core logging, Physical properties
 * Hole logging
 * Mineralogy
 * Grain size
 * Pollen
 * Geochemistry
 * Porewater
 * XRF
 * Horizontal profile
 * Sediment seismic (e.g. ParaSound)
 * Geophysical profile
 * Reflection seismic
 * Refraction seismic
 * Magnetic
 * Gravimetry
 * Bathymetry
 * Profile versus relative distance
 * Speleotheme
 * Coral
 * Time series
 * Radiation
 * Biological measurements
 * Binary object, e.g. photos, images, graphics, files in special formats
 * Maps
 * Experiments
 * ff ...