Summary

Recommendations a.k.a 'Summary Checklist'

• Should include information needed for a user to determine the usefulness of the data set.
• Should start with a topic sentence, describing what information is in the data set. Often, this is some measurable quantity or quantities, such as sea surface temperature, human population density, or species mordidity rate.
• The total length could consist of approximately 30 lines.
• Should restate information that may be found in other fields if that information is vital to the understanding of the data set (i.e., parameters, spatial coverage).
• Should attribute the source information if the summary was abstracted from an existing document.
• Single space with blank lines separating paragraphs
• Standard elements of style only
• Capitalization should follow standard constructs. For readability, do not use all capital letters or all lower case letters, but use the appropriate case where applicable.
• No right justification
• Acronyms should be expanded to provide understanding.
• May contain tabular information
• Hyperlinked URLs may be imbedded in the text by surrounding them in single or double quotes:
  • "http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov"
• Where applicable, should include brief statements of the following important information:
  • Data processing information (gridded, binned, swath, raw, algorithms used, necessary ancillary data sets)
  • Date available (include only if not available at time of writing)
  • Dataset organization (description of how data are organized within and by file)
  • Read software (if available)
  • Methodology or analytical tools
  • Time gaps in data set coverage
  • Units and unit resolution
  • Similarities and differences of these data to other closely-related data sets
  • Other pertinent information

Examples:

Group:  Summary

This Seasat data set contains Level 1b altimeter data.  The parameters are
the satellite height above the sea surface (from the altimeter),
sigma-naught, and the satellite height with respect to the reference
ellipsoid from orbit determination. The data set volume is approximately
3.5 GB and the smallest order is approximately 140 MB. 

SEASAT was launched on June 28, 1978, carrying a five sensor payload, and
operated successfully until a power failure brought transmission to a stop
on October 10, 1978.  Its height and inclination were 791 km and 108.0
deg., respectively. 

The objective of the altimeter (ALT) was to determine ocean topography
with a height measurement precision of 10 cm.  Altitude was determined by
measuring the time required for a pulse to be transmitted, reflected from
the ocean surface and received by the altimeter.  The ALT carrier
frequency was 13.5 GHz and operated in chirp pulse mode with a 3.2
micro-sec uncompressed pulse width and 3.125 nano-sec compressed pulse
width.  The pulse limited footprint diameter was 1.2 km for calm seas and
12 km for rough seas. 

Related Data Sets: SEASAT ALT(levels 1a, 2 )
                   SMMR(levels 1a, 1b, 2),
                   SASS(levels 1a, 1b, 2) and
                   VIRR(level 1a)

End_Group

Group: Summary
   The Solar and Meteorological Surface Observational Network (SAMSON)
   3-volume CD-ROM set is now available from the National Climatic Data
   Center (NCDC), Asheville, North Carolina. This dataset was developed
   jointly by the NCDC and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
   (NREL), Boulder, Colorado. The 3 CD-ROM's are divided geographically
   into regions (eastern, central, and western U.S.--1 CD-ROM/region),
   and contain hourly solar radiation and meteorological data for the
   period 1961-1990. They encompass 237 National Weather Service (NWS)
   stations in the U.S., along with stations in Guam and Puerto
   Rico. The dataset includes both observational and modelled data. The
   5 solar elements are: extraterrestrial horizontal and
   extraterrestrial direct normal radiation; global; diffuse; and direct
   normal radiation. The 16 meteorological elements are: total and
   opaque sky cover, temperature and dewpoint, relative humidity,
   station pressure, wind direction and speed, visibility, ceiling
   height, present weather, precipitable water, aerosol optical depth,
   snow depth, days since last snowfall, and hourly precipitation.

   For more information, link to NCDC at "http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov"
End_Group