Field Definitions
MARIS data is distributed as NetCDF4 files (primary format) and CSV files for database import. This reference lists all standard field definitions with their NetCDF variable names and CSV variable names. Fields marked — are not present in that format.
The MARISCO column is the uppercase internal name used within the marisco curation pipeline.
Summary table
| Field | MARISCO column | NetCDF variable | CSV variable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample quality | — | — | sampquality |
| Sample type | SAMPLE_TYPE |
(group name) | samptype_id |
| Laboratory | LAB |
lab |
lab_id |
| Latitude | LAT |
lat |
latitude |
| Longitude | LON |
lon |
longitude |
| Station | STATION |
station |
station |
| Sample ID | SMP_ID |
smp_id |
samplabcode |
| Profile ID | PROFILE_ID |
— | profile_id |
| Transect ID | — | — | transect_id |
| Sampling depth | SMP_DEPTH |
smp_depth |
sampdepth |
| Total depth | TOT_DEPTH |
tot_depth |
totdepth |
| Begin period | TIME |
time |
begperiod |
| End period | — | — | endperiod |
| Nuclide | NUCLIDE |
nuclide |
nuclide_id |
| Detection limit | DL |
dl |
detection |
| Activity | VALUE |
value |
activity |
| Uncertainty | UNC |
unc |
uncertaint |
| Unit | UNIT |
unit |
unit_id |
| Variable type | — | — | vartype |
| Frequency | — | — | freq |
| Range low detection | — | — | rl_detection |
| Range low | — | — | rangelow |
| Range upper | — | — | rangeupp |
| Species | SPECIES |
species |
species_id |
| Biological group | BIO_GROUP |
bio_group |
— |
| Taxon name | TAXONNAME |
— | Taxonname |
| Taxon reported name | TAXONREPNAME |
— | TaxonRepName |
| Common name | — | — | Commonname |
| Taxon rank | TAXONRANK |
— | Taxonrank |
| Taxon database | TAXONDB |
— | TaxonDB |
| Taxon database ID | TAXONDBID |
— | TaxonDBID |
| Taxon database URL | TAXONDBURL |
— | TaxonDBURL |
| Body part | BODY_PART |
body_part |
bodypar_id |
| Slice up (top) | TOP |
top |
sliceup |
| Slice down (bottom) | BOTTOM |
bottom |
slicedown |
| Sediment type | SED_TYPE |
sed_type |
sedtype_id |
| Sediment reported name | — | — | SedRepName |
| Volume | — | — | volume |
| Salinity | SALINITY |
salinity |
salinity |
| Temperature | TEMP |
temperature |
temperatur |
| Filtered | FILT |
filt |
filtered |
| Filter pore size | — | — | filtpore |
| Acidified | — | — | acid |
| Oxygen | — | — | oxygen |
| Sample area | — | — | samparea |
| Dry weight | DRYWT |
drywt |
drywt |
| Wet weight | WETWT |
wetwt |
wetwt |
| Percent weight | PERCENTWT |
— | percentwt |
| Sampling method | SAMP_MET |
samp_met |
sampmet_id |
| Drying method | — | — | drymet_id |
| Preparation method | PREP_MET |
prep_met |
prepmet_id |
| Counting method | COUNT_MET |
count_met |
counmet_id |
| Reference | REF_ID |
— | ref_id |
| Reference note | — | — | refnote |
| Sample note | — | — | sampnote |
| Measurement note | — | — | measurenote |
| Good for export | — | — | gfe |
| Area | AREA |
area |
area |
Field descriptions
Sample Quality
Indicates the quality assessment of the sample. Common values: G (Good), C (Caution), F (Fail).
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | sampquality |
| CSV type | string |
Sample Type
Classifies the sample into one of four MARIS groups. In NetCDF4, sample type is encoded as the group name rather than a column variable. In CSV format it is an integer: 1 = SEAWATER, 2 = BIOTA, 3 = SEDIMENT, 4 = SUSPENDED.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | (group name) |
| NetCDF type | string |
| CSV variable | samptype_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Laboratory
Identifies the laboratory that processed and measured the sample.
| Lookup table | dbo_lab.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | lab |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | lab_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Latitude
Decimal degrees, −90 to 90.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | lat |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | latitude |
| CSV type | float |
Longitude
Decimal degrees, −180 to 180.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | lon |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | longitude |
| CSV type | float |
Station
Name of the station where the sample was collected, as reported by the provider.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | station |
| NetCDF type | string |
| CSV variable | station |
| CSV type | string |
Sample ID
The data provider’s sample identifier. Stored verbatim when provided; a sequential integer is generated when absent.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | smp_id |
| NetCDF type | uint64 |
| CSV variable | samplabcode |
| CSV type | string |
Profile ID
An identifier for linking samples that form part of a vertical sequence (profile). Provided as-is by the data provider.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | profile_id |
| CSV type | string |
Transect ID
An identifier for linking samples that form part of a horizontal sequence (transect). Provided as-is by the data provider.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | transect_id |
| CSV type | string |
Sampling Depth
Depth below the water surface at which the sample was taken, in metres. 0 = surface sample; −1 = depth not available.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | smp_depth |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | sampdepth |
| CSV type | float |
Total Depth
Total water column depth at the sampling location, in metres.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | tot_depth |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | totdepth |
| CSV type | float |
Begin Period
Date when sample collection began. If only a year is known, the date is set to 1 January of that year; if year and month are known, it is set to the 1st of that month.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | time |
| NetCDF type | int64 (seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC) |
| CSV variable | begperiod |
| CSV type | datetime string (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss) |
End Period
Date when sample collection ended. Same date convention as Begin Period.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | endperiod |
| CSV type | datetime string (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss) |
Nuclide
Identifies the measured radionuclide via a MARIS standard ID.
| Lookup table | dbo_nuclide.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | nuclide |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | nuclide_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Detection Limit
Describes the status of the associated Activity value:
1(=) — measured value; an uncertainty should accompany it2(<) — below detection limit; Activity holds the MDA or ISO 11929 detection limit3(ND) — not detected; no activity value and no MDA reported4(DE) — derived; Activity is an aggregation (mean, sum, etc.) of multiple samples
| Lookup table | dbo_detectlimit.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | dl |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | detection |
| CSV type | integer |
Activity
The measured activity or MDA for the nuclide. See Detection Limit for interpretation of this value.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | value |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | activity |
| CSV type | float |
Uncertainty
1σ (k=1) measurement uncertainty, expressed in the same unit as Activity.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | unc |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | uncertaint |
| CSV type | float |
Unit
Unit of measurement for Activity and Uncertainty. MARIS stores seawater activities in Bq m⁻³ — values reported by providers in Bq L⁻¹ are converted (×1000).
| Lookup table | dbo_unit.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | unit |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | unit_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Variable Type
Type of aggregation applied when Activity is not a single measurement. Common codes: AM (arithmetic mean), GM (geometric mean), MED (median), MAX, MIN.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | vartype |
| CSV type | string |
Frequency
Regularity of sampling or measurement (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly).
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | freq |
| CSV type | string |
Range Low Detection
Detection limit status of the Range Low value (same codes as Detection Limit). Used when Activity is an aggregated value.
| Lookup table | dbo_detectlimit.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | rl_detection |
| CSV type | integer |
Range Low
Minimum activity within an aggregated dataset, expressed in the unit given by Unit.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | rangelow |
| CSV type | float |
Range Upper
Maximum activity within an aggregated dataset, expressed in the unit given by Unit.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | rangeupp |
| CSV type | float |
Species (BIOTA)
Identifies the sampled species via a MARIS standard ID. When only a biological group is known (e.g. ‘Fish’), the coarsest matching species entry in the LUT is used.
| Lookup table | dbo_species.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | species |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | species_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Biological Group (BIOTA)
Grouping of related species (e.g. crustaceans, molluscs, fish). Always derived from the biogroup_id column in dbo_species.xlsx — never assigned independently.
| Lookup table | Derived from dbo_species.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | bio_group |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | — |
| CSV type | — |
Taxon Name (BIOTA)
Scientific name of the taxon, as defined in dbo_species.xlsx.
| Lookup table | See dbo_species.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | Taxonname |
| CSV type | string |
Taxon Reported Name (BIOTA)
Taxon name as reported by the data provider (may differ from the accepted scientific name).
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | TaxonRepName |
| CSV type | string |
Common Name (BIOTA)
Common (vernacular) name of the species or organism.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | Commonname |
| CSV type | string |
Taxon Rank (BIOTA)
Rank of the taxon in the biological classification system (e.g. species, genus, family), as defined in dbo_species.xlsx.
| Lookup table | See dbo_species.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | Taxonrank |
| CSV type | string |
Taxon Database (BIOTA)
Name of the external taxonomy database where this taxon is registered (e.g. WoRMS, ITIS).
| Lookup table | See dbo_species.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | TaxonDB |
| CSV type | string |
Taxon Database ID (BIOTA)
Identifier for this taxon in the external taxonomy database.
| Lookup table | See dbo_species.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | TaxonDBID |
| CSV type | string |
Taxon Database URL (BIOTA)
URL of the taxon record in the external taxonomy database.
| Lookup table | See dbo_species.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | TaxonDBURL |
| CSV type | string |
Body Part (BIOTA)
Identifies the specific body part from which the sample was taken (e.g. flesh, whole animal, liver).
| Lookup table | dbo_bodypar.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | body_part |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | bodypar_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Slice Up / Top (SEDIMENT)
Top of the sediment core interval relative to the water–sediment interface, in cm.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | top |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | sliceup |
| CSV type | float |
Slice Down / Bottom (SEDIMENT)
Bottom of the sediment core interval relative to the water–sediment interface, in cm.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | bottom |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | slicedown |
| CSV type | float |
Sediment Type (SEDIMENT)
Classification of sediment according to the Udden–Wentworth scale.
| Lookup table | dbo_sedtype.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | sed_type |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | sedtype_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Sediment Reported Name (SEDIMENT)
Sediment name as reported by the data provider; stored verbatim.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | SedRepName |
| CSV type | string |
Volume
Volume of the sample, in litres.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | volume |
| CSV type | float |
Salinity (SEAWATER)
Salinity in practical salinity units (PSU). If the provider reports absolute salinity (g/kg), convert to PSU using TEOS-10 guidelines.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | salinity |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | salinity |
| CSV type | float |
Temperature (SEAWATER)
Water temperature at the time of sampling, in °C.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | temperature |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | temperatur |
| CSV type | float |
Filtered (SEAWATER)
Indicates whether the sample was filtered before measurement. In NetCDF4, stored as an integer: 1 = filtered (dissolved fraction), 2 = unfiltered (total).
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | filt |
| NetCDF type | integer (1 = filtered, 2 = unfiltered) |
| CSV variable | filtered |
| CSV type | string (Y = filtered, N = unfiltered, NA = not applicable) |
Filter Pore Size (SEAWATER)
Pore size of the filter used, in µm.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | filtpore |
| CSV type | float |
Acidified
Indicates whether the sample was acidified prior to analysis.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | acid |
| CSV type | string (A = acidified, NA = not acidified) |
Oxygen (SEAWATER)
Dissolved oxygen concentration of the sample.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | oxygen |
| CSV type | float |
Sample Area (SEDIMENT)
Surface area of the sediment sample, in cm².
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | samparea |
| CSV type | float |
Dry Weight (BIOTA)
Dry weight of the sample, in grams.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | drywt |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | drywt |
| CSV type | float |
Wet Weight (BIOTA)
Wet weight of the sample, in grams.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | wetwt |
| NetCDF type | float |
| CSV variable | wetwt |
| CSV type | float |
Percent Weight (BIOTA)
Dry-to-wet weight ratio, expressed as a percentage: (dry weight / wet weight) × 100. Value must be between 0 and 100.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | percentwt |
| CSV type | float |
Sampling Method
Method used to collect the sample.
| Lookup table | dbo_sampmet.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | samp_met |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | sampmet_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Drying Method
Method used to dry the sample prior to analysis.
| Lookup table | dbo_sampmet.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | drymet_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Preparation Method
Method used to prepare the sample for radioactivity measurement.
| Lookup table | dbo_prepmet.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | prep_met |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | prepmet_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Counting Method
Analytical method used to measure radioactivity (e.g. gamma spectrometry, alpha spectrometry, LSC).
| Lookup table | dbo_counmet.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | count_met |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | counmet_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Reference
Identifies the source dataset or publication from which this record originates.
| Lookup table | dbo_ref.xlsx (internal; not publicly distributed) |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | ref_id |
| CSV type | integer |
Reference Note
Additional notes about the source reference.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | refnote |
| CSV type | string |
Sample Note
Additional notes about the sample.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | sampnote |
| CSV type | string |
Measurement Note
Additional notes about the measurement process.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | measurenote |
| CSV type | string |
Good for Export
Flag indicating whether the record is suitable for export from the MARIS database.
| Lookup table | No |
| NetCDF variable | — |
| NetCDF type | — |
| CSV variable | gfe |
| CSV type | string |
Area
Named geographic region where the sample was collected.
| Lookup table | dbo_area.xlsx |
| NetCDF variable | area |
| NetCDF type | integer |
| CSV variable | area |
| CSV type | integer |