Atrac

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024
This document summarizes instructions and information collection instrument images for the
NESDIS Advanced Tracking and Resource tool for Archive Collections web application (ATRAC)
for NOAA Geospatial metadata.

Respondent Login screen
Each respondent must have a userid and password to use the ATRAC tool.

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be
subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved
OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0648-0024. Without this approval, we could not conduct this
information collection. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 2 hours per
response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the
data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are
voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including
suggestions for reducing this burden to the NODC Data Officer, SSMC3, 4th Floor, E/OC, 1315 East West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910. Geospatial metadata is requested in accordance with Executive Order 12906 and NOAA
Administrative Order 212-5.

1

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

Respondent selects action from individual
dashboard
Each respondent has a personal dashboard that supports creating a new response, editing a
previously created but unsubmitted response, creating a copy of a previous response for reuse,
or deleting an unsubmitted response. Respondents may also elect to upload geospatial
metadata that conforms to the ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 geospatial metadata standards
created using their own processes or other software (not provided by NOAA) using the ATRAC
tool.

Respondent creates a new project if necessary
Each geospatial metadata entry is keyed to a project identifier created by the respondent.

2

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

Respondent creates a new response
ATRAC provides a forms-driven entry interface for standard geospatial metadata on multiple
tabs. Most data entry fields support free text entries and many data entry fields provide
recommended or suggested entries from keyword tables after the first few letters are typed into
a data entry field. Additional detailed instructions are available by clicking on the User Guide
button in the upper right corner of each data entry screen.

3

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

Tab 1: Identification
This tab collects basic descriptive information about geospatial data in a collection. The limited
number of required fields are marked with an asterisk. Many optional fields provide additional
contextual information that is encouraged for inclusion in the geospatial metadata record but is
not required.

4

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

5

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

6

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

Tab 2: Coverage
This tab collects descriptive information about the temporal and geographic extent of data in a
collection. The limited number of required fields are marked with an asterisk. Optional fields
provide additional contextual information that is encouraged for inclusion in the geospatial
metadata record but is not required.

Tab 3: Keywords
This tab collects descriptive information about descriptive keywords that assist in discovering
and providing additional characteristics of data in a collection. The limited number of required
fields are marked with an asterisk. Optional fields provide additional contextual information that
is encouraged for inclusion in the geospatial metadata record but is not required. The ISO
standard requires inclusion of an ISO Topic Category keyword. NOAA encourages the inclusion
of NASA Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) and other relevant keywords, but does not

7

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024
require their inclusion. Guidance provided in blue text assist in selecting appropriate keywords
from the indicated vocabularies or thesauri.

8

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

Tab 4: Access
This tab collects descriptive information about data file formats used in a collection and
protocols that may be used to redistribute described data. The limited number of required fields
are marked with an asterisk. Optional fields provide additional contextual information that is
encouraged for inclusion in the geospatial metadata record but is not required.

Tab 5: Lineage
This tab collects descriptive information about how described data were collected, processed,
and other actions taken. There are no required fields on this tab. Optional fields provide
additional contextual information that is encouraged for inclusion in the geospatial metadata
record but is not required.
9

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

10

NESDIS ATRAC Forms and Instructions
OMB 0648-0024

Tab 6: Metadata
This tab collects descriptive information about the creator of the metadata record and the
frequency that the metadata record will be updated. The limited number of required fields are
marked with an asterisk. Optional fields provide additional contextual information that is
encouraged for inclusion in the geospatial metadata record but is not required.

11