NESDIS - Crowdsourced Bathymetry

Guidance for Submitting Crowdsourced Bathymetry Data to the
IHO Data Center for Digital Bathymetry
Background
This document is intended to provide guidance on how to implement data transfers between CSB data
contributors (Trusted Nodes or individual contributors) and the IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry
(DCDB). Additional information and details, including optional and mandatory data and metadata fields,
can be found in the IHO Publication B-12: Guidance on Crowdsourced Bathymetry.
The purpose of B-12 is to provide information and guidance to all stakeholders of CSB data. Prior to
submitting data to the DCDB it is recommended that CSB data contributors review B-12, specifically:
1.0
3.0

Data Contribution to the IHO DCDB
Data and Metadata
3.3.1 Mandatory Metadata from Trusted Nodes
3.3.2 Mandatory Data
3.3.3 Recommended Metadata - Vessel Information and Sensor Configuration
3.3.4 Recommended Metadata - Data Processing

Preparing to Submit Data
Those interested in contributing data or becoming a Trusted Node should begin by contacting the DCDB at
bathydata@iho.int. During initial discussions with the DCDB the following points will be addressed:
●

The DCDB will review an example file from the new CSB data contributor to ensure data types
and formatting are in agreement with B-12 requirements.

● The DCDB and CSB data contributor will discuss the uniqueID to be used in the metadata and
data transmission. This unique value is composed of a prefix identifying the contributor followed
by a hyphen and a UUID. The prefix generally consists of up to six upper case characters and is
determined in collaboration with the DCDB. It allows users to locate their submissions on map
viewers (eg: DCDB Bathymetry Viewer). The UUID portion of the uniqueID is a standardized
unique number and should be generated by the CSB data contributor. This allows for the vessel to
be anonymous on map viewers and in the archive if desired. Generally there is one UUID per
vessel, consistent for all submissions from that vessel, although other conventions can be discussed
with the DCDB. Basic information regarding UUIDs can be found in this Wikipedia article.
Several examples demonstrating the generation of a UUID are available on GitHub.
●

Once a file has been reviewed and the uniqueID has been determined, the DCDB will provide an
authentication token. This token is required in order to upload data.

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After the above points have been addressed, a CSB data contributor can submit CSB data files and metadata
to the DCDB via a public application programming interface (API). Note that submission will fail without
a valid uniqueID and authentication token.

Introduction to cURL
The recommended method to upload data to the API is by utilizing the command-line tool, cURL, within a
command prompt to make an HTTP POST Request. Data can be uploaded in GeoJSON or XYZ format.
Details on the submission of each format type can be found below.
cURL is a command-line tool that comes preinstalled on a computer’s OS. With the use of cURL, HTTPS
requests can be made directly from an OS command prompt. To read more about cURL, view the official
documentation here. Windows users can find additional installation information at https:/curl.se/windows.

Submitting XYZ File Data with cURL
Prior to submission, the contents of the XYZ file should be consistent with the formatting demonstrated
below. Note that in the case of an XYZ file submission, the file itself does not contain any metadata.
Metadata is in JSON format and located within the command prompt rather than within the XYZ file.
LON,LAT,DEPTH,TIME
38.871667, 1.294000, 9.5, 2014-09-14T21:00:01.000Z
38.871667, 1.294000, 9.4, 2014-09-14T21:00:02.000Z
38.871667, 1.294000, 9.4, 2014-09-14T21:00:03.000Z
The cURL request below should be run from the directory that contains the file to be submitted.
Alternatively, the absolute path for the file can be used.
In this cURL request, the uniqueID should replace the given parameters.
The authentication token provided by the DCDB should replace the parameters.
The file name should replace and should be located in the same directory. Alternatively,
the absolute path for the file can be provided.
Note that metadata is in JSON format and located within the command prompt rather than the XYZ file.
The example demonstrates the minimum required metadata for submission to the DCDB. Additional
information about the vessel, sensors, sensor installation, and processing allows data users to assess the
quality of the data, apply corrections, etc. This greatly increases the potential applications of the data and
should be added whenever possible. Additional information regarding optional metadata fields can be found
in Section 3 of B-12.

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$ curl 'https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ingest-external/upload/csb/test/xyz' -i -X POST \
-H 'x-auth-token: ' \
-H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
-F 'file=@;type=multipart/form-data' \
-F 'metadataInput={
"crs": {
"horizontal": {
"type": "EPSG",
"value": 4326
},
"vertical": "Transducer"
},
"providerContactPoint": {
"orgName": "Example Cruises Inc",
"email": "support@example.com",
"logger": "Rose Point ECS",
"loggerVersion": "1.0"
},
"convention": "XYZ CSB 3.0",
"dataLicense": "CC0 1.0",
"platform": {
"uniqueID": "",
"correctors": {
"positionReferencePoint": "Transducer",
}
}
}'

Submitting GeoJSON File Data with cURL
Prior to submission, the contents of the GeoJSON file should be consistent with the formatting
demonstrated below. In the case of GeoJSON submission, the metadata is included within the file itself
rather than in the command prompt.
This example file demonstrates the minimum required metadata for submission to the DCDB. Additional
information about the vessel, sensors, sensor installation, and any processing allows data users to assess the
quality of the data, apply corrections, etc. This greatly increases the potential applications of the data and
should be added whenever possible. Additional information regarding optional metadata fields can be found
in Section 3 of B-12.
{
"type": "FeatureCollection",
"crs": {
"horizontal": {
"type": "EPSG",
"value":4326
},
"vertical": "Transducer"

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},
"properties": {
"providerContactPoint": {
"orgName": "Example Cruises Inc",
"email": "support@example.com",
"logger": "Rose Point ECS",
"loggerVersion": "1.0"
},
"convention": "GeoJSON CSB 3.0",
"dataLicense": "CC0 1.0",
"platform": {
"uniqueID": "EXAMPLE-f8c469f8-df38-11e5-b86d-9a79f06e9478",
"correctors": {
"positionReferencePoint": "GNSS",
}
}
},
"features": [
{
"type": "Feature",
"geometry": {
"type": "Point",
"coordinates": [
-119.37249833123325,
72.09587373217158
]
},
"properties": {
"depth": 108.9,
"time": "2015-08-06T22:00:00.000Z"
}
}
]
}
The cURL request below should be run from the directory that contains the file to be submitted.
Alternatively, the absolute path for the file can be used.
In this cURL request, the uniqueID should replace the given parameter. The uniqueID in the
header must match the uniqueID in the record.
The authentication token provided by the DCDB should replace the parameters.
The file name should replace “geoJson.json” and should be located in the same directory. Alternatively,
the absolute path for the file can be provided.
Note that in this case the metadata is included within the file rather than in the POST request.

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$ curl 'https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ingest-external/upload/csb/test/geojson' -i -X POST \
-H 'x-auth-token: ' \
-H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
-F 'file=@;type=multipart/form-data' \
-F 'metadataInput={
"uniqueID": ""
}'

Submission Response
Below is the expected response if the data is successfully posted.
HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Content-Length: 75
Content-Type: application/json;charset=UTF-8
{"message":"Submission successful.","submissionIds":["123"],"success":true}
For questions regarding the submission of crowdsourced bathymetry data to the IHO DCDB, please contact
bathydata@iho.int. If possible, please reference the submission ID listed in the submission response.

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