NOS - Externally Sourced Bathymetry Data

Required Metadata for Submission of Bathymetry to NOAA Office of Coast Survey
Please include the following metadata in a human or machine readable format. For questions email
esd.team@noaa.gov. If fields marked as “Vital” are not available, it is necessary to populate the
“Conditional” fields and we may follow up with additional questions.

Data Source Information
ISO 19115 Metadata
Term (not ISO)
Title
Responsible Party
Contact Info
Phone
Electronic Mail Address
Online Resource

Legal Constraint: License

Definition

Format

Name by which the cited resource is known. Aka Survey ID.
The authority which was responsible for the survey.
Contact who can answer data collection questions
Telephone number
Email address
Website URL providing information about data if available
Official documentation stating the dataset is subject to a
data license.

String
String
String
String
String
String

Required
Required
Required
Optional
Required
Optional

Alternatively, the data contributor may sign the Data
Permissions Form, which grants permission to (1) use the
data to update NOAA navigational products and (2) release
the data publicly on NCEI without restrictions.

String

Required

Quality of Bathymetric Data
ISO 19115 Metadata
Term (not ISO)
Acquisition Start Date
Time
Acquisition End Date
Time
Vertical Coordinate
Reference System
Vertical Unit of Measure
Positional Accuracy
Vertical
Horizontal Coordinate
Reference System
Positional Accuracy
Horizontal
(Full Bathymetric
Coverage Achieved)
(Full seafloor Coverage
Achieved)
(Resolution)

Definition

Format

The start date of the survey.

YYYYMMDD

Required

The end date of the survey.

YYYYMMDD

Required

String

Required

String

Required

Float

Vital

OGC WKT

Required

Float

Vital

True / False

Vital

True / False

Vital

Float

Vital

The attribute is used to specify the datum to which both
elevations and soundings are referenced.
The attribute encodes the units of measurement for depths.
The best estimate of the fixed vertical accuracy component
for depths, heights, vertical distances and vertical
clearances. Unit meter.
Horizontal reference surface or the reference coordinate
system used for geodetic control in the calculation of
coordinates of points on the earth.
The best estimate of the accuracy of a position. The
expected input is the maximum of the two-dimensional
error. Unit meter.
A True value is an indication that full depth measurement
coverage for an area covered by hydrographic survey(s) has
been achieved.
A True value is an indication that full seafloor coverage for an
area covered by hydrographic survey(s) has been achieved.
The resolution of the provided data for which the coverage
information is accurate. For gridded data this could be
assumed to be the cell size if appropriate.

(Significant Features
Detected)
(Least Depth of
Detected Features
Measured)

(Size of Features
Detected)

A True value is an indication that the characteristics of a
hydrographic survey are such that significant seafloor
features could be detected.
A True value is an indication that the characteristics of a
hydrographic survey are such that the least depth of
significant seafloor features can be determined.
The size of the smallest feature that the survey was capable
of detecting with a high probability. Unit cubic meters.
NOAA Guidance: For single resolution surfaces, the size of
detected bathymetric features is 2x the resolution of the
surface. For variable resolution surfaces, the size of detected
bathymetric features is 2x the finest resolution of the
surface.

True / False

Vital

True / False

Vital

Float

Vital

Survey Equipment and Process Steps
ISO 19115 Metadata
Term (not ISO)
(Multibeam Sensor)
(Vertical Beam Sensor)
(Side Scan Sensor)
(Lidar Sensor)
(Interferometric Sensor)
(Attitude and
Positioning Equipment)
(Sound Velocity Sensors)
(Sound Velocity
Processing)
(Vertical Datum
Processing)
(Processing Software)

Definition
List the specific models of multibeam sensors used during
data acquisition, if applicable.
List the specific models of vertical beam sensors used during
data acquisition, if applicable.
List the specific models of side scan sensors used during data
acquisition, if applicable.
List the specific models of lidar sensors used during data
acquisition, if applicable.
List the specific models of interferometric sensors used
during data acquisition, if applicable.
List the specific models of attitude and positioning
equipment used during data acquisition, if applicable.
List the specific models of sound velocity sensors used
during data acquisition, if applicable.
Describe the sound velocity processing that was applied to
the data, if applicable.
Describe the processing used to shift the data to the
appropriate vertical datum, if applicable.
List the software used to process the data.

Format
String

Required

String

Required

String

Required

String

Required

String

Required

String

Conditional

String

Conditional

String

Conditional

String

Conditional

String

Conditional