ESDS Program

SeaBASS Data File Format

Summary

The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Bio-Optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS) is part of NASA's Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (OB.DAAC) and currently serves as the permanent publicly shared repository for all ocean measurement data collected under the auspices of NASA's Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry (OBB) Program (Program Manager, Dr. Paula Bontempi). The SeaBASS database archives data files exclusively in the SeaBASS data file format.

Status

The SeaBASS Data File Format Guidelines for Earth science data was approved for use in NASA Earth science data systems in 2016.

Specification Document
(NASA/TM-2002-211617)

The SeaWiFS Bio-Optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS): Current Architecture and Implementation, Chapter 3
User Resources

NASA Earth Science Community Recommendations for Use

The SeaBASS data file format is a self-describing ASCII format with a metadata header section followed by a delimited data matrix. The file format specification is described in Chapter 3 of the NASA Technical Memorandum The SeaWiFS Bio-Optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS): Current Architecture and Implementation. It is compliant with the ASCII File Format Guidelines for Earth Science Data approved for use in NASA’s Earth science data systems, meeting all requirements and most recommendations in that document.

The SeaBASS data format is widely used for in situ observations in NASA's ocean biology and oceanography communities. To date, OB.DAAC has over 81,000 SeaBASS-format data files, from over 2,500 field campaigns, collected by over 130 investigators, from more than 80 institutions in over 14 different countries. These in situ oceanographic and atmospheric data are used for ocean color satellite calibration, satellite data product validation, algorithm development, and other analyses. As a community standard, this format has successfully served the ocean biology and oceanography communities for over 20 years (formally used since ~1994).
A checklist showing a summary of the requirements and recommendations found in the ASCII File Format Guidelines for Earth science data and the results of vetting the SeaBASS data file format can be found in NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Standards Coordination Office (ESCO) ASCII File Format List.

 

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