Cloud images of the sky above Davis Station, Antarctica, taken with the lidar cloudcam

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Unknown

Publication_Date: Unknown

Title: Cloud images of the sky above Davis Station, Antarctica, taken with the lidar cloudcam

Description:

Abstract:

The CloudCam system captures timelapse images of the sky above Davis Station, Antarctica. So far it has been used to detect both noctilucent clouds (NLC) during summer and polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) during winter but it is also capable of imaging aurorae and tropopsheric clouds. The CloudCam system sits in a dome in the SAS building at Davis and consists of a camera, a motorised pod, a standard camera tripod and a standard PC which drives the image capture process and receives the imagery. Image capture process is driven by automated scripts on the PC which are executed as scheduled jobs using MacroScheduler software. All images are directly transferred to the PC where they are stored and processed by the scripts (no images are stored in the camera flash memory). The camera is powered from a mains outlet and connects to the PC using a standard USB 2.0 cable. MacroScheduler sripts perform the following tasks: - capture an image at user specified frequency, - transfer image to the PC, - time stamp the image with a user specified stamp, - rename the image file to YYYYMMDD_HHMM.JPG, - move the image file to the appropriate directory (YYYYMMDD), - every 24 hours make a timelapse movie of the images for a complete UTC day, and - create a new directory as required. The scripts also periodically close and restart the Canon Remote Capture software. This is a workaround for a bug which periodically freezes the Remote Capture software unless it is restarted. The PC time is synchronised to the Davis SAS NTP server and all image timestamps derive from the NTP time. Currently the camera azimuth is fixed but the TrackerCam software can drive the motorised pod for azimuth tracking (eg. when the sunrise azimuth changes rapidly after the polar night and during the spring when PSCs are are still present).

Purpose:

Not Available

Supplemental_Information:

Not Available

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 20040101

Ending_Date: Unknown

Currentness_Reference:Unknown

Status:

Progress: In Work

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: 77.966

East_Bounding_Coordinate: 77.968

North_Bounding_Coordinate: -68.576

South_Bounding_Coordinate: -68.578

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD SCIENCE PARAMETERS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD PLATFORM

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD INSTRUMENT

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ANCILLARY KEYWORDS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO TOPIC CATEGORY

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: DATA SET LANGUAGE

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD PROPERTIES > CLOUD FREQUENCY

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD TYPES

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING > VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS > VISIBLE IMAGERY

Theme_Keyword: FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS

Theme_Keyword: CAMERAS

Theme_Keyword: LIDAR > LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING

Theme_Keyword: CAMERA

Theme_Keyword: Cloudcam

Theme_Keyword: Clouds

Theme_Keyword: Images

Theme_Keyword: Davis

Theme_Keyword: CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

Theme_Keyword: IMAGERY/BASE MAPS/EARTH COVER

Theme_Keyword: ENGLISH

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD

Place_Keyword: CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA

Place_Keyword: GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR

Place_Keyword: VERTICAL LOCATION > MESOSPHERE

Place_Keyword: VERTICAL LOCATION > STRATOSPHERE

Access_Constraints: These data are currently stored on an external HDD and are therefore not yet publicly available. They will soon be moved to the Australian Antarctic Division servers, and will then be much more accessible.

Use_Constraints:

This data set conforms to the PICCCBY Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=ASAC_737_lidar_cloudcam when using these data.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: ANDREW KLEKOCIUK

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: SIMON ALEXANDER

Contact_Position: INVESTIGATOR

Contact_Position: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Contact_Position: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: Australian Antarctic Division

Address: 203 Channel Highway

City: Kingston

State_or_Province: Tasmania

Postal_Code: 7050

Country: Australia

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: Australian Antarctic Division

Address: 203 Channel Highway

City: Kingston

State_or_Province: Tasmania

Postal_Code: 7050

Country: Australia

Contact_Voice_Telephone: +61 3 6232 3382

Contact_Voice_Telephone: +61 3 6232 3358

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: +61 3 6232 3496

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: andrew.klekociuk@aad.gov.au

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Simon.Alexander@aad.gov.au

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

Image quality can vary depending on weather conditions - eg snow, or ice build-up may obscure the images. The present camera (2011) is a Canon PowerShot S3 IS digital camera. The camera used in 2004 and 2006 was a Canon EOS300D. Taken from the instruction manual: The camera used in 2004 and 2006 is a Canon EOS300D with a standard 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and a 58mm HOYA PL-CIR polariser. At 18mm focal length and 28 mm equivalent long side the diagonal angle of field of view at infinity is 100.48 degrees. Typical settings for polar stratospheric cloud season (starting in May) have been as follows: - program = AE - shooting mode = A-DEP - AF = manual focus - evaluative metering mode - white balance = auto - ISO 200-400 - exposure bracketing = +1/3 to -2/3 (increase stop in July/August) - focal length = 18mm - image size = 2048x1360 (medium), image quality = fine Focussing is a process of trial and error once the camera is sitting on the tripod in the dome. Set the lens to MF mode, adjust the focal length as required and then check the focus by taking test shots with the Canon Remote Capture software. To do this start the Canon Remote Capture software, click "yes" for connecting to the camera and then press the "release" button to acquire an image. Images are stored in the directory specified in the preferences for the Remote Capture Software (Save - RemoteCapture - File/Preferences). Delete the images once you are finished.

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Not Available

Completeness_Report:

Not Available

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Not Available

Process_Date: Unknown

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: AU/AADC > Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia

Contact_Person: DATA OFFICER AADC

Contact_Position: DATA CENTER CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: Australian Antarctic Division

Address: 203 Channel Highway

City: Kingston

State_or_Province: Tasmania

Postal_Code: 7050

Country: Australia

Contact_Voice_Telephone: +61 3 6232 3244

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: +61 3 6232 3351

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: metadata@aad.gov.au

Resource_Description: ASAC_737_lidar_cloudcam

Distribution_Liability:

Not Available

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: Not Available

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://data.aad.gov.au

Access_Instructions:

DATA CENTER URL

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

https://secure3.aad.gov.au/proms/public/projects/r...

Access_Instructions:

Public information for ASAC project 737

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?...

Access_Instructions:

Citation reference for this metadata record and dataset.

Fees: Not Available

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20110607

Metadata_Review_Date: 20120713

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: DAVE CONNELL

Contact_Position: DIF AUTHOR

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: Australian Antarctic Division

Address: 203 Channel Highway

City: Kingston

State_or_Province: Tasmania

Postal_Code: 7050

Country: Australia

Contact_Voice_Telephone: +61 3 6232 3244

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: +61 3 6232 3351

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dave.connell@aad.gov.au

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time