[Seavox] More proposed layers to the L131 vertical coverage

[Lowry, Roy K]

Thanks Karen,

My primary reason for lumping them together....

Cheers, Roy.

From: Karen Stocks [mailto:kstocks at sdsc.edu]
Sent: 05 May 2010 19:07
To: Lowry, Roy K
Subject: FW: More proposed layers to the L131 vertical coverage

Roy,

Reaching back to my distant past as a benthic invertebrate ecologist, I'd suggest keeping one term for the boundary, whether with air or water (and presumably using some other kind of separate habitat descriptor to indicate which).  Intermittently-innundated areas like the intertidal, floodplains, and ephemeral ponds/puddles will be hard to handle if you separate them.

Cheers,

-Karen


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Karen Stocks, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist
San Diego Supercomputer Center
9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0505
La Jolla, CA 92093-0505
USA
+1 858 534-5009
kstocks at sdsc.edu<mailto:kstocks at sdsc.edu>
________________________________
From: seavox-bounces at biwebs1.nerc-liv.ac.uk [seavox-bounces at biwebs1.nerc-liv.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Lowry, Roy K [rkl at bodc.ac.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 3:33 AM
To: seavox at mailman.nerc-liv.ac.uk
Cc: Becky Seeley; Freeman, Hannah R
Subject: [Seavox] More proposed layers to the L131 vertical coverage
Dear All,

A request has come in to extend the L131 vocabulary to include something suitable for zoobethos (animals living on the surface of the seabed (or shore or intertidal zone) or just below it).

We currently have a term:

'soil and sediment' defined as 'The unlithified sediments that form a layer between the solid crust and either the atmosphere or the water column.'

Some confusion has arisen with the term 'sediment' being interpreted as mud or sand, whereas no limitation of grain size was intended.  Consequently , I propose clarifying the definition to 'The unlithified sediments (of any grain size from silt to boulders) that form a layer between the solid crust and either the atmosphere or the water column.'

Next we come to its boundary layer, which we could implement as a single term called 'soil and sediment boundary' and defined as 'The upper surface (interface plus surficial substrate) of the layer of unlithified sediments (of any grain size from silt to boulders) that form a layer between the solid crust and either the atmosphere or the water column.'

Or should we have two separate terms to differentiate between seabed/water body and soil/atmosphere boundaries?  My current thinking would be 'no' because that would be the start of the slippery slope of using a vertical coverage term (L131 is defined as 'Terms used to describe data coverage over the vertical (z) co-ordinate.') to characterise the nature of the boundary.  However, other opinions on this or any other aspect of the proposed vocabulary change are welcome.

Please let me have any thoughts in the next week or so as a vocabulary user awaits something suitable.

Cheers, Roy.

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