ecollectionevents > Locality (1)
This tab includes the political and marine geography of a collection locality, along with fields for classifying the collection event. Definitions below are adapted from the GeoNames Feature Codes list.
Known issues:
Usage of Site Details is inconsistent. It has been used variously to try to distinguish generic localities from localities with detailed collection info; to try to mark records as canonical for a given locality (for example, by referencing the corresponding GeoNames record); and to idenitfy stations/dredges associatd with a specific expedition.
It’s difficult to reliably distinguish marine and terrestrial localities.
Administrative divisions that do not map neatly to country/state/county scheme have been entered inconsistently. Many countries use deeper schemes, so it’s not always clear how to fit all the information in.
Record Classification
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Record Classification |
ColumnName |
LocRecordClassification |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
LookupName |
Collection Events Record Classification |
A high-level classification of a Collections Event record. Allows users to quickly identify generic locality records (like those for states or counties) that are suitable for re-use.
Usage
Required
Allowed Values
Location
Location (Canonical)
Location (Unknown)
Event
Field/Sample Numbers
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Site Visit Numbers |
ColumnName |
ColSiteVisitNumbers_tab |
DataKind |
dkTable |
DataType |
Text |
The field numbers of samples collected during a Collection Event
Usage
In limited use
Format
Currently used only to specify the name of the ANSMET meteorite associated with a sampling locality from that field program.
Site/Station Number
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Site/Station Number |
ColumnName |
LocSiteStationNumber |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
The identifier of a site or station
Usage
Omit if no appropriate data is available
Format
Marine collection events, like dredges or dives, are usually assigned an identifier. Historically we’ve captured this information very generally (for example, “Dredge 1” or “Station 1”). This is not very useful for discriminating between records. Instead, the recommended practice is to use the exact identifier assigned during the cruise. This is often the cruise number followed by the dredge or station number, and samples collected during an event often include the site/station number at the beginning of their field number.
Site Number Source
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Site Number Source |
ColumnName |
LocSiteNumberSource |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
LookupName |
Site Number Source |
The authority that created the site station number
Usage
Omit if no appropriate data is available
Format
The name of the authority that provided the site name and station number. For cruises, this may be an oceanographic institute, like WHOI or Scripps, although in most cases a generic identifier, Collector, has been used instead.
Site Name
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Site Name |
ColumnName |
LocSiteName_tab |
DataKind |
dkTable |
DataType |
Text |
LookupName |
Site Name |
Usage
Under evaluation
Ocean
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Ocean |
ColumnName |
LocOcean |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
LookupName |
Ocean |
The name of an ocean
Usage
Required for marine localities and ocean islands. Omit for large islands.
Format
Ocean and sea boundaries are determined by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). Names can be resolved using coordinates, for example, using the GeoNames ocean webservice or shapefiles provided by the Marine Regions website run by the Flanders Marine Institute.
The boundaries of the Arctic and Southern Oceans seem to vary seasonally. The Southern Ocean is not part of the official IHO ocean list but has been added to the IHO shapefile on the Marine Regions website.
The generic Atlantic and Pacific Ocean names should be avoided when possible. Map them to either North or South if coordinates or other locality info allows. The north/south divisions generally follow the equator, with the exception of the Galapagos and Gilbert Islands, which cross the equator but are assigned to the South Pacific Ocean. Other features that cross the equator but are not addressed by IHO include:
Halmahera is assigned to the North Pacific Ocean because it is mostly north of the equator.
Sulawesi is assigned to the South Pacific Ocean because it is mostly south of the equator.
Galapagos Rise and Galapagos Spreading Center are assigned to the South Pacific Ocean by analogy to the Galapagos Islands.
Large islands at the border between oceans cannot always be assigned to a specific ocean. For example, Sumatra sits at the border of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and straddles the equator.
Allowed Values
Arctic Ocean
Indian Ocean
North Atlantic Ocean
North Pacific Ocean
South Atlantic Ocean
South Pacific Ocean
Southern Ocean
Sea/Gulf
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Sea/Gulf |
ColumnName |
LocSeaGulf |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
The name of one of the primary divisions of the oceans, like a sea, marginal sea, or gulf
Usage
Recommended for marine localities and ocean islands. Omit if locality does not appear in a named sea or if the sea name cannot be determined.
Format
As with Ocean above, sea and gulf boundaries are determined by the IHO. Names in this field should exactly match an IHO name. See that entry for sources for more information about assigning ocean and sea names.
Examples
Carribean Sea
Gulf of Mexico
Bay/Sound
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Bay/Sound |
ColumnName |
LocBaySound |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
The name of any coastal body of water smaller than a sea or gulf
Usage
Omit if no appropriate data is available
Continent
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Continent |
ColumnName |
LocContinent |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
LookupName |
Continent |
The name of a continent
Usage
Required for records representing terrestrial specimens. Recommended for marine localities on the continental shelf.
Format
Use the GeoNames country code list to map countries to continents. Mapping this way introduces some incongruities (for example, Hawaii maps to North America) but it beats making a series of individual decisions.
Allowed Values
Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Europe
North America
Oceania
South America
Country
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Country |
ColumnName |
LocCountry |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
The name of a country. Includes both independent entities and dependent but self-governed entities.
Usage
Required for all terrestrial records
Format
Country names should use the English short name from the ISO 3166 list of country codes. The ISO list includes both sovereign states and entities, like Greenland, that are affiliated with another country but are largely self-governed. Puerto Rico falls into the latter category and should be given as a country (not a territory of the United States) in EMu.
For a discussion of updating names as administrative boundaries change over time, see TKTK.
Known issues
The formal ISO names have not been fully adopted in EMu. For example, North Korea and South Korea are still in use despite not being the preferred form in the ISO list.
Province/State/Terrirtory
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Province/State/Territory |
ColumnName |
LocProvinceStateTerritory |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
The primary administrative division in a country, like a state in the United States or a province in Canada
Usage
Omit if no appropriate data is available
Format
Entities in this field must be first-order administrative divisions. The names of administrative divisions vary from country to country, sometimes in ways that may confuse data entry. For example, the state- level entities in the Bahamas are called districts and the county-level entities in the Phillipines are called provinces. GeoNames is a useful resource for figuring out what consistutes a first-order admin division. See Filling in gaps in the administrative hierarchy for guidance on backfilling administrative divisions from more specific locality information.
District/County/Shire
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
District/County/Shire |
ColumnName |
LocDistrictCountyShire |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
The secondary administrative division in a country, like a county in the United States
Usage
Omit if no appropriate data is available
Format
Additional administrative divisions can be included in Precise Locality. See Filling in gaps in the administrative hierarchy for guidance on backfilling administrative divisions from more specific locality information.
City/Town
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Township |
ColumnName |
LocTownship |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
LookupName |
Township |
The name of a populated place, like a city, town, or township
Usage
Omit if no appropriate data is available
Format
The name should be given in full, without abbreviations, unless the original documenation includes abbreviations of uncertain meaning.
If both town and township are known, include the town, then a semicolon, then the township.
Modifiers (in parentheses) may follow the city/town/township designation.
No Further Locality Data
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
No Further Locality Data |
ColumnName |
LocNoFurtherLocalityData |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
Identifies simple locality records that do not include information on any tab except Locality (1) except georeferenced coordinates. This is to allow simple localities to be georeferenced while still making use of this field.
Usage
Leave unchecked if locality info appears on any other tab
Precise Locality
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
ItemPrompt |
Precise Location |
ColumnName |
LocPreciseLocation |
DataKind |
dkAtom |
DataType |
Text |
A brief description of the exact sampling location
Usage
Omit if no appropriate data is available
Format
The precise locality is usually entered as one or more sentence fragments. Full sentences are acceptable here, especially if quoting from original documentation, but try to be brief. When using fragments, separate each fragment with a semicolon, not a period, so the different parts can be parsed if needed.