The peer review version of this data set is on line as:
(Note that later volumes in the series are also available on line, but were not included in the peer review package.)
Items highlighted in yellow are significant enough for discussion at the telecon. Others are minor corrections that we will take care of without further discussion. (Comments by Brooks arrived overnight and were discussed during the telecon.)
The data set passed peer review pending the correction of identified liens.
Following are the reviewers' comments with responses inserted in red:
We now completed the lien resolution process for the Cassini CIRS re-formatted data set. We believe that we have responded appropriately to all of the comments raised by the peer review panel. In addition, the data set has been "exercised" extensively for some of our own research projects, enabling us to identify and repair a number of additional, generally minor, bugs. The volumes have also been brought up to date since the re-release by the CIRS team of their entire data set using an improved calibration pipeline. Our own tests reveal the calibration to be much more consistent and reliable than it was previously.
The major changes since peer review are as follows:
Previously, most files were included in both binary and ASCII formats. We found this to be unnecessary and wasteful. Most users prefer ASCII files unless the file size becomes prohibitive. Now, all metadata is archived in ASCII tables. Only the spectra themselves are binary.
Previously, breaks between metadata files would only occur at the ends of CIRS activities. Because the spectral sampling might change several times in a single activity, we had to add a file suffix A, B, C, ... to the spectrum files so that each file could contain fixed-length records. This created some confusion and was found to be awkward.
In the new volume, breaks between files always occur at the same moment, either when a CIRS activity ends or when the spectral sampling changes. This means that sets of files (APODSPEC, GEODATA, ISPMDATA, POIDATA, RINDATA, TARDATA) always have the same time tags and the same number of records. Reading a set of files comprising data and metadata from the same observation is much simpler now.
The change does mean that a single CIRS activity can comprise multiple data files, but we find this to be a much simpler approach. Both indices and the on-line search facility at the Rings Node (OPUS) make it possible to quickly identify all of the files associated with a single CIRS activity.
A very useful column has been added indicating whether the shutter is open or closed for a particular spectrum. Somehow, none of us had noticed that this critical piece of information was missing from the files.
A complete set of informative and visually appealing "footprint diagrams" has been generated, providing a quick overview of the geometric content of each file whether CIRS was targeted at the rings, the planet or a satellites. These can be found in the BROWSE directory tree.
At the review panel's request, a SOFTWARE directory containing sample programs has been added.
The files of Noise-Equivalent Spectral Radiance (NESR) in the CALIB directory have been converted from text files to PDS tables.
Follow the links below to find our point-by-point responses to the issues raise by the peer review panel.
The lien-resolved version of this data set is on line as:
NOTE: if you wish to run a volume through the PDS Volume Verifier tool at pdstools.arc.nasa.gov/pdsWeb/AboutValidation.action, then you may wish to insert this file into the DOCUMENT directory:
This file defines a number of standard values that appear on these volumes but are not yet defined in the PDS Data Dictionary. This file is read by the verifier and any associated error messages will be suppressed.