Appendix A
Data Dictionary

The data dictionary (list of field/parameter definitions) contains descriptors for the sediment geological, physical, and chemical characteristics incorporated in the database. Examples may be found on the Data Dictionary page.

The Pontchartrain database fields (download database in Appendix D) are a subset of those in the Master Data Dictionary (Buchholtz ten Brink and others, 1998). The complete data dictionary is downloadable here (Microsoft Excel) in "vertical format" with three sets of field headings: a short version, an intermediate-length version, and a full description. When transposed into "horizontal" format these fields are divided into eight tables:

1. Station data
2. Inorganic chemical data (including metals)
3. General organic data (including "total" PCB and PAH)
4. Specific organic data A: PCBs and pesticides congeners
5. Specific organic data B: PAH congeners
6. Specific organic data C: Aliphatic hydrocarbons
7. Organic data D: Miscellaneous organic compounds
8. Sediment texture (grain size)

For these tables the short heading format is used. For other questions related to data dictionary see the above-mentioned section.