FIELD	        	MEANING
------			--------
ARGOS_NO		A 5 character code assigned by ARGOS when a instrument is put into operation using Service ARGOS.
WMO_NUMBER		A 8 character code assigned by the WMO when data from a station is put onto the GTS.
UP_DATE	        	The date, as 4 character year, 2 character month and 2 character day, that the data were added 
			to the archive files. As data are reprocessed, this date changes.
ACTIVE			A single character code indicating if the instrument is routinely reporting data. Values are Y=yes, N=no.
PROGRAM_NO		This is a 5 character field containing the number used to identify the program under which the data were collected.
PI_NAME	        	The name of the principle investigator responsible for the data collection.
SOURCE_ID		For international programmes, this is the program that collected the data.
DEPLOY_PLAT		The name of the platform used to deploy the instrument.
DEPLOY_PI_NAME		The name of the principle investigator deploying the instrument.
DUTY_CYCLE		The time (days) for a complete data collection cycle. For profiling floats this is the time between surfacing.
START_DT		The start date and time, as YYYYMMDDHHmm, for data collection.
FT_DOWN	        	The time (hours) after the start time that the float sinks.
DOWN_TIME		The time (days) that the instrument is submerged.
RISE_TIME		The time (hours) for a instrument to come to the surface.
START_LAT		The latitude (in decimal degrees) of the position where the instrument was launched. Values are positive north of
  			the equator and negative to the south.
START_LONG		The longitude (in decimal degrees) of the position where the instrument was launched. Values are positive west of 
			Greenwich and negative to the east.
PARK_PRESS		The pressure at which the instrument is parked.
PROFILE_TRANSIT		The direction of the station profiles. Values are A=ascending, D=descending.
PROFILE_PRESS		The maximum pressure at which profiling begins. Note that for profiling floats this may be different from the park pressure.
PROFILE_CYCLE		An instrument like a profiling float can be programmed to sample a deeper profile every nth. cycle. So, for 4 
			consecutive profiles, the sampling is from the parking depth to the surface, but on the 5th. cycle, the float goes 
			to a deeper depth (PROFILE_PRESS) and samples from there. The repetition rate (here = 5) is stored in this variable.
MANUFACTURER		The name of the manufacturer of the instrument.
INSTR_TYPE		The type of instrument as identified by the manufacturer.
INSTR_SERIAL		The serial number of instrument as identified by the manufacturer.
POS_AT_DEPTH		A flag to indicate that this instrument returns positions while at depth.  Use N for no, Y for yes.
CONTROLLER_TYPE		The type of instrument controller used.
CONTROLLER_SERIAL	The serial number of the instrument controller used.
DISPLACE_VOL		The volume (cm**3) displaced by the piston in a profiling float.
TRANS_SYSTEM		The telecommunications system used.
TRANS_FREQUENCY		The frequency (in hertz) of transmission from the float.	
TRANS_REPETITION	The lapse of time (in seconds) between two successive repetitions of transmissions from the float.
POSITIONING_SYSTEM	The positioning system used.
DEPLOYMENT_CAST_ID	Calibration CTD cast ID taken close in space and time to float deployment.