Data

WII6 keeps every record, message and processing run in one write-once store of plain directories that can be copied with rsync. Each binary format is named and versioned so it still decodes in a decade.

A wave buoy produces wave results and motion records that may be needed years after a deployment. What each capture sends over the satellite is chosen per deployment, and the full record is kept on the card.

The sizes below are examples for fifteen-minute captures:

Kind	How it is retrieved	Example size
Wave results	compact satellite messages or the card	from 326 bytes
2 Hz record	over Iridium or from the card	about 56 kB
64 Hz full-rate record	from the card; satellite transfer uses more airtime	about 3 MB

Position and buoy health can accompany the wave results. See what the buoy sends for the choices.

One store of plain files

Everything a project produces lives in one directory tree: the project, its buoys, and under each buoy the records exactly as the card wrote them, the messages exactly as the satellite delivered them, and every processing run associated with its source record. Files are kept as written, and each capture has its own record identifier. The store can be copied with rsync and checked with a checksum manifest. When combining archives, the record identifiers and checksums let you identify duplicates and any differences between copies.

The buoy writes the captures to its card. On shore, the store also keeps the received satellite messages and any later processing runs. A simplified view of the contents:

Project
  Buoy
    Captures from the card
      Metadata and calibration
      Full-rate motion record
      2 Hz record
      Wave results
    Received satellite messages
      Original message bytes
      Decoded results
    Shore processing runs
      Source record, processing version and results

You get the store, or the part of it that is yours, as plain files rather than through a service.

Formats that outlive the firmware

Every binary file starts with a header that names its format and version, and every satellite message starts with a format id that is never reused. Each format has one definition, compiled into the firmware and available as JSON for everyone else, with a real sample message kept as a test that runs on every build.

The registry keeps every revision of every format, so a message from any deployment still decodes.

Formats and tools

Contact us for the format registry, JSON definitions, command-line decoders and sample records. The documentation covers the directory layout and how to read the files, so you can work with the same formats and decoders used by the WII6 cloud.

Older data

The public datasets from the earlier generations, the SIPEX II, PIPERS and JARE-61 (61st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition) archives on Mendeley, and the publications built on them, are listed on the WII5 site:

The deployment histories from 2012 to 2024 are on the heritage page.