Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri) - Processed Data

This metadata document describes the data contained in the "Argos Processed Data" (Child Item 1) of this data release. This data release contains all data collected by the Argos System from 217 satellite transmitters attached to Spectacled Eiders on their breeding range in arctic and western Alaska and northeastern Russia, 1993-2011. The raw data were processed to accomplish two goals: flag implausible location estimates and decode raw sensor data. Three Comma Separate Value (CSV) tables are included in the "Argos Processed Data" (Child Item 1) of this data release: 1) the "diag_filteredLocations" table contains one record for every Argos location estimate collected, accompanied by a binary flag that denotes an algorithm's plausibility check(based on distance, turning angle, and rate thresholds). Each record also includes a 'Tracking_Status' variable that denotes whether the location was collected from a live animal, a dead animal, or shed transmitter, 2) the "decodedSensor" table contains decoded sensor data such as the transmitter's temperature, battery voltage, and motion (activity), and 3) the "deploymentAttributes" table contains one record for each transmitter deployment in a CSV formatted table. The deployment attributes file contains information such as when the transmitter was attached to the animal, when tracking of a live animal ended, and a variety of variables describing the animal and transmitter. This table is identical to the "deploymentAttributes" table in the "Argos Raw Data" (Child Item 2) of this data release.