Template Instructions

Overview

PARS data submissions use three templates in comma-separated values (CSV) format:

Template	Description	Required	Filename
METADATA	Deployment, audio recording, and project information	Yes	`metadata.csv`
DETECTIONDATA	Analysis parameters and acoustic detection results	Yes	`detectiondata.csv`
GPSDATA	GPS track positions for mobile platforms	Only for mobile deployments	`gpsdata.csv`

Template File Naming

Template files should be named using the specific filenames provided for each template in the table above.

Please do not add other prefixes, suffixes, or version numbers to the filenames. PARS expects these exact names when importing submissions.

If you have multiple deployments, please combine all records for each template into a single CSV file per template, rather than submitting separate files for each deployment.

Relationship Between Templates

The three templates are linked by a common deployment_code field, which must be consistent across all templates for a given deployment.

Each row in the METADATA template represents one deployment with its recording configuration, and must have a unique deployment_code.
The DETECTIONDATA template contains analysis and detection records linked to a deployment via deployment_code.
The GPSDATA template contains timestamped positions for mobile deployments, also linked via deployment_code.

It is critical that the deployment_code values match exactly across all templates to ensure the data are properly linked within PARS. In other words, each row in DETECTIONDATA and GPSDATA must correspond to a valid deployment_code in METADATA.

General Formatting Rules

CSV format: All templates must be submitted as comma-separated value (CSV) files.
Column headers: Must match the field names exactly as specified in the template definitions (case-sensitive).
Data types: Follow the specified for each field (e.g., string, numeric, date). See the Data Types page for more details.
Reference values: Some fields have controlled vocabularies (i.e., allowable values) defined by a corresponding reference table. For these fields, use only the allowed values, if possible. If the current reference tables do not have a value suitable for your data (e.g., new detector or platform type), please contact us to request a new value be added. See the Reference Tables page for a list of allowable values in each reference table.
Required fields: All required fields must be completed. Optional fields can be left blank if no data are available or the field is not applicable.
Empty values: Leave cells blank for optional fields with no data. Do not use NA, NULL, #N/A, -, or other missing value indicators as these will be interpreted as regular text.
Decimal degrees: Latitude and longitude values should use decimal degrees with at least 4 decimal places. Western longitudes are negative.
Frequency units: All frequency fields use kilohertz (kHz), not Hertz.

Submission Process

To submit your data to PARS, please follow these steps:

Review the complete guide, including the Instructions (this page), individual templates (Metadata, Detection Data, GPS Data), Data Types, and Reference Tables pages.
Download the three template CSV files from the Templates page.
Fill in the templates with your data, ensuring that all required fields are completed and that the formatting rules are followed. You can copy the data into the templates using a spreadsheet program (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets) or generate the CSV files programmatically using a scripting language (R or Python), as long as the final output matches the required format.
Once your templates are complete, visit the PARS Submission Form to submit the three CSV files together as a single package. The files can be attached to the form individually, or as a zip file containing all three files. Ensure that the filenames are correct (see above) and that all templates are included in your submission. You may also provide a preferred citation for your submission in the form.
After submission, the PARS team will review your files and reach out with any questions or issues. If there are none, your data will be imported into PARS and then added to PACM automatically (see After Submission below for more information about how your data will be used).
To inquire about the status of your submission, please see the Contact Us page for contact information.

After Submission

After being successfully imported into PARS, your data will be automatically added to the Passive Acoustic Cetacean Map (PACM) where anyone can view and explore it.

Once on PACM, your data will also be available through the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) Data Request Process where any member of the public can request a copy of the data. Each data request must include a justification for the request, which is then reviewed by the NARWC for approval. In the event that your data are included in an approved data request, you will be notified via email after the request has been fulfilled, and the relevant citations will be included with the data request (see the FAQ for more information).

Lastly, your data may also be used by NOAA Fisheries for further research and management of marine species. All PARS data contributors will be properly credited and cited for their contributions to any publications, reports, or other products that use their data. Submissions may have their own citations, and repeated citations are deduplicated when appropriate; see the FAQ for more information.

If you have any questions about how your data will be shown on PACM, accessed through the NARWC data request process, or used for further research and management, please see the Contact Us page for contact information.

Data Corrections

If you need to correct any data that was previously submitted, simply submit the corrected data in the same format as the original submission.

Please ensure that the deployment_code values match those of the original submission for any records that are being updated, if possible, so that the original data can be replaced with the new data.

If you only need to correct a subset of the deployments in your original submission, you can submit a new file that only includes the corrected records, rather than resubmitting the entire dataset. The corrected deployments will be fully replaced, and so please include all metadata, detection data, and GPS data (if applicable) for any deployment that is being corrected, even if only a subset of the fields or rows are being updated. PARS is unable to accomodate partial updates to individual records and individual fields, so any deployment that is included in a data correction submission will be fully replaced with the new data.

When submitting a data correction, be sure to choose Data Correction as the submission type on the PARS Submission Form and provide a brief description of the correction in the comments field. The PARS team will review the corrected data and update the records in PARS accordingly.

If you have any questions about how to submit a data correction, please contact us.

Next Step

After reading these instructions, the next step is to review the specific fields, data types, and formatting requirements for each template, starting with the Metadata template.