Sites Module

Locality Tab

Enter all available geographic information from the specimen label into the appropriate field. Continent, Country, and Province/State/Territory lookup lists are up-to-date and have been locked, meaning that the values in these fields cannot be added to or edited. If a value from a label is not displaying in the drop-down list of one of the aforementioned fields, this indicates that the information on the label is outdated, incorrect, or that you are trying to place information into the incorrect field. The information that does not fit into one of these categories still needs to be captured, but should be alternatively placed in the Precise Location field. If there is no specific locality description to be placed in the Precise Location field, please leave the field blank and do NOT record “[no precise location]" or a variation of that phrase in brackets; standard practice is to keep the field blank. If elevation is provided on the label, enter that information in the Elevation (Above Sea Level) field(s) (if provided in a range, the lower elevation value should be placed in the “From:” field, and the higher elevation value in the “To:” field). Sometimes location information is provided in Township, Range, and Section (TRS) format; place that information in the Locality Details section (below Elevation), ensuring that letters "T", "R", and "S" are included as the prefix before appropriate value/direction (i.e. T10S, R23E, S12).

Example of a completed Locality tab of a Sites record.

Example of a completed Locality tab of a Sites record.

Mapping Tab

Location information may also be provided in UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) format, which consists of a zone, an easting value, and a northing value. In the Mapping tab, this information should be placed in the UTM field in this format: UTM: zone easting northing, with spaces separating the values (i.e. “UTM: 12 0520951E 4419038N”). The easting and northing values should also be recorded in the Easting and Northing fields under the Mapping Co-ordinates section. Occasionally, the zone is not provided. When this happens, please record empty brackets ("[ ]") before the easting and northing value string in the UTM field (i.e. “UTM: [ ] 0520951E 4419038N”). You may see UTM values written in this format: “UTM - 508473 m.E by 4503556 m.N (Zone 12, NAD 27”). To enter the information into the UTM field in instances like this, you should omit the “m.” and delete the space between value/direction for each coordinate, and keep the datum information (NAD27) separated by a comma after the phrase (=“UTM: 12 508473E 4503556, NAD 27”). It is also beneficial to record the UTM string as provided on the label after the locality description in the Precise Location tab. Primary contact for questions or concerns: Liz Gjieli, egjieli@nybg.org.

Example of how to record UTM coordinates in the Mapping tab.

Example of how to record UTM coordinates in the Mapping tab.

Lat/Long Tab

Coordinates are provided on label:

If latitude and longitude coordinates are provided in decimal degrees (-22.00, -42.05) or degrees minutes seconds (22° 00' 29" S, 42° 03' 35" W), input the values in Latitude/Longitude Details field in the appropriate area. EMu automatically converts coordinate values between the two formats, so either format is acceptable. If coordinates are provided in Township, Range, and Section format (TRS), please enter in the “Locality Details (cont.)” section in the Locality Tab (as discussed previously); this information can be translated into decimal degrees using a coordinate conversion calculator at a later time. If UTM coordinates are provided, please note this in Precise Location as this can also be later translated using a UTM coordinate converter tool (as also stated in the Mapping Tab section above). 

Example of a completed sites record when coordinates are provided on a specimen label.

Example of a completed sites record when coordinates are provided on a specimen label.

Georeferencing metadata fields:

For the following fields, please do your best to use one of the items listed in the drop-down list. If you are unsure what to record, or if you need georeferencing training, please contact Liz at egjieli@nybg.org.

Determination Source: Source of the coordinates, or tools used by the georeferencer to locate the collection site. This includes Google Maps, Google Earth, GeoLocate, MaNIS Georeferencing Calculator, paper maps, gazetteer, etc. (“A list (concatenated and separated) of maps, gazetteers, or other resources used to georeference the Location, described specifically enough to allow anyone in the future to use the same resources” – Georeferencing Quick Reference Guide). 

Determination Method: Protocols to determine coordinates.List the georeferencing protocols followed; this is normally a reference guide (Georeferencing Quick Reference Guide, Biogeomancer Guide to Best Practices for Georeferencing) or an online coordinate conversion tool if coordinates were provided on the label in a format other than decimal degree or degrees minutes seconds. “Other collections” can also be used, which signifies that another collector had collected from the same (or very similar) locality and provided coordinates for that collection. “GPS” can also be noted here. (“A description or reference to the methods used to determine the spatial footprint, coordinates, and uncertainties. If following the protocol in this guide, use “Georeferencing Quick Reference Guide Version… 2012”)

Determined By: georeferencer's name (Parties record)

Determination Date: date (short-cut for today's date, CTRL + ; )

Radius (Numeric): Uncertainty radius, in meters only.

Units: m

Datum: WGS84 (datum used by Google Maps, Google Earth, GeoLocate, Bing Maps, OpenStreetMap, etc.)

Notes: Please enter concise notes on the methods and steps taken to locate coordinates and radial for the locality. There is a georeferencing notes template document which provides a sample of georeferencing notes to be used per each locality type. 

Example of a completed georeferenced Sites record.

Example of a completed georeferenced Sites record.

If unable to georeference (unable to find the locality or a cultivated specimen): Include georeferencer’s name, date, determination method (if applicable), and in the notes field include a short description including why the location cannot be determined.

ScreenShot sites1.png