General Information and Definitions

Definitions

The VARS Query allows easy searching of the observations stored in MBARI’s video annotation database. Complex queries can be made by constraining concept, temporal, spatial, or physical parameters (e.g. species, season, location, or depth). The VARS query references the knowledgebase (see below). Query results can be saved as tabular text data or images (where they exist).

The VARS Knowledgebase is an extensible database of biological, geological, and technical terms used to describe deep-sea research conducted by the institute. This database is composed of identifiable objects called concepts (e.g. organisms, equipment, sediment types, etc.). The knowledgebase also contains associations which serve as descriptors that can be connected with the objects being annotated (e.g. colors, size, behaviors).

A concept is the name of the physical object in an observation.

An association is a descriptor for a concept being observed. Each descriptor must be connected to a concept observation. Multiple associations may be used to describe one observation. A concept can have multiple associations to describe the observation.