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The ALMA Data Flow System

The ALMA Data Flow System (ALMA DFS) is a set of protocols, interfacesand tools that are developed by the ALMA Observatory for linking thevarious processes in the observing process, e.g. Phase 1 proposalpreparation, submission and review; Phase 2 observing preparation,validation and submission; execution of science, technical andcalibration observations; data calibration and pipeline processing;quality control, data archiving and data distribution. The ObservingTool is one of the ALMA DFS tools that has been designed to create acomplete observing project, i.e. to prepare an observing proposal forPhase 1 and to complete and submit an observing programme during thePhase 2 process.

The ALMA OT layout is designed to reflect both the needs of theexternal user and of observatory staff in terms of creating projectsin a structured but flexible manner, and of the observatory in termsof what must be created in order to schedule and execute observationsmost efficiently. There are some key definitions that should beunderstood in order to use the Observing Tool most effectively increating and submitting observing proposals in the Phase 1 process,and to specify the observing programme information during Phase 2.

For obtaining observing time on ALMA and executing a scientificobservation, the user needs to construct an observing project. Thisobserving project consists of the observing proposal for applying forobserving time (Phase 1), and the observing programme for specifyingin detail how the observation will be carried out (Phase 2), if timeis awarded by the proposal review panels.


next up previous contents index
Next: Phase 1 Observing Proposals Up: Basic Concepts Previous: Basic Concepts   Contents   Index
The ALMA OT Team, 2011 May 20