diff --git a/ch03.adoc b/ch03.adoc index 694cc414..eb966b93 100644 --- a/ch03.adoc +++ b/ch03.adoc @@ -164,7 +164,8 @@ A standard name contains no whitespace and is case sensitive. canonical units:: Representative units of the physical quantity. Unless it is dimensionless, a variable with a **`standard_name`** attribute must have units which are physically equivalent (not necessarily identical) to the canonical units, possibly modified by an operation specified by the standard name modifier (see below and <>) or by the **`cell_methods`** attribute (see <> and <>) or both. - + + + + Units of time coordinates (<>), whose **`units`** attribute includes the word **`since`**, are _not_ physically equivalent to time units that do not include **`since`** in the **`units`**. To mark this distinction, the canonical unit given for quantities used for time coordinates is **`s since 1958-1-1`**. The reference datetime in the canonical unit (the beginning of the day i.e. midnight on 1st January 1958 at 0 `degrees_east`) is not restrictive; the time coordinate variable's own **`units`** may contain any reference datetime (after **`since`**) that is valid in its calendar.