How to use the Cross Section Graphing in MP-Web
Introduction
Cross-sectional graphing allows data comparisons where the Y-axis indicates a height or depth measurement. The Y-axis will represent the concentration of measured substances, and each series can be grouped into a period, such as a discreet sampling event or, for more high-frequency data, a summary.
This type of graphing is most commonly used when data is recorded at different depths, such as lake depth surveys, borehole core sampling, or at heights, such as weather. It's equally relevant where there is any spatial relationship between the locations, such as surface water locations along a river or stream.
An example of Lake Depth Sampling
An Example of Wind Speed at Elevation
An Example of three connected river locations
Sample Point
The choice of which Sample Points to include will depend upon how your data is distributed in MonitorPro and the option chosen for the Y-Axis.
If your data for each depth or height is stored against a discreet Sample Point (1m, 2m, etc.), include all the Sample Points you want to display on the Y-Axis range.
The order in which the Sample Points will display is managed via the Dataset order.
Make sure this order applies to the desired Y-Axis, using the arrows to move the Sample Point order accordingly and then saving the Dataset.
Variables
Choose the Variable(s) to be included within the plot.
Series Range
There are options to group the data into a suitable granularity for the presented data. The options are Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. These will then be used to generate distinct series for the plot. Using this option and the date range inherently contained in the Dataset, users should get a broad combination of distinct series options for most applicable scenarios.
The raw data for the below is hourly. However, a daily Series Range will give us a distinct Series for each day, restricted by the Dataset date range of 1 month.
Using the same Dataset and changing this Series Range to Monthly will aggregate the data into a single Monthly series.
Changing the Dataset to one with a broader date range but using the same Monthly Series Range will present multiple monthly Series for the Dataset's date range. This would offer options to compare seasonal variations or changes over time.
The final variation would be to choose Yearly, which will give a single series for each Year contained within the Dataset.
Summary Function
Where the option chosen in the Series Range aggregates (i.e. there is more than one record for the period selected), data will be summarised based on this function. By default, this is set to Average.
The examples below are in the same configuration, with an Average and a Maximum summary.
Y-Axis
The above examples all work on the basis that the data is distributed across multiple Sample Points, defining the depth of each discreet sample. In MonitorPro, it's possible to include all the data against a common Sample Point but distinguish the depth of the sample based on the Data Source or the Sample Type.
In these configurations, choose the appropriate Sample Point(s) and change the Y-Axis to the appropriate Object. Then, select the Sample Types or Data Sources that will form the Y-Axis's scale.
The data below is stored against a distinct Sample Point, but on import, it was defined as unique based on a Sample Type, which defines the depth at which it was collected.
