# ``time``
## Properties
:dimensions: N_PROF
:dtype: str32
## Default Attributes
| Attribute | Value |
|-----|-----|
|``whp_name`` | ``TIME`` |
## Description
The UTC time in zero padded hhmm format. A single time should be reported for each cast, usually the time at cast bottom (deepest) is used. The order of preference for the reported time is: cast bottom, cast start, cast end (i.e if cast bottom is not available, the cast start time should be used).

Valid range for hh: 00-24 Valid range for mm: 00-59 The format of times corresponds to the C-strftime format of ``%H%M``.

The time should be read as a string, but be able to be cast unambiguously into an integer. To convert from an integer, left pad zeros to match the time format description.
:::{warning}
Time is not a required parameter! If time is not present, then the temporal resolution of the data is reduced to a 24 hour period. It is the responsibility of the user of the data to omit files/casts which do not meet their temporal resolution requirements.
:::