BlueWhaleProcessing project consists of the following components:

Each gravity loop consists of a set of gravity readings. Every reading is connected to a particular station of a given line - see below. All readings of a given loop were made by a single gravimeter. It means, that each reading inside a loop can be identified by it's acquisition time only.

At least one station observed in a loop span has to be marked as a gravity base. All gravity readings of the loop are tied to the base station gravity value.

It is a common practice in gravimetry to repeat readings at several stations observed in a loop span in order to provide data for instrument drift calculation and quality check statistics. BlueWhaleProcessing software can include all repeated readings into instrument drift assessment procedure. Details are described in the Chapter "Processing procedures and formulas".

Gravity stations are places where gravity readings take place. Stations are grouped into lines. Currently, lines in the software can have any name and there are no special means for lines organization. Common use of lines takes place in grid-shaped projects where each station is identified by line and station coordinate. BlueWhaleProcessing supports this geometry using stations and lines names as numbers.

	Note
	Import procedure from the Scintrex CG-3/CG-5 gravimeters dump accepts line and stations numbers correctly if they are expressed as integers. Fractional parts are omitted. It is recommended to avoid using fractions in lines and stations numbers when acquiring data with CG-3/CG-5 gravimeters.

Exact station position is defined by it's coordinates. In addition to geographic coordinates and elevation, additional "Picket height" value can be defined for each station. This value can be used to define elevation difference between geodetic marker and gravity marker for the station. Picket height is positive when geodetic marker is located above the gravity marker.

Instruments records collect parameters of all instruments used in the project. If loop data are imported from gravimeter dumps, instruments records are added automatically to the project when needed using data from the dump.

Instruments which provide readings in dial units and not in gravity units, such as e.g. Lacoste&Romberg gravimeters, need calibration table to be included into project with instrument data. Most digital instruments, e.g. Scintrex CG-3/CG-5 gravimeters, do not need calibration table. Calibration table is built inside the gravimeter and instrument readings are provided in mGals for these new gravimeters.

Presentation layer of a BlueWhaleProcessing project is a list of project maps. Normally, most maps are created in the final stage of the project life cycle when data acquisition is over. BlueWhaleProcessing software allows creation of arbitrary number of maps presenting project data from many aspects and in any scale required.

	Caution
	Please note that the mapping module is under strong development at present and new mapping features are expected to be included in the near future. Some parts of the mapping module should be considered experimental. It is not recommended to setup production environment critically dependent on the mapping module until it's final release will be finished.