NetCDF Data Exploratory Intro

NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) is the standard binary format used by meteorological agencies (e.g. ECMWF, NOAA, Météo-France), oceanographic institutions, and climate modeling centers worldwide for sharing array-oriented scientific data.

Opening a NetCDF File

You can open any .nc, .ncml, .nc3, .nc4, .cdf, or .hdf5 file by double-clicking it in the Project Explorer or dragging it into the editor area.

The file opens in the NetCDF Multi-Page Editor (NetCDFMultiPageEditor), which provides:

• Tree Model View: An interactive hierarchical tree displaying dimensions, variables, data types, shapes, and global/variable attributes.
• XML Source Tab: The generated or underlying NcML 2.2 XML representation.
• Plot Visualization: Direct access to 2D raster and contour plotting engines.

Visualizing Variables

1. In the tree view, locate a 2D, 3D, or 4D variable (e.g. air_temperature_2m or relative_humidity_2m).
2. Double-click the variable or right-click and select Visualize Variable.
3. In the dimension selection dialog, choose the two display axes (e.g. X and Y, or lon and lat).
4. The NetCDF Plot View (NetCDFPlotView) opens and renders the variable heatmap.

Navigating Extra Dimensions

When visualizing multi-dimensional variables (such as [time, height, y, x]):

• Use the toolbar slice combo in the plot view to select the active extra dimension (e.g. time).
• Use the previous (<) and next (>) navigation buttons or the index slider to step through time steps or atmospheric levels in real-time.