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Ocean Data Access and Tools
NASA data span the geophysical parameters that characterize the global ocean and the physical processes operating within its depths and at its surface. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.
Ocean Datasets
| Dataset | Version Sort ascending | Platforms | Instruments | Temporal Extent | Spatial Extent | Spatial Resolution | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Caledonia Pre-SWOT Level-4 Hourly MITgcm LLC4320 Native Grid 2km Oceanographic Dataset Version 1.0 | 1.0 | MITgcm | Computer | 2011-09-13 to 2012-11-15 |
N: -22 S: -26 E: 171 W: 166 |
2 Kilometers x 2 Kilometers | netCDF-4 |
| MetOp-A ASCAT Level 2 25-km Ocean Surface Wind Vector Climate Data Record | 1.0 | METOP-A | ASCAT | 2007-01-01 to 2014-04-01 |
N: 89.6 S: -89.6 E: 180 W: -180 |
25 Kilometers x 25 Kilometers | netCDF-4 |
| GHRSST Level 2P Global 1m Sea Surface Temperature from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the MetOp-A satellite produced by NAVO | 1.0 | METOP-A | AVHRR-3 | 2013-09-24 to 2020-07-07 |
N: 80 S: -70 E: 180 W: -180 |
8800 Meters x 8800 Meters | netCDF-4 |
| Metop-A ASCAT Inter-Calibrated ESDR Level 2 Observed and Modeled Spatial Derivatives of Surface Wind and Wind Stress Version 1.0 | 1.0 | METOP-A | ASCAT | 2007-01-01 to 2014-04-01 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
12.5 Kilometers x 12.5 Kilometers | netCDF-4 |
| RapidScat Level 2B Climate Ocean Wind Vectors in 12.5km Footprints | 1.0 | ISS | RapidScat | 2014-10-03 to 2016-08-19 |
N: 61 S: -61 E: 180 W: -180 |
12.5 Kilometers x 12.5 Kilometers | netCDF-4 |
| Yongala Pre-SWOT Level-4 Hourly MITgcm LLC4320 Native Grid 2km Oceanographic Dataset Version 1.0 | 1.0 | MITgcm | Computer | 2011-09-13 to 2012-11-15 |
N: -16.5 S: -20.5 E: 150.25 W: 146.25 |
2 Kilometers x 2 Kilometers | netCDF-4 |
| GHRSST Level 4 RAMSSA_9km Australian Regional Foundation Sea Surface Temperature Analysis v1.0 dataset (GDS2) | 1.0 | BUOYS, Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, GCOM-W1, METOP-A, METOP-B, NCEP GTS, Ships | DRIFTING BUOYS, CTD, XBT, VIIRS, AMSR2, AVHRR-3, TEMPERATURE PROBES | 2006-06-12 to Present |
N: 20 S: -70 E: 180 W: 60 N: 20 S: -70 E: 180 W: 60 |
0.083 Decimal Degrees x 0.083 Decimal Degrees | netCDF-4 |
| SPURS-2 shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler data for E. Tropical Pacific R/V Revelle cruises | 1.0 | R/V Revelle | ADCP | 2016-08-14 to 2017-11-17 |
N: 21.26 S: 5.06 E: -118.32 W: -157.88 |
1 Meters x 1 Meters | netCDF-4 |
| SWOT Level 2 Nadir Altimeter Interim Geophysical Data Record with Waveforms - SSHA, Version 1.0 | 1.0 | SWOT | Jason-class Altimeter, AMR | 2022-12-16 |
N: 77.6 S: -77.6 E: 180 W: -180 |
netCDF-4 | |
| GHRSST Level 2P 1 m Depth Global Sea Surface Temperature from VIIRS on Suomi NPP (GDS2) V1 | 1.0 | Suomi-NPP | VIIRS | 2013-05-20 to 2016-02-25 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
750 Meters x 750 Meters | netCDF-4 |
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Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Platform
SWOT provides detailed surface topography and monitors water body changes over time. The platform enables high-resolution ocean monitoring at 15-150 km spatial scales, tracking ocean currents, coastal dynamics, storm surges, and regional sea level changes. On land, SWOT measures water storage changes in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and wetlands, supporting river discharge estimates for water resource assessment.
Researchers explore using SWOT data to derive two-dimensional estimates of sea ice thickness.
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Swath Visualizer provides a visualization of two instruments’ coverage of Earth's surface: the Ka-band Radar Interferometer and altimeter.
SWOT presents opportunities and challenges in characterizing sea surface height anomalies.
Ocean Data Tools
| Tool Sort descending | Description | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppEEARS | The The Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS) offers users a simple and efficient way to perform data access and transformation processes. | Search and Discovery, Subsetting, Customization, Downloading, Visualization | |
| CASEI | The Catalog of Archived Suborbital Earth Science Investigations (CASEI) is a comprehensive inventory of contextual information for NASA's Earth Science airborne and field campaigns. | Search and Discovery, Cataloging | |
| CyAN File Search | The CyAN File Search tool allows users to choose an area over the continental United States and Alaska to retrieve cyanobacteria datasets archived by the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) project. | Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization | |
| CyFi Explorer | CyFi Explorer enables users to view corresponding Sentinel-2 satellite imagery for each cyanobacteria estimate, and estimate cyanobacteria density. | Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization | |
| Earthdata Search | Earthdata Search enables data discovery, search, comparison, visualization, and access across NASA’s Earth science data holdings. | Search and Discovery, Access, Cataloging, Cloud Computing, Downloading | |
| Giovanni | Giovanni is a web application for accessing, visualizing, and analyzing Earth science remote sensing data without downloading the data. | Search and Discovery, Analysis, Access, Visualization, Downloading, Subsetting | |
| Hydrocron | Hydrocron is an API that repackages hydrology datasets from SWOT into formats that make time-series analysis easier. | Subsetting, Visualization | |
| Ocean Color Level 3 and 4 Browser | The Ocean Color Level 3 and 4 Browser allows users to view, download, or order global composites at various spatial and temporal scales (level 3) or get results from analyses of lower-level data (level 4). | Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization | |
| Panoply | Panoply is a cross-platform application that plots geo-referenced and other arrays from netCDF, HDF, GRIB, and other datasets. | Visualization, Customization, Reformatting, Subsetting, Comparison | |
| SeaBASS | SeaBASS is public archive of ocean and atmosphere data captured in situ. The archive is maintained by NASA's Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG). | Downloading |
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Frequently Asked Questions
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