Interoperable Access to NCAR Research Data Archive Collections

Aug. 19, 2015
Posted by: Doug Schuster

Note: This page was originally sourced from our Blogger page: http://ncarrda.blogspot.com/2015/08/interoperable-access-to-ncar-research.html


To enhance user experience and utility, the RDA now offers THREDDS Data Server (TDS) access for many highly valued gridded dataset collections (http://rda.ucar.edu/thredds).  TDS offered datasets with native formats in GRIB1 and GRIB2 are presented as aggregations,  enabling users to access an entire dataset collection that can be comprised of 1000’s of files, through a single virtual file.  Individual files can also be accessed from all GRIB1, GRIB2, and NetCDF format dataset collections found on the TDS. 

The OPeNDAP protocol (http://docs.opendap.org/index.php/QuickStart), supported by the TDS, allows compatible tools to open and access files and virtual files remotely and make the native data file format transparent to the end user.  Select tools that support OPeNDAP access include:
Popular RDA datasets available through TDS include:
Click on the "Data Access" tab found at the top of a dataset homepage to find a list of data access options, including TDS access.

For a complete list of RDA datasets available through the TDS, see: http://rda.ucar.edu/thredds .  It should be noted that authentication is required using RDA user credentials to access ECMWF and Japanese datasets.