Two new visualization tools are now available from the ARM Data Archive to help you plot and package data orders, and preview climate-scale data collections.

Implemented this summer, an enhanced version of the NCVweb offers many powerful features such as producing detailed tables of NetCDF file contents, data extraction, generating statistics, and plotting one variable against another. Using NCVweb, users can plot their data orders from the Archive or plot regular standing data orders. The enhanced tool also helps to eliminate the need for and problems associated with downloading large volumes of data, installing and configuring visualization software, or writing custom data exploration software. Note that NCVweb works best with limited quantities of data and its performance will slow down as data volume (number files or bytes) increases (current maximum is limited to less than ~ 1 Gb) and can bog down as data volume (number files or bytes) increases.

As part of the data selection and access process, the Statistical Browser allows users to view and obtain “statistical views” of measurements collected by ARM. The new prototype interface, released in October, allows users to drill down from multi-year, yearly, and monthly statistical graphs, with results presented in an accessible, tabular format. The statistical views enable users to gain a sense of large-scale patterns contained in the data to aid in selecting data for closer examination. The Stat browser is currently available for a select number of data products, which are “distilled” at a very high level. User comments on the prototype will be considered by the Data Archive team for future developments to the browser tool.

Both features are available from the Data Archive via Data Access Tools.  For more information about the Statistical Browser, see the October 31, 2008, Facility Update.  For more about NCVweb, see the July 15, 2008, Facility Update.