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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) - World Ocean Circulation Experiment | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 1991-09-04 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Measurements near the Orinoco River outflow region, 1998 to 2000 | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 1998-06-24 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Ocean Twilight Zone: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2021-05-01 to 2024-07-01 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| South Florida Program (SFP) | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2012-02-27 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Water Quality (WQ) monitoring program for Clear Lake, CA | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2021-01-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Hydroprofiler measurements from Monterey Bay in 2011 | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2001-11-18 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Assessing marine biogenic matter Production, Export and Remineralization: from the surface to the dark Ocean | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2022-02-01 to 2024-02-01 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Great Lakes Ocean Color Validation | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2025-01-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Measurements from the Bahamas in 2004 | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2004-03-14 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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| Naval Research Lab measurements off the coast of Louisiana | 0 | Water-based Platforms, In Situ Ocean-based Platforms | 2016-03-17 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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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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