How can I serve remote data via DODS?
The Distributed Ocean Data System (DODS) is used by Ferret to access remote data. Many data centers are now providing access to their data via DODS and you can provide access to their data through your LAS installation. We have created an number of .xml configuration files, .jnl init script and .des descriptor files for accessing DODS data. They are available at:
http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov/LAS_xmlFiles http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov/LAS_jnlFiles http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov/LAS_desFiles
Alternatively, you may wish to provide access to a collaborator's data without having to duplicate the data at your site. Your collaborator would only need to set up a DODS server.
Note: This is entirely distinct from sister servers which can also be used to enable collaborative data serving.
Ferret can access DODS datasets if the full DODS pathname is specified in the Xml file. As an example, the following file describes two DODS variables and one local one. First is the Reynolds OI SST Analysis dataset at NOAA's Climate Diagnostics Center (CDC). The second variable associates the LAS variable names "mnmean" with the actual variable name "SST" to be used when each of these files is opened by Ferret (see creating a multi-variable dataset for further explanation). The third variable is from the local file coads_climatology.nc.
<variables>
<mnmean name="Monthly Means of SST" units="degC"
url="http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/nph-nc/Datasets/reynolds_sst/sst.mnmean.nc#sst">
<link match="/lasdata/grids/CDC_reynolds_sst_mnmean_LON_LAT_TIME_grid"/>
</mnmean>
<day_ltm name="Daily Long Term Mean of SST" units="degC"
url="http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/nph-nc/Datasets/reynolds_sst/sst.day.ltm.nc#SST">
<link match="/lasdata/grids/CDC_reynolds_sst_day_ltm_LON_LAT_TIME_grid"/>
</day_ltm>
<coads_sst name="local COADS SST" units="degC"
url="file:coads_climatology.nc#SST">
<link match="/lasdata/grids/CDC_reynolds_sst_wkmean_1990_present_LON_LAT_TIME_grid"/>
</coads_sst>
</variables>
Jonathan Callahan: Jonathan.S.Callahan@noaa.gov
Last modified: October 26, 2001