Saildrone Data Sets are distributed in the Network Common Data Form format, more commonly known as NetCDF. This format, developed by UniData is a set of software libraries and self-describing, machine-independent data formats that support the creation, access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data. If you have never used NetCDF files before, here are a few tips to get you started.
Visualize a variable
To get started, follow the instructions below:
Download a sample Saildrone NetCDF data set (*.nc file hosted by NASA)
Download a NetCDF viewer, such as Panoply (or any alternative)
Open the NetCDF file using Panoply and select a variable to visualize
Example: "UWND_MEAN" is the mean east-west wind speed
Plot the selected variable by selecting Create Plot and the default Create a Georeferenced Trajectory-Feature Type
Congratulations!
You should see the visualization below (try zooming in and out).
