Available data formats

CCAM data is available in two formats: NetCDF and csv.

The NetCDF is an interface to a library of data access functions for storing and retrieving data in the form of arrays. An array is an n-dimensional (where n is 0, 1, 2, …) rectangular structure containing items which all have the same data type (e.g. 8-bit character, 32-bit integer). A scalar (simple single value) is a 0-dimensional array.

To learn more about this data format, visit http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/docs/netcdf_introduction.html.

For those who are less familiar with the NetCDF data and for those who need data at a location, the portal provides a facility to extract a csv format from these gridded datasets.

Please note: You must be logged in to the portal before downloading data in the csv format.

Help with exporting, exploring and manipulating NetCDF format data

ArcGIS software is one of the more popular software packages used in the GIS community. Climate model data are most often available as NetCDF files; however, these files are not a commonly used GIS format.

For instructions on importing NetCDF files into ArcGIS software so the files can be manipulated and explored by GIS users, visit https://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/support-and-guidance/faqs/downloading-data/.

A list of freely available software for manipulating or displaying NetCDF data is available at https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/software.html.