Opening a Data File
To start the CoastWatch Data Analysis Tool (CDAT), either:
- Windows: Find it in your Windows Start Menu.
- Linux: Find it in the bin/ directory of your software installation, or type 'cdat' from a command prompt.
- Mac: Find it in the bin/ directory of your software installation, inside your Applications folder.
Once started, CDAT shows a blank window, similar to a web browser with no web page loaded. Each file opened in CDAT creates a new tab. There are several ways to open the example sea surface temperature (SST) data file created from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data:
- Drag and drop it onto the CDAT window (the easiest method).
- Click the
Open button on the CDAT toolbar and select the file.
- Use the File menu and click Open, then select the file.
When the file is selected, CDAT shows the file contents:
To load a set of variables from the data file, select them in the list (you can Ctrl-click to select more than one or ⌘-click on Mac), then click OK to continue. At a minimum for this exercise, select sea_surface_temperature and quality_level.
Bonus exercises:
- Try loading other variables such as wind_speed or sst_front_position.
- Watch part of a YouTube video Links to an external site. on starting CDAT and loading data from a NOAA 1b AVHRR data file.