// Climate Data Services (CDS) 

NASA’s Climate Data Services (CDS) provide a central location for publishing and accessing large, complex climate model data to benefit the climate science community as well as the broader public.

As NASA weather and climate models simulate our planet on scales from hours to millennia, they produce datasets up to petabytes in size. Such big data presents challenges to climate scientists—not to mention the government, agriculture, education, and business communities—in extracting scientific discovery and value.

CDS builds tools and services that enable users to access, visualize, analyze, compare, and publish model data. Our goal is to house a growing collection of NASA model datasets and  provide intuitive interfaces for a diverse set of stakeholders. This effort also supports NASA’s goals to advance scientific research and benefit society.

CDS provides two ways of navigating climate model data:


// Data Collections

Users have access to data holdings by model type (atmosphere, land, ocean, and coupled atmosphere/ocean); modeling project; and modeling organization.

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// Tools & Services

We provide access to classic technologies long used in the climate science community (e.g., OPeNDAP); emerging technologies (e.g., Earth System Grid Federation, UVCDAT); and advanced technologies (e.g., MERRA Analytic Services, RES).

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// CDS Quick Links  

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CREATE – Reanalysis Intercomparison Project

The Collaborative REAnalysis Technical Environment (CREATE) provides a centralized location for all available reanalysis data.

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Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF)

CDS offers data processing and publication services via Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). (ESGF provides access to CMIP5 climate model data, and allows scientists to search, download, and visualize distributed data.

Supporting Climate Model Research

See how the NCCS Climate Data Services supports the climate research community:



Successful Climate Data Services Use Case

The following video shows how a Climate Data Services’ tool has benefitted the science community:

Heat Waves Movie

Using data from the last 35 years scientists are able to better examine the patterns of heat waves.

WATCH HERE