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Accessing NetCDF4 Data in Python
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The netCDF file format is broadly used in the atmospheric sciences for data archival. Until recently, scientists using the netcdf4 enhanced data model did not enjoy a reliable Python-native solution when working with this data. They would instead need to employ cumbersome and complex external solutions in order to import their data into Python for analysis.
The netcdf4-python package, created by Jeff Whitaker at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, is a Python/numpy interface for the netCDF4 library. This package has been embraced by Unidata as a tool for working with netCDF4 in Python, and with the support of Jeff Whitaker, netcdf4-python has been included under the umbrella of the Unidata Github repository.
With netcdf4-python it is possible for scientists to carry out their data analysis in python using data stored in the netCDF4 enhanced data model. This work will demonstrate how netcdf4-python can be used to read, subset, analyze, and visualize data stored in the netCDF4 format.