The process of locating and selecting individual observations numerous large collections (millions of individual profiles, tiime series, etc.) of in-situ data observations is complex. This paper describes a suite of tools that have been developed to facilitate the process of locating, subsetting, viewing, inter-comparing and downloading both data and metadata from geographically distributed collections of in-situ data. Developed in Java and utilizing OpenSource components, development and maintenance for the tools is low, and they operate smoothly across a variety of hardware platforms and operating systems.

The suite includes specialized software components for automated metadata generation (the XML-based MetaArchitect), selecting and subsetting from large collections of in-situ data (NdEdit), network data discovery based on geographic region, observed quantities or keyword, using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers, and graphical presentation of oceanographic and meteorological data using the popular SGT Java graphics toolkit.

This suite of tools is illustrated by its implementation within a variety of popular applications, including: 1) the ncBrowse Java DODS tool, developed for interactive browsing of data and metadata from netCDF formatted data files, 2) the Climate Data Portal, which provides centralized access to distributed observing system data (Sea Level network, Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) data, shipboard ADCP data, and historical archives from NODC, WOCE and the IPRC), 3) the popular Java OceanAtlas for bottle and CTD data browsing, and 4) OceanShare, a network collaboration tool developed for the interdisciplinary fisheries-oceanography community. See http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/epic/software/ep_java.htm