Pacific Marine Atlas

The Pacific Marine Atlas is a free program to view gridded netCDF datasets, particularly Argo, Reynolds SST and Aviso altimetry. After selecting what type of data and plot you want to create, a new window will open with a plot produced using the Ferret graphing utility. The current plotting options are map view, section view, line plot, time series, and a few simple products. The data are gridded in monthly intervals for the Argo, Reynolds SST and Aviso altimetry. Additionally, it is possible to look at the most recent 10-day snapshot of Argo data.

Installation instructions

• Double click on executable file downloaded from ftp site.
• Follow the installation instructions, paying special attention to the choice of installing an Xserver with the Atlas. Ferret needs an Xserver to create the plots. If you have your own Xserver, there is no need for you to install the one with the Atlas, but if you do not have one, please install the compact version of Cygwin, named Cygmin, when you install the Atlas.
• After installation, a shortcut should appear on your desktop, named something like Pacific_Marine_Atlas.exe. Double click on this to start the Atlas.
• Choose the type of plot you want to make and get started looking at Argo data.

Updating data in near-real time

Near the middle of each month, new Argo and Reynolds SST data from the previous month will usually be available to update the Atlas. Simply press the update button on the Atlas to see if new data is available. The update process can take several minutes, so please be patient. If you have an old version of the Atlas, without an update button, download the new version and re-install the Atlas.

If you are a few months behind the newest data, you will have to press the update button several times until you are up to date. At the end of the year, a new mean is calculated for the Argo data grid, so the entire Argo file must be replaced each January.

The most recent 10-day Argo snapshot, called "Argo real time" in the Atlas, can also be automatically added to your computer by clicking the update button. This takes very little time as the data set is much smaller.

Aviso altimetry data is updated periodically.

OR

If you want to skip the update button and simply download and replace the Argo and Reynolds SST grids on your own each month, they are available on the FTP site as RG_ArgoClim_Full.nc and reynolds_sst_grid.nc. They are to be placed in the c:\marineatlas\ferret\TMAP\fer_dsets\data folder on your computer.

Installation version record

Version	Date	Description
1.2.1	July 2009	Includes update of Aviso data through November 2008 Includes option to make plots on either meters and decibars Includes most recent 10-day Argo data set
1.1.4	February 2009	Updated Argo data set with new mean for 2008
1.1.3	November 2008	Added new option of plotting derived products such as mixed layer depth, warm water volume and nino anomalies

Trouble shooting

• Cygwin dll:

  A potential problem running the Atlas is conflicting versions of the file "cygwin1.dll". You may need to search your machine for cygwin1.dll. If you have more than one version, copy the most recent version of cygwin1.dll over any older versions.

  In a typical cygwin installation, you can find the file in: c:\cygwin\bin\cygwin1.dll

  In the Atlas, minimal cygwin installation, it is in: c:\cygmin\bin\cygwin1.dll.

  The Atlas uses Ferret and Ferret looks for cygwin1.dll in: c:\marineatlas\ferret\TMAP\cygwin1.dll

• No window pops up when you hit "create plot"

  Make sure that you have an Xserver running.

  If you have both a LAN and a wireless connection running, especially in Windows Vista, these can interfere with Ferret connecting to its Xserver. Disable the wireless connection, quite the Xserver and the Atlas. Restart the Atlas and try plotting again.

Support

For Atlas support, please contact Megan Scanderbeg (mscanderbeg@ucsd.edu) or Lisa Lehmann (llehmann@ucsd.edu).