Learn and understand the data format called 'NetCDF' and its applications

[DaniJonesOcean]

Issue Description:

NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) is a foundational format for representing array-oriented scientific data that we will be using in our GreatLakes-TempSensors project. This issue is dedicated to learning the fundamentals of NetCDF, understanding its self-describing nature (yay, metadata!), and recognizing its role in facilitating data sharing within the scientific community.

Readings and Exploration:

• Familiarize yourself with the NetCDF official website: Unidata NetCDF
• Deepen your understanding of NetCDF by reviewing the fact sheet: NetCDF Fact Sheet

Task Objectives:

• Gain a detailed understanding of the NetCDF standard, its structure, and capabilities.
• Identify the programming interfaces available for NetCDF, including which languages and tools are most commonly used in the scientific community. (That being said, we'll be using python, so there's no need to be exhaustive!)
• Learn about the type of data commonly stored in NetCDF format and the benefits of using this format for scientific computing including its portability, scalability, and archivability features.

Deliverable:

• Compile a set of key takeaways from the NetCDF documentation that will inform how we handle and process our project datasets (a comment in this issue is fine)

Resources:

• NetCDF Documentation
• CF Conventions
• NetCDF FAQs

After completing this issue, you'll have a fundamental understanding of the NetCDF format and be prepared to apply this knowledge to interpret and manipulate our project's datasets.

[eredding02]

@DaniJonesOcean Network Common Data Form(NetCDF) was created to handle information from Earth sciences in the form of related arrays. It handles a number of key "dimensions" or axes that define the shape of the data, we may use latitude, longitude, and time. "Variables" contain data in accordance with information from all or some of the dimensions. For example, we would have surface temperature as a variable—a function of latitude, longitude, and time. We could also use lake depth as a variable, which would only relate to lat and long. "Attributes" hold various pieces of metadata. Along with being useful for environmental data, NetCDF is self-describing, portable, scalable, appendable, shareable, and archivable. It is able to be used with Linux, OSX, Windows with a number of languages like Python, Java, C++, Matlab, etc.

I found this YouTube video useful

[DaniJonesOcean]

Great! Feel free to close this issue when you're ready