Aug 8, 2006
The CoastWatch Software Library and Utilities is a package of software tools for working with Earth data sets, written and distributed by the NOAA/NESDIS CoastWatch program. It was initially designed and has previously been used almost exclusively for CoastWatch data files. The tools allow data users to easily manipulate and visualize data from CoastWatch data sources. Starting with pre-released Version 3.2.1, the software package is also customized for Coral Reef Watch HDF data files through a collaboration between CoastWatch and Coral Reef Watch. The official version v3.2.0 of the software available at CoastWatch website can be used for Coral Reef Watch HDF data files but the data can't be displayed using Coral Reef Watch's customized color schemes and the customized Coral Reef Watch overlay group is not available. The CoastWatch Utilities have both graphical tools with a point-and-click interface and command-line tools for use in batch data processing scripts. See the CoastWatch software description webpage for the latest version published by the CoastWatch program. The latest version posted on our Coral Reef Watch website may not be the most recent version posted at the CoastWatch site if it does not contain any updates directly related to the Coral Reef Watch products. Please see Users' Guide for the full description of the latest version posted on Coral Reef Watch's website.
System Requirements: A minimum disk space of 50 MB is required for the installed software. We recommended that you have at least 100 MB of space in total to allow for downloading and manipulating satellite datasets. More disk space may be required for larger datasets. A minimum memory of 128 MB available RAM is required, while 256 MB is recommended.
Installation: Download the package by choosing the appropriate
operating system and installation type. To install the Windows software, simply
double-click on the downloaded file and follow the interactive instruction. For
help with installation, consult the Installation Notes section of the User's
Guide. Please note that if you have an old version CDAT installed on your
computer or if you manually set up preferences in your previous CDAT, the new
installation does not replace the existing preferences file on your computer.
So, you must manually delete your user CWF settings directory before
installation to get the new built-in Coral Reef Watch preferences in CDAT
v3.2.1-pre:
On Unix and Mac, from the command line type:
rm -rf ~/.cwf
On Windows, delete the directory named:
C:\Documents and Settings\MyUserName\.cwf
Running CDAT: After installation, CDAT, a core part of the software package, can be launched from the Start menu in Windows, or from the command line in Unix or Mac. If you are not familiar with CDAT, an easy step-by-step CDAT Help, launched by clicking on "Help" in the menu bar on the CDAT window, can provide a tour through CDAT and instructions on how to use its various features.
In CDAT, a Coral Reef Watch HDF data file can be opened either directly from your computer where the data file is saved or directly from an OPeNDAP server hosting the Coral Reef Watch HDF file (without saving the data file onto your computer). In the current version of CDAT, the online location of the OPeNDAP server that hosts Coral Reef Watch HDF data is provided by default in the online server list. In the pop-up Open window, users can simple pick the Network tab, then select Coral Reef Watch in the server list and click on the Connect button. A list of data folders and HDF data files will appear for selection. Double-click on a folder to view the files in the folder.
Coral Reef Watch Features in CDAT: When a Coral Reef Watch data array (SST, SST anomaly, HotSpot, or Degree Heating Weeks) is opened in CDAT, a corresponding Coral Reef Watch customized color scheme is applied to the data display automatically and no manual adjustment is required. Coral Reef Watch's built-in overlay group can be used to handle the graphic display of the non-data pixels, overlay coastlines, and draw latitude-longitude gridlines. To apply this overlay group, click on the Overlays Button on the Control Tabs (See the online help for the location of the Control Tabs), select the "Oceanography - Coral ReefWatch" in the Overlay Groups Panel located at the lower-left portion of the window, then click the Open Group Button underneath the panel. Note that all these settings can be changed manually by the user. Please consult the online help in CDAT on how to manually change these settings.
Figure 1. CDAT graphical window components.
Figure 2. Overlay controls.
Figure 3. Sample graphic output from CDAT. It is a Coral Reef Watch
twice-weekly 50-km coral bleaching Degree Heating Weeks chart of Oct 25-28,
2005 for the Caribbean region.
We request proper credit and citation to NOAA Coral Reef Watch
and CoastWatch when using the data and software.
Acknowledgements: We thank Peter Hollemans (the creator and developer of the CoastWatch Software Library and Utilities) of Terrenus Earth Sciences for his collaborative work in customizing the CoastWatch Software Library and Utilities, including CDAT, for our Coral Reef Watch users.
