[Datastream #BBN-975530]: gridded netcdf wind data (gfs, gasp)

> Hi Jeff,
> 
> I finally had a chance to have a look at the netcdf I downloaded last week. 
> There are two main issues I found with the WW3 data – and another with the 
> gfs data:
> 
> 1) The wind data within the Wavewatch model output section appears to be wind 
> output by WW3 - rather than gfs wind input (i.e. WW3 wind rather than gfs 
> wind). I require the latter (preferably with the U-/V-wind components at 10 m 
> above sea level).

Yes, if you want GFS winds, it is best to get them from the GFS :)


> 2) I only seem to be able to download WW3 wind data covering the last 2 
> months. I would need, however, data going as far back as 2008/2007.


We are not an archive center, we maintain a rolling archive to fill in gaps due 
to network glitches or hardware failures.

> 
> 3) I had a quick look at the gfs section as well to see whether they contain 
> the required data in netcdf – and whether they go further back in time, which 
> unfortunately was not the case (only 2 months of data as well).
> Gfs does contain U- and V-components of wind at 10m but they are not viewable 
> (at least not in "ferret"). I wonder if this is due to the variable name: any 
> variable name without a hyphen is viewable, all others (unfortunately 
> including all wind data) are not.

That is the naming convention, we do not change it...

> 
> Is there a location where I can access gfs data going back a few years? I did 
> try to put in dates beyond the last 2 months (with both WW3 and gfs data), 
> but the downloaded data is still always shown with a date of the last 2 
> months.

Yes, please try either:

NCDC NOMADS Server

http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/

NCEP's NOMADS Server

http://nomad5.ncep.noaa.gov/


> 
> Cheers,
> Jasmine
> 
Cheers, 

Jeff

Jeff Weber
Unidata User Support
http://www.unidata.ucar.edu

Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: BBN-975530
Department: Support Datastream
Priority: Normal
Status: Open