Web Interface: Use the web interface to select mission search parameters and dates or search for subscriptions and get results returned in the browser.
API: OB.DAAC offers a file search utility that is accessible through command line interface (CLI). See file search help for usage.
for options.
Earthdata Search Tool
A significant amount of our data are now hosted in the EOSDIS Earthdata Search tool. You will need to register with Earthdata Login before any OB.DAAC data may be downloaded. Below are common queries for obtaining data through Earthdata Search.
Find collections from the data provider (OB.DAAC) that contain granules:
Examples are provided for informational purposes only.
No product endorsement is implied.
Results may vary based on the version of software installed on your machine.
Examples given are not an exhaustive description of possibilities.
Create a .netrc file.
RECOMMENDED METHOD: Configure your username and password for authentication using a .netrc file. If you experience errors or redirects when using a cookie file, delete any existing cookie files and generate a new one for your current session.
The following is an example of how to use python to access data. Equivalent methods exist in the SeaDAS
distributed code and can be used if SeaDAS is already installed under $OCSSWROOT/scripts/ProcUtils.py.
filename - name of the file (or the URL of the file) to retrieve
optional arguments:
-h, --help - show this help message and exit
-v, --verbose - print status messages
--filelist FILELIST - file containing list of filenames to retrieve, one per line
--http_manifest HTTP_MANIFEST - URL to http_manifest file for OB.DAAC data order
--odir ODIR - full path to desired output directory; defaults to current working directory.
--uncompress - uncompress the retrieved files (if compressed)
--appkey APPKEY - value of the users application key
--force - force download even if file already exists locally
Provide one of either filename, --filelist or --http_manifest. NOTE: For authentication, a valid .netrc file in the user home ($HOME) directory or a valid appkey is required.
Example .netrc:
machine urs.earthdata.nasa.gov login USERNAME password PASSWD
* Depending on the version of wget installed, the option --auth-no-challenge=on may be required.
* Some users of wget may have issues with IPv6 and may need to include -4 in the wget call to force the use of IPv4.
Retrieve a listing of MODIS-Aqua nighttime SST for Jan 5, 2006 using username and password only:
* Depending on the version of wget installed, the option --auth-no-challenge=on may be required.
* Some users of wget may have issues with IPv6 and may need to include -4 in the wget call to force the use of IPv4.
Retrieve a single file by interactively passing username and password:
* Depending on the version of wget installed, the option --auth-no-challenge=on may be required.
* Some users of wget may have issues with IPv6 and may need to include -4 in the wget call to force the use of IPv4.
Additional Options:
--timeout=10 - sets timeout to 10 seconds (by default wget will retry after timeout)
--wait=0.5 - tells wget to pause for 0.5 seconds between attempts
--random-wait - causes the time between requests to vary between 0.5 and 1.5 * wait seconds, where wait was specified using the --wait option
-N, --timestamping - prevents wget from downloading files already retrieved if a local copy exists and the remote copy is not newer
Unlike wget, cURL has no method for downloading a list of URLs (although it can download multiple URLs on the command line).
However, a shell or script (perl, python, etc) loop can easily be written to preform this task. Examples of use cases are below.
Retrieve a single file using a cookies to pass credentials. This example retrieves a level-1a local area coverage data file for MODIS-Terra for Jan 4, 2017:
To download the files for an order, you will first need to download the manifest file. The URL for the manifest file will be included in the email that is sent to the registered email address after an order is staged.
First download the http_manifest.txt file. This file contains URLs for each file in your order.
where HOST is the name of the server hosting your file and ORDER is your order number. You can then use a program like Wget or cURL to download the files in your manifest file. NOTE: The OB.DAAC requires users to log into their Earthdata Login account before downloading data. Please make sure that you have created a valid .netrc file in your home directory before attempting to execute the examples below.
To compile a list of URLs for your subscription and then download the data, use wget. NOTE: The OB.DAAC requires users to register and log into their Earthdata Login account before downloading data. Please make sure that you have created a valid .netrc file in your home directory before attempting to execute the following example.
If you have questions or experience problems, please direct them to our project forum, but please read the FAQ board first to see if a solution to your issue has already been published in one of them.