Work with NetCDF files in ArcGIS Pro

Summary

What Is a netCDF file? NetCDF is a file format for multidimensional data. This data contains information such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and direction.

Procedure

There are a few ways to make a raster from a netCDF file in ArcGIS Pro:

Option 1: Multidimensional Data (Via Add Data)

• Quickest and simplest way to add the netCDF into ArcGIS Pro to visualize it
• Limited to basic visualization and does not provide advanced control over variables or dimensions

1. In the Map tab of the top ribbon, navigate to the Add Data button.
2. Select the Add Data dropdown.
3. Select Multidimensional Raster Layer.
4. Input the netCDF File by selecting the folder icon and navigating to the file with the file explorer.
5. Select the desired variables and click OK.

Option 2: Make NetCDF Raster Layer

• Supports .nc and .nc4 file formats
• Requires equal spacing between x and y coordinates; otherwise, the customer needs to interpolate the data
• Output is not compatible with many multidimensional tools

1. In the Analysis tab of the top ribbon, click the Tools button.
2. In the Geoprocessing pane search bar, type: Make NetCDF Raster Layer
3. Input the netCDF File by selecting the folder icon and navigating to the file.
4. Choose the desired variables and parameters and click Run.

Option 3: Make Multidimensional Raster Layer

• Output is compatible with multidimensional tools
• Allows slicing data along specific variables and dimensions
• May encounter issues with certain netCDF files

1. From the Analysis tab of the top ribbon, click the Tools button.
2. In the Geoprocessing pane search bar, type: Make Multidimensional Raster layer
3. Input the netCDF File by selecting the folder icon and navigating to the file.
4. Choose the desired variables and parameters and click Run.

There are other tools available to work with Net CDFs:

• Make NetCDF Feature Layer
• Make NetCDF Table View
• NetCDF Profiles To Feature Class
• NetCDF Time Series To Feature Class 
• NetCDF Trajectories To Feature Class 

When using Multidimensional Tools, the layers created are temporary visualization layers. This means the user must reprocess the data each time they open the project.

To view the data outside of ArcGIS Pro, NASA has free software called Panoply, that you can load netCDF data in to view it: NASA GISS: Panoply 5 netCDF, HDF and GRIB Data Viewer

For a more in-depth information on netCDF data, see:

• Essential netCDF vocabulary
• Fundamentals of netCDF data storage