Selected Marine Data Software

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1.8 Selected Geo Data Software

This list is a huge overkill, because the Workbook only uses a few editor/analyzer programs now: IDV, SAGA, SNAP and the ancillary editors and file managers. The other items are just included here for your interest. Some programs are probably extinct and/or not available now.
Version: 11-8-2021
Author: Murray Brown

Program Name	Description	Links	Operating System and Other Notes
7zip	Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR	Download	Windows (32, 64) WinZip and WinRAR can substitute, compatible with many OS's
AutoPlot	Interactive browser for data on the web; give it a URL or the name of a file on your computer and it tries to create a sensible plot of the contents in the file. Autoplot was developed to allow quick and interactive browsing of data and metadata files"	Download/Install	Reads multiple ASCII formats including Complex ASCII tables; Binary tables; Common Data Format (CDF); NcML; SPASE; Cluster Exchange Format; NetCDF; OpenDAP; HDF5; TSDS; FITS; Excel; Wav; PNG, JPG, etc. Candidate for MDL use, but not yet tested or integrated into other components
Explorer for ArcGIS and ArcGIS Explorer Desktop	"Free GIS viewer that gives you an easy way to explore, visualize, and share GIS information" [Website}	Home Page & Download	Requires Microsoft .NET Framework
ConTEXT	ASCII text editor with huge filesize capability; can edit 145 MB text files from Level 3 satellite images Do not use Notepad or Wordpad for data	Download	Only Windows; substitute with very large file-handling capability is mandatory
Dapper/DChart	Allows you to visualize and download in-situ oceanographic or atmospheric data from file or OpenDap server. Features include an interactive map that is draggable, an in-situ station layer that allows you to select data stations, and a plot window that allows you to plot data from one or more stations.	Read about/download	Three plot types are supported (profile, property-property, and time series) and users can interact directly with the plot to pan or zoom in and out.
Degrib (NDFD GRIB2 Decoder)	Convert GRIB to point shapes, CSV, NetCDF or raw binary	Homepage	Windows only
Environmental Data Connector	Use for advanced server exploration and data mining. Use the "information" tools on LAS datasets to capture their URLs (or any other sources); then paste them into this program to access the datasets directly. Server compatibilities: OPeNDAP THREDDS SOS	Download	Requires Java 1.6 or higher Windows 32 Includes ToolsUI 4.3, but that utility has recently been upgraded to Version 4.5, which you can optionally do manually
FireBird	"Firebird is a relational database offering many ANSI SQL standard features that runs on Linux, Windows, and a variety of Unix platforms. Firebird offers excellent concurrency, high performance, and powerful language support for stored procedures and triggers."	Download/Install
FugroViewer		Download	"Designed for use with various types of raster- and vector-based geospatial datasets, including data from photogrammetric, LiDAR, and IFSAR sources." [From the website] Includes TIN viewing mode for native LAS files.
G.Projector	"[Can] transform an equirectangular map image into one of over 100 global and regional map projections. Longitude-latitude gridlines and continental outlines may be drawn on the map, and the resulting image may be saved to disk in GIF, JPEG, PDF, PNG, PS or TIFF form."	Download	Mac OS X Windows "Generic" for Linux, OS/2, etc.
GEBCOLite	Deprecated in favor of the new online version at GEBCO 2014
GEODAS-NG	New version of an old favorite program for US NGDC relief data management	Webpage - Out of order ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/geodas/ -latest known location	HydroPlot - Includes various grid formats, XYZ and shapefiles Shapefile Maker - From XYZ and others Coastline Extractor - From GSHHG and WDBii; apparently can be used as a stand-alone subsetter for all shapefiles Grid Translator - Works with raw BIN and ASC, Arc ASC; can subset Data Reformatter - ASC or BIN XYZ data
GeoTIFF Examiner	Converts TIF to GeoTIF through world files and/or internal tags	Download	Windows
Google Earth	Visualization of georeferenced data (KML and KMZ files)	Homepage	Windows Mac Linux
GRASS	"GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System), is a free and open source GIS software suite used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics and maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization."	Homepage
gvSIG	Powerful, user-friendly, interoperable GIS to work in a variety of formats with vector and raster files, databases and remote services.	Desktop - official version Community Edition (CE) - unoffical version	Frequently recommended also by Saga developers for further development and publication of Saga products
HDFView	Visualization of HDF and NetCDF grids and their internal metadata; conversion to TXT grids	Download	Windows If you have a 64-bit computer, then you must install the 64-bit version of HFView. The 32-bit version absolutely will not install/run properly Linux Solaris Mac Intel Install the program from the main link NetCDF files can be viewed if FILES OF TYPE is set to ALL FILES
Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) - Local Installation	Visualization of operational data of all sorts; already reads most meteorological data and product formats; good NetCDF capability, but only rudimentary HDF capability; basic OGC WMS client present, but not robust	Download IDV User's Guide	Windows 32, 64 Linux Mac OS/X Solaris/SPARC Solaris Generic Java Excellent tutorials in IDV, by Brian Mapes are now on You Tube. Click HERE to open the play list. GEON Version of IDV Tutorials on GEON "version" of IDV Documentation and Training at UNIDATA If IDV does not run, due to inexplicable "memory problems" then give up and try the Webstart Version below. Especially attractive is the ability to capture displays in "XIDV" files (even those that specify automatic updatating from sources), enabling broad dissemination of synthesis products without massive data transfer.
Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) - Webstart Version	Same as above, but not installed locally; if you have Java JRE, then you can run the program from the publisher's site	IDV with Web Start Special IDV versions log	The MDL author has switched to this version to avoid some difficulties involved in local installation (i.e. he can't figure it out) You just set it up according to the instructions, and put a direct link on your desktop. The first time you run it, it takes some time, but after that it runs just about as fast as the locally installed version; always keeps itself updated Requires local installation of JAVA JRE, but the IDV instruction page steps you through this
IrfanView	Graphics editor	Download (Windows) Download (OSX)	Windows OSX Intel (reportedly can run on a Mac)
Java/JRE	Programming language and run-time environment	Download
Java OceanAtlas	"JOA is a multi-OS application for viewing and exploring ocean vertical profile data. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux and supports a variety of data formats." [Website]	Website	JOA is very much like Ocean Data View, and shares many format and product options
JujuEdit	Text editor	Download	Very Large File Support - edit files up to 2GB in size, and browse them instantly with special "Open From Disk" mode. Very Big Undo Buffer - virtually unlimited undo buffer (preserved after save so that saved changes can still be undone while the file is still open)
LAS2DEM		Dowload with info	"Supports ESRI ASC grids Supports floating-point for BIL & TIF output Can create elevation OR intensity raster Can read from multiple LAS files and merge them" [All from website]
Mapserver (University of Minnesota)	MapServer is an Open Source platform for publishing spatial data and interactive mapping applications to the web.	Website	Windows Linux Mac OS/X
MAXENT	Software for Species Habitat Modeling	Website Online discussion group	"This software takes as input a set of layers or environmental variables (such as elevation, precipitation, etc.), as well as a set of georeferenced occurrence locations, and produces a model of the range of the given species." [From the website] - All layers use the same grid template.
Microsoft GIF Animator	Make animation from series of GIF images	Download	Recommended by an ODV user for adjusting the speed of ODV animations. Apparently the standard speed is a bit too fast.
Nautical Chart Reprojector	"The Digital NOAA Nautical Chart Reprojector is a stand-alone application developed to reproject raster NOAA nautical charts. Approximately 30 projections are available, and the ability to change datums is included."	Website	Windows Solaris PC Linux Alpha Linux
ncBrowse	Quick-look browsing of NetCDF files (station or grid formats); can also browse CDF files	Download	Windows 32 UNIX Max OS/X Solaris Linux
NOTEPAD++	Notepad++ is a free source code that supports several languages. Can handle very large files. Do not use Notepad or Wordpad for data.	Download	"There is also a plug-in for Notepad++ which will recognize the syntax of MapServer (see above) map files and highlight it. You can download the plug-in from HERE and install the syntax file for .map files." [Greg Reed] Windows
Ocean Data View	Most popular data visualization and management program for marine station data (scalars and vectors)	Homepage Oceanographic Datasets in ODV format	Installs with a good GEBCO relief grid; other packages not really needed Windows Solaris i386 Mac OS/X Linux i386 Registration and login is required to obtain the software If animations are intended, see Microsoft GIF Animator, above.
Ocean Sneaker's Tool	Apparently no longer available
OPCPlot	Earliest "operational" GIS program for marine data; no longer available	OPCPlot Manual from the MMS	Able to plot about 20 data products that were required by MMS Gulf of Mexico Studies Program to be posted on the old Omnet/Sciencenet electronic messaging system from 1989-mid 95. Became obsolete thereafter due to the rise of the Internet. DOS, but could run on most 32-bit Windows systems Unknown if any digital copies remain available
Pan2Applic	Convert PANGAEA tabular data to various formats, especially Ocean Data View	Pan2Applic Page Actual EXE file links in next column Pan2Applic description in PangaWiki	Install the Microsfot Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package first: 32-bit: vcredist_x86.exe 64-bit: vcredist_x64.exe Install the appropriate Pan2Applic package for your machine: Windows 15000 - http://www.pangaea.de/software/Pan2Applic/Pan2Applic_Win.exe OS X 10.6.6 and higher 25632 - http://www.pangaea.de/software/Pan2Applic/Pan2Applic_OSX.dmg Linux (KDE) 18750 - http://www.pangaea.de/software/Pan2Applic/Pan2Applic_Linux_x86_32.tar.gz Source 2000 - http://www.pangaea.de/software/Source/pan2applic_src.zip
Panoply	Display of NetCDF, HDF and GRIB grids; can export XYZ tables	Download	Windows Mac OS/X "Generic" for Linux, OS/2, etc.
RasterImporter	Converts between many grid and image formats, including some military ones	Download User's Guide	Windows Last known site where the software can be found
Saga	This is the general-purpose, "workhorse" program we recommend to all data management students, even if they also use other commercial or public domain GIS solutions. One shortcoming is the minimal documentation.	General information: Saga Homepage Saga installation files. Saga Files on Sourceforge The ZIP version should be downloaded and unzipped to C:\ Run by clicking on saga_gui.exe Saga latest temporary builds here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/saga-gis/files/SAGA - 2.1/Development Snapshot/	Windows 32 or 64: Unzip the installation file to a new folder in a convenient location. Create a shortcut to the executable saga_gui.exe to run the program. "Installation" is not required. Conrad, O., Bechtel, B., Bock, M., Dietrich, H., Fischer, E., Gerlitz, L., Wehberg, J., Wichmann, V., and Böhner, J. (2015): System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses (SAGA) v. 2.1.4, Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1991-2007, doi:10.5194/gmd-8-1991-2015 - Current Saga reference paper Australia-Indonesia Training in Saga for Resource Management with Imagery Rohan Fisher's Saga Tutorials - Heavy emphasis on LANDSAT imagery SAGA Tool Chains - Video Tutorial Saga Tool Chain Presentation from 2015 AGIT Workshop 1.3 Running 32-Bit Saga on a Mac with WINE - Provided by a student Saga Tutorials collection from GEOSTAT 2012 Basic Table and Vector Support Guide Saga Guide in Brazilian Portuagese
ToolsUI	General-purpose format manipulation tool (and other functions) for OPENDAP-related files, e.g. GRIB, NetCDF	Files Location - You can download the ToolsUI JAR file from this page. When Java JRE has been installed, then just click on the JAR file to run the tool	"As for converting GRIB to NetCDF, ToolsUI [2] can do the job. Just open the GRIB file in the "Writer" tab, select "netcdf3" as the format, and click "Write File". " [Comment from reader Christian Ward-Garrison on THREDDS Mailing List]
VPFImporter	Extracts shapefiles from VPF map libraries. Makes unnecessary the many commercial sites that charge for these files.	Download	Windows This the last known location where the software can be found. Download includes some documentation
WineHQ	"Software to run Windows applications on Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac OS X" [from the website]	Website Wine Wiki - For 3rd party applications
WRPLOT	Wind rose plots for meteorological data	Website	"Windrose plots Frequency distribution tables Wind Class frequency distribution graphs All of the most common file formats are supported; and for those that are not, an Import from Excel utility allows simple importing."