Accessing the PMIP Database

Please check the Database news regularly, to make sure you are using the latest (and hopefully the best) version of the variables you work with!

You can have a look at the Mirrors page to see if there is a PMIP database available near you. Otherwise, the links below will send you to the default PMIP server.

http access (similar to anonymous ftp)

The http server allows you to access the full PMIP database. The files available on this server are the latest and (hopefully) correct revisions of the variables (read the definition of the current tag for more details about this).

Click on a link below to access the PMIP database

You can use your favorite web browser to navigate down the links to the file you want to retrieve, and then click on it to download it. This is pretty fast (if you have a good network connection), but you have to select each file by hand!

Some ftp clients will also allow you to do this more conveniently from a command-line interface. You can use for instance the linux lftp ftp client:

     lftp http://www-lscedods.cea.fr/pmip1_db

DODS/OPeNDAP access

It is possible to access the PMIP database through an OPeNDAP (formerly known as DODS) server. This server allows you to access either a file's metadata, or part (or all) of a variable stored in a NetCDF file.

Using the OPeNDAP server to access a file's metadata

Just point your favorite web browser to

     http://www-lscedods.cea.fr/cgi-bin/nph-dods/pmip1_db/

then navigate down to the file you are interested in, click on it and study the displayed information. When you click on a file.nc on the list on displayed files, it will open a page with the following URL:

     http://www-lscedods.cea.fr/cgi-bin/nph-dods/pmip1_db/[...]/file.nc.html

Shortcuts to the different sections of the DB

Using the OPeNDAP server to access (part of) a variable

This is particularly useful if the programs you use have been linked with the OPeNDAP NetCDF library. You can then access remote files in the PMIP database by opening the following kind of file name:

     http://www-lscedods.cea.fr/cgi-bin/nph-dods/pmip1_db/[...]/file.nc

Example, using python/CDAT

Note: more information about CDAT is available on the CDAT website!

jypeter - 145 >python
Python 2.4.3 (#1, Jun 23 2006, 22:59:36)
[GCC 3.2.3 20030502 (Red Hat Linux 3.2.3-54)] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import cdms, genutil
>>> f = cdms.open('http://www-lscedods.cea.fr/cgi-bin/nph-dods/pmip1_db/21fix/ca/lmcelmd5_21fix_tg_ca_map.nc')
>>> v = f('tg')
>>> f.close()
>>> genutil.minmax(v)
(-65.6405029296875, 32.399700164794922)
>>> v.shape
(50, 64)
>>> v.info()
*** Description of Slab tg ***
id: tg
shape: (50, 64)
filename: 
missing_value: [  1.00000002e+20,]
comments: 
grid_name: <None>
grid_type: generic
time_statistic: 
long_name: 
units: C
warning_flag: [0,]
valid_min: [-65.6405,]
title: Surface ( Skin ) Temperature

missing_count: [0,]
source: PMIP 21 ka BP  15-Year Simulation with Prescribed SST's from the LMCE - modele du LMD version 5.3 - 4x6L11 model
mean_absval: [ 19.5929,]
mean_val: [ 11.4111,]
stat_name: Climatological Annual Mean
notes:                                                                                 
valid_max: [ 32.3997,]
Grid has Python id -0x485d6094.
Gridtype: generic
Grid shape: (50, 64)
Order: yx
** Dimension 1 **
   id: latitude
   Designated a latitude axis.
   units:  degrees
   Length: 50
   First:  78.521697998
   Last:   -78.521697998
   Other axis attributes:
      title: Latitude
      long_name: LATITUDE
      axis: Y
   Python id:  -0x485d6034
** Dimension 2 **
   id: longitude
   Designated a longitude axis.
   units:  degrees
   Length: 64
   First:  2.8125
   Last:   357.1875
   Other axis attributes:
      title: Longitude
      long_name: LONGITUDE
      axis: X
      modulo: 360.0
      topology: circular
   Python id:  -0x485d6014
*** End of description for tg ***