Data Explorer Help

Data Explorer is your portal for discovering NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) spatial data collections. All discussion on this page relates to the content found within the Data Explorer search interface. Search by geographic extent, keyword, or topic, or browse through all of the available metadata records in the Index. The results are displayed in the right-hand frame. Further results are also displayed under the Get Data and Metadata tabs.

Use the Keyword tab to search for data based on specific criteria. Use the Topics tab to select predefined topic areas in which to search. Use the Index tab to view the entire listing of metadata records, or search by NOS publisher. Scroll through the results in the right panel. Email nosdataexplorer@noaa.gov for more information.

Keyword Search | Topics Search | Index Search | Additional Tools

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Keyword Search
 
Keyword search performs a text search of the metadata for the geographic area you define. Once you have defined the search area, type in a keyword. Click the More Search Options... text to view other options.

Execute your search by clicking the Search button. Datasets matching the criteria you specified are listed in the right panel.

Defining the Search Area

To help narrow your search, you can zoom in to the area of interest before searching by keyword and/or selecting other search options.

Selecting an Area on the Map
Use the Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Pan tools to find an area on the map. Once you have zoomed in close enough to see the area, use the Select Search Area tool to select it on the map.

Zoom In
Click the Zoom In button, move the mouse pointer to the desired location, then click and drag a box around an area of the map. When you release the mouse button, the map zooms in to the selected area. Or click once without drawing a box to zoom in by steps to the desired location.

  Zoom Out
Click the Zoom Out button, move the mouse pointer to the desired location, then click and drag a small box around an area of the map. When you release the mouse button, the map zooms out to the selected area. Or click once without drawing a box to zoom out by steps from your location.

  Zoom to Global Extent
Click the Zoom to Global Extent button to return to the full extent of the map.

Zoom to United States Extent
Click the Zoom to United States Extent button to return to the United States extent of the map.

 Pan
Click the Pan button, then click and drag the map in any direction. If you want to see more to the right, drag the map to the left. If you want to see more to the left, drag the map to the right. If you want to see more at the top, drag the map downward. If you want to see more at the bottom, drag the map upward.

Select
Once you have found the area you want to search, click the Select button and click and drag a box around it. When you release the mouse button, the selected area is indicated by a red box with diagonal upward fill.

 Clear
Click the Clear button to clear the selected area.

Defining Keyword Search Criteria

Searching by keyword limits search results to only those datasets with metadata (title, abstract, publisher and keywords) containing the specified word. To search by keyword, type your search word or words in the Keyword text box.

Executing Keyword Search
Click Search to execute your search. It's a good idea to double-check your search criteria before clicking the Search button. Once your search is complete, examine the search results in the right panel. If you are not happy with the results, change your search criteria and execute the search again.

Viewing Search Results
After you have executed a Keyword search or located records in the Index, scroll through the list of search results in the right panel.

Click the button to see the detailed metadata for a dataset. This will launch the Metadata tab and allows you to create a printable version of the metadata.

Click the button to view, zoom and pan a map of the data extents. This launches the Get Data tab and takes you to a view where you can link to data and download files that correspond with the outlines on the map.

Click the button to view the map contents in a live map window. This allows you to zoom in and out, print a map, and add data from other Web sources, your own computer, or a local server.

Click the button to launch a Web page where you can learn more about the data, and, in many cases, access it as well.

Print
You can print your search results that appear in the right panel. Click the Create Printable Version button in the upper right corner of the right panel to open a new browser containing a printable version of panel contents. Click Print or Print Preview on the browser's File Menu to open the Print dialog box. Check the print settings and click OK.

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Topics Search
 
Topics search sorts the data into predefined topics, so you can search one or all topics for a given geographic area. Each topic contains one or more datasets.

Defining the Geographic Area
To help narrow your search, you can zoom in to the area of interest and define a geographic area before searching by topic. (See Selecting an Area on the Map under Keyword Search for more details.)

Choosing Topics
After defining a geographic area you wish to search, click the plus sign to expand and view the topic datasets. Click the check box next to each dataset to select or deselect it. Click the minus sign to collapse the topic and hide the datasets.

Executing the Topic Search
Once you have selected the datasets you are interested in, execute your search by clicking Search. Datasets matching the search criteria you entered are displayed in the right panel under the Get Data tab.

Viewing Search Results
The topic datasets you selected are listed in the Legend on the left and appear on the map. The map is zoomed in to your selected geographic extent. Zoom, pan and use the additional map tools to get more information about the data.

If you want to modify the datasets that appear, click the button.

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Index Search
Index search allows you to view data by featured NOS publishers, or you can view a complete listing of all data holdings. To view data by publisher, click on the name of the publisher. To view all the data, click on the "View all" link at the bottom left. It may take a few moments for all of the records to load. Browse the records using the page navigation at the top of the window.

Each record summary includes the content title and name of the publisher. Often, the record summary also includes the coverage area and map scale of the dataset.

Each record is followed by at least one of the following buttons: Website, Metadata, Get Data, or Add to ArcExplorer Web. See Viewing Results below for more information about these tools.

Viewing Results

Click the button to see the detailed metadata for a dataset. This will launch the Metadata tab and allows you to create a printable version of the metadata.

Click the button to view, zoom and pan a map of the data extents. This launches the Get Data tab and takes you to a view where you can link to data and download files that correspond with the outlines on the map.

Click the button to view the map contents in a live map window. This allows you to zoom in and out, print a map, and add data from other Web sources, your own computer, or a local server.

Click the button to launch a Web page where you can learn more about the data, and, in many cases, access it as well.

Print
You can print your search results that appear in the right panel. Click the Create Printable Version button in the upper right corner of the right panel to open a new browser containing a printable version of panel contents. Click Print or Print Preview on the browser's File Menu to open the Print dialog box. Check the print settings and click OK.

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Using Additional Tools in Get Data Map

Add/Remove Data
This tool allows you to add additional datasets or remove currently listed ones that appear in the Legend and on your map. When you click this button, the Topics list appears in the top left panel. Select or deselect the datasets by clicking on the checkboxes. Click the Refresh button at the bottom to apply the changes to the Get Data tab and map.

Identify Features
This tools allows you to view additional information about the dataset. Click the Identify Feature button at the top of the map. Next, click on one of the features (point, line, polygon) you would like to view. A new window launches with a table of attributes describing that feature.

If the window launches but says there are no features at your click location, try zooming in closer to the feature, reselect the Identify Feature button, and try again.

If there are several features at your click location, the browser window that launches will contain a table with multiple of rows of attributes for features at and near where you clicked. In most cases, you can zoom in closer to narrow your results.

Link to Data
Some datasets allow you to link directly to a website to view the data. If there are such layers, they will appear in the bottom half of the left panel under Linkable Layers when you are viewing results in the Get Data tab.

Click the Link to Data button at the top of the map. Next, click on one of the features (point, line, polygon) of the linkable layer you would like to view. A new window launches with information about the feature.

If the window launches but says there are no linkable features at your click location, try zooming in closer to the feature, reselect the Link to Data button, and try again. Be sure you are clicking on a layer that is listed as a Linkable Layer.

If there are several features at your click location, the browser window that launches will list multiple links to features at and near where you clicked. Click the desired hyperlink to view specific data for that feature. In most cases, you can zoom in closer to narrow your results.

 Download Data
After zooming in to the area on the map that contains the data you wish to download, click the Download Data button in the upper right corner. This launches a new browser window listing the available files for download that appear in the map view.

Check the box next to the file(s) or dataset you want to download. Click Continue to go to the next step and enter the email address you would like the notification sent to. Click the Download button to submit your request. Your requested data will now be processed and notification sent to your email inbox. The notification email will contain a link where you can retrieve the Zip files for the data you requested.

View Metadata
This tool gives you direct access to the metadata documents for the datasets listed in the Get Map tab. Clicking this button launches a new window with links to the datasets currently available. Click one of these hyperlinks to view the metadata.

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