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Full catalog/ECCO_L4_GEOMETRY_LLC0090GRID_V4R4
ECCO_L4_GEOMETRY_LLC0090GRID_V4R4·vV4r4·dataset

The model's ocean grid layout and cell sizes (ECCO)

ECCO Geometry Parameters for the Lat-Lon-Cap 90 (llc90) Native Model Grid (Version 4 Release 4)
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 4 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. The map and geometry of the grid an ocean model uses, including the size and shape of each cell, where their centers and corners sit, seafloor depth, and land/ocean masks. It describes the model's layout, not ocean conditions themselves.

How it's made. Provided as part of the ECCO ocean state estimate, which fits the MITgcm ocean model to many satellite and in-situ measurements; this file holds the fixed grid parameters for that model.

How & where you'd use it. A technical reference that researchers need to correctly read and work with other ECCO ocean datasets, rather than a product of general interest on its own.

What's measured

OCEANS › SEA ICE › SEA ICE CONCENTRATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1992-01-01 → 2018-01-01
  • Measured byMODELS · MITgcm
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Watch sea-surface temperature and marine heatwaves
  • Spot algal blooms and ocean-colour shifts
  • Support fisheries and coastal monitoring
Official description

This dataset provides geometric parameters for the lat-lon-cap 90 (llc90) native model grid from the ECCO Version 4 Release 4 (V4r4) ocean and sea-ice state estimate. Parameters include areas and lengths of grid cell sides; horizontal and vertical coordinates of grid cell centers and corners; grid rotation angles; and global domain geometry including bathymetry and land/ocean masks. Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) state estimates are dynamically and kinematically-consistent reconstructions of the three-dimensional, time-evolving ocean, sea-ice, and surface atmospheric states. ECCO V4r4 is a free-running solution of a global, nominally 1-degree configuration of the MIT general circulation model (MITgcm) that has been fit to observations in a least-squares sense. Observational data constraints used in V4r4 include sea surface height (SSH) from satellite altimeters [ERS-1/2, TOPEX/Poseidon, GFO, ENVISAT, Jason-1,2,3, CryoSat-2, and SARAL/AltiKa]; sea surface temperature (SST) from satellite radiometers [AVHRR], sea surface salinity (SSS) from the Aquarius satellite radiometer/scatterometer, ocean bottom pressure (OBP) from the GRACE satellite gravimeter; sea ice concentration from satellite radiometers [SSM/I and SSMIS], and in-situ ocean temperature and salinity measured with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensors and expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) from several programs [e.g., WOCE, GO-SHIP, Argo, and others] and platforms [e.g., research vessels, gliders, moorings, ice-tethered profilers, and instrumented pinnipeds]. V4r4 covers the period 1992-01-01T12:00:00 to 2018-01-01T00:00:00.

Get the data

ecco_l4_geometry_llc0090grid_v4r4_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="ECCO_L4_GEOMETRY_LLC0090GRID_V4R4",
    version="V4r4",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from POCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.