Exporting to netCDF data from a point feature class

You can export point features to a netCDF file. A field from the feature attribute table can be exported either as a netCDF variable or as a dimension. Usually, the fields storing unique identifiers of features, such as IDs of rainfall stations or values identifying different events such as date of a time series, are exported as dimensions. However, fields storing measurement values, such as wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, and so on, are exported as variables. When no field is specified as dimension, the default dimension RecordID is created for exporting feature attributes in a variable. RecordID represents the OID of a feature.

Longitude and latitude or x- and y-coordinate values are exported as separate coordinate variables and linked to a variable through the coordinates attribute. The z- and m-values of the input features are exported as variables specified by the Z Variable and M Variable parameters.

The Feature to NetCDF tool always creates a new netCDF file or overwrites an existing one. It does not append to an existing netCDF file.

1. Click the Search window button or tab.
2. Click Tools.
3. Type "Feature to NetCDF" in the text box and click Search .
4. Click Feature to NetCDF in the results list to open the tool.
5. Type the name in the Input Features text box or click the browse button to navigate to the input features.
6. Click the Fields to Variables drop-down arrow and choose a field from the list.

   Four special fields, Shape.X, Shape.Y, Shape.Z, and Shape.M are available in the drop-down list. They can be used for exporting x-coordinates or longitude, y-coordinates or latitude, z-values, and m-values of input features, respectively.

7. Click the Variable column next to the added field and type the variable name, or alternatively, leave the default.
8. Click the Units column next to the added field and type the units, or alternatively, leave it empty.
9. Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8 to add additional fields.
10. Type the name in the Output netCDF File, or alternatively, leave the default.
11. Click the Fields to Dimensions drop-down list and choose a field to make it a dimension of variables specified in the Fields to Variables parameter.
12. Click the Dimension column next to the added field and type the dimension name, or alternatively, leave the default.
13. Click the Units column next to the added field and type the units, or alternatively, leave it empty.
14. Repeat steps 11, 12, and 13 to add additional fields.
15. Click OK.

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