ArcMap

Creating a multidimensional mosaic dataset from a set of time series images

This workflow demonstrates how to take an image from a time series set and turn it into a multidimensional mosaic dataset.

Multidimensional mosaic dataset requirements

A multidimensional mosaic dataset must contain three fields:

  • A string field named Variable
  • A string field named Dimensions, which stores the comma-separated dimension names
  • One or more fields that define the dimensions

If your mosaic dataset has these three fields, you can make a multidimensional mosaic dataset from a set of time series images.

Add the three fields, populate the values, and synchronize the mosaic dataset with the aggregating information option, for example, a set of TIFF images with the file names WinterTemperature_2001_12.tif, WinterTemperature_2002_12.tif, and WinterTemperature_2013_12.tif. You can determine the variable and dimension information from the file names, as these will be the values in the mosaic dataset's Name field.

  1. Create a mosaic dataset.
  2. Add data using the Raster Dataset raster type.
  3. In the Catalog window, right-click the mosaic dataset, and click Properties.
  4. On the Mosaic Dataset Properties page, click the Field tab.
  5. Add a field named Variable with a type of text and a size of 20.
  6. Add a field named Dimensions with a type of text and a size of 10.
  7. Add a field named StdTime with a type of date.
  8. Click OK to save the properties.
  9. Add the mosaic dataset to ArcMap.
  10. In the TOC, right-click the Footprint sublayer, and click Open Attribute Table.
  11. Calculate the Variable field with the Python syntax Variable = !Name![0:17].
  12. Calculate the Dimension field with the string value Dimensions = “StdTime”.
  13. Calculate the StdTime field with the Python syntax StdTime = getDate( !Name!), where the getDate function is defined in the code block as follows:

    def getDate(name):

    year = name[18:22]

    month = name[23:25]

    return time.strftime("/".join(["1", month, year]))

  14. Open the Synchronize Mosaic Dataset tool.
    1. Clear the Update Existing Items check box.
    2. Check the Refresh Aggregate Information check box. Make sure to off the existing items in order for this parameter to work. This parameter refreshes the multidimensional properties of the mosaic based on what it in the attribute table of the mosaic dataset.
    3. Click OK to run the tool.

On the Mosaic Dataset Property Page, the multidimensional information is on the Multidimensional tab.

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