The use of climate databases netCDF with array structure in the environment of R

Abstract

A practical introduction in the use of netCDF in the environment of R Spatio-temporal data is currently key to many disciplines, especially to climatology and meteorology. A widespread format is netCDF allowing a multidimensional structure and an exchange of data machine independently. In this article, we introduce the use of these databases with the free software environment R. To do this, we will work with a grid of the maximum temperature of the Iberian Peninsula for the period 1971-2007. The goal is to read and visualize the netCDF format, and make some fist overall and specifi calculations. Finally the applicability is shown in a case study: the diurnal temperature variation in the Iberian Peninsula for January and August 2006. (Spanish)