NOAA NASA Joint Archive (NNJA) of Observations for Earth System Reanalysis

Inventories

The following inventory plots are updated daily.

NNJA Atmosphere Sensors

NNJA Conventional Sensors

NNJA Ocean Data

NNJA Ice Data

NNJA Ozone Data

NNJA Sensors by Satellite

NNJA AMV Sensors by Satellite

NNJA GEO Sensors by Satellite

NNJA GPS Sensors by Satellite

NNJA Ozone Sensors by Satellite

Notes

• While a majority of the data is represented in the above inventory, there are data not represented that are available. This includes some ocean and snow data.
• For inventory graphics that include a file path on the right side of the graphic, this represents the folder structure for locating the data in NNJA.
• For satellite data which is currently being assimilated in the ongoing NOAA reanalysis products, the inventory lines will appear in blue in accordance with the satellite black/white lists available on our data page.
• If a line is thick, black or blue, it shows that we have that data in our archive. If a line is thin and blue, it means our system will assimilate the data once it is added to the archive but is not currently located in the archive.
• For conventional sensors, more information about each typ can be found in the PREPBUFR code table.

Data Access

This guide explains how to locate and download data from the NOAA-NASA Joint Archive (NNJA) of Observations for Earth System Reanalysis public dataset on AWS S3 for independent researchers and the general public. If you are using data from NNJA, please refer to the How To Cite tab for licensing information and appropriate attribution.

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Overview

The NNJA dataset is hosted as a public dataset on AWS S3. The associated black / whitelist is publicly available on Github. Anyone can access and download data without an AWS account or credentials or a Github account or credentials.

Data Locations

• NNJA AWS S3 Bucket
  • General bucket structure: noaa-reanalyses-pds/observations/reanalysis/{sensor}/{source(s)}/YYYY/MM/{file format}/{data files}
  • Resource: How to download objects from AWS S3 buckets
• Github Black/White List
  • The information from the ‘satinfo’ files is reflected in our satellite based graphics on the Inventories tab.
• NNJA-AI via GCS
  • A subset of the NNJA archive has been converted into AI-ready cloud optimized formats through a partnership with Brightband, available via Google Cloud Storage.

Downloading NNJA Observation Data from AWS S3

Prerequisites

1. AWS CLI (Command Line Interface)

This is the main tool you need to download data from S3.

Check if installed:

aws --version

Installation by Operating System:

Linux:

# Option 1: Using pip (recommended)
pip install awscli --user

# Option 2: Using pip3
pip3 install awscli --user

# Option 3: AWS installer (AWS CLI v2)
curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"
unzip awscliv2.zip
sudo ./aws/install

macOS:

# Using Homebrew (easiest)
brew install awscli

# Or using pip
pip3 install awscli --user

# Or AWS installer
curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.pkg" -o "AWSCLIV2.pkg"
sudo installer -pkg AWSCLIV2.pkg -target /

Windows:

• Download the installer: https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.msi
• Run the downloaded MSI installer
• Or use pip: pip install awscli

2. Python

AWS CLI requires Python (2.7+ or 3.4+, but 3.6+ recommended)

Check if installed:

python --version
# or
python3 --version

What You DO NOT Need

Since this is a public dataset, you do NOT need:

• ❌ AWS account
• ❌ AWS credentials/access keys
• ❌ Credit card or payment method
• ❌ VPN or special network access

Quick Setup Test

Run these commands to verify your setup:

# 1. Check AWS CLI is installed
aws --version

# 2. Test access to the public bucket
aws s3 ls s3://noaa-reanalyses-pds/observations/reanalysis/ --no-sign-request

# 3. If both work, you're ready to download!

Usage Examples

Download a Single File

aws s3 cp \
  s3://noaa-reanalyses-pds/observations/reanalysis/ozone/nasa/mls/2004/08/netcdf/MLS-v5.0-oz.20040801_00z.nc \
  . \
  --no-sign-request

List Available Files

# List files in a specific directory
aws s3 ls \
  s3://noaa-reanalyses-pds/observations/reanalysis/ozone/nasa/mls/2004/08/netcdf/ \
  --no-sign-request

Download Multiple Files (Entire Directory)

# Download all files from a specific month
aws s3 sync \
  s3://noaa-reanalyses-pds/observations/reanalysis/ozone/nasa/mls/2004/08/netcdf/ \
  ./mls_2004_08/ \
  --no-sign-request

Download Recursively

# Copy all files recursively
aws s3 cp \
  s3://noaa-reanalyses-pds/observations/reanalysis/ozone/nasa/mls/2004/08/netcdf/ \
  . \
  --recursive \
  --no-sign-request

Important Notes

• Always include --no-sign-request: This flag is essential for accessing public datasets without AWS credentials
• Data transfer costs: Downloading data from AWS S3 is free for the user (AWS covers egress costs for public datasets)
• File sizes: NetCDF files can be large; check available disk space before downloading multiple files

Troubleshooting

"Command not found: aws"

• AWS CLI is not installed or not in your PATH
• Try reinstalling or adding to PATH: export PATH=$PATH:~/.local/bin

"InvalidAccessKeyId" error

• You forgot to include --no-sign-request flag
• Add the flag to bypass credential requirements

Connection timeout

• Check your internet connection
• Verify firewall allows HTTPS traffic on port 443

Additional Resources

• AWS CLI Documentation
• AWS CLI Installation Guide

Data Sources

Select a button to see list of variables for that category linked to more information on their respective source. All links external

Resources

How to cite

NOAA NASA Joint Archive (NNJA) of Observations for Earth System Reanalysis data is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

To provide appropriate attribution under this license, please cite the link to this PSL website.

For example: NOAA NASA Joint Archive (NNJA) was accessed on [DATE] from https://psl.noaa.gov/data/nnja_obs/

Additional Acknowledgements by stream

NNJA also hosts data sourced from external partners with their own CC by 4.0 license. To provide appropriate attribution for these datasets, please also include the below acknowledgements when using data located in the following folders. Further license details and sources for these data are provided via the README within the folder of each datasets in NNJA.

/ssmi/eumetsat/ and /ssmis/eumetsat/

Acknowledgement: The work performed was done (i.a.) by using data from EUMETSAT’s Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) Fennig, Karsten; Schröder, Marc; Hollmann, Rainer (2017): Fundamental Climate Data Record of Microwave Imager Radiances, Edition 3, Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring, DOI:10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/FCDR_MWI/V003, https://doi.org/10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/FCDR_MWI/V003.

Please also note the following disclaimer: EUMETSAT offers no warranty and accepts no liability in respect of the SAF on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) products. EUMETSAT neither commits to nor guarantees the continuity, availability, or quality or suitability for any purpose of, the CM SAF products.

/gps/eumetsat/

Acknowledgement: EUMETSAT ROM SAF Radio Occultation Climate Data Record (v1.0, 2019), GRM-29-R1, DOI:10.15770/EUM_SAF_GRM_0002, https://doi.org/10.15770/EUM_SAF_GRM_0002.

/amv/merged/

Acknowledgement: EUMETSAT (2021): Atmospheric Motion Vectors Climate Data Record Release 2 - MFG and MSG - 0 degree, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, DOI: 10.15770/EUM_SEC_CLM_0020. http://doi.org/10.15770/EUM_SEC_CLM_0020

/sst/esacci/

Acknowledgement:Embury, O., Merchant, C.J., Good, S.A., Rayner, N.A., Høyer, J.L., Atkinson, C., Block, T., Alerskans, E., Pearson, K.J., Worsfold, M., McCarroll, N., Donlon, C., (2024). Satellite-based time-series of sea-surface temperature since 1980 for climate applications. Sci Data 11, 326. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03147-w