NetCDF is a data format particularly suited for multidimensional blocks of numbers, including metadata about scale, units etc.

For netCDF datasets (and HDF-5) we offer, besides the usual download, OPeNDAP access. This enables users to view internal metadata hidden in the data files, make slices and subsamples of data, and use programmatic access to data with APIs for Java, Python, Matlab, etc. More info: THREDDS, OPeNDAP intro.

For each netcdf (or HDF-5) file, the following options appear when you hover over the link:

html	Form to select specific data and obtain the result in text or binary (netCDF) version
info	Metadata: attributes, types and other information
x	Metadata: dataset attribute and descriptor structure in xml (ddx)
a	Metadata: dataset attribute structure (das)
d	Metadata: dataset descriptor structure (dds)
asc	Text dump of dataset (may be slow for large datafiles)
tools	Launch ToolsUI data viewer (java) (currently disabled)
openDAP link	This is not a clickable link. Copy the link url for your program when using a package that reads NetCDF or OpenDAP.
download	Download file for local use.