Data Access Form

Dataset Title:	Drifter Tracks from the NE US Shelf and beyond
Institution:	NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC (Dataset ID: drifters)
Information:	Summary \| License \| FGDC \| ISO 19115 \| Metadata \| Background \| Make a graph

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Variable	Optional Constraint #1		Optional Constraint #2		Minimum	Maximum
id
time (UTC Date, UTC)
latitude (Degrees Latitude, degrees_north)
longitude (Degrees Longitude, degrees_east)
depth (m)
sea_water_temperature (degree_C)

Server-side Functions

distinct()

Hover here to see a list of options. Click on an option to select it.

File type: (more information)

(Documentation / Bypass this form )

(Please be patient. It may take a while to get the data.)

The Dataset Attribute Structure (.das) for this Dataset

Attributes {
 s {
  id {
    String cf_role "trajectory_id";
    String ioos_category "Other";
  }
  time {
    String _CoordinateAxisType "Time";
    String axis "T";
    String ioos_category "Time";
    String long_name "UTC Date";
    String standard_name "time";
    String time_origin "01-JAN-1970 00:00:00";
    String units "seconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z";
  }
  latitude {
    String _CoordinateAxisType "Lat";
    String axis "Y";
    String ioos_category "Location";
    String long_name "Degrees Latitude";
    String standard_name "latitude";
    String units "degrees_north";
  }
  longitude {
    String _CoordinateAxisType "Lon";
    String axis "X";
    String ioos_category "Location";
    String long_name "Degrees Longitude";
    String standard_name "longitude";
    String units "degrees_east";
  }
  depth {
    String _CoordinateAxisType "Height";
    String _CoordinateZisPositive "down";
    String axis "Z";
    String ioos_category "Location";
    String long_name "Depth";
    String positive "down";
    String standard_name "depth";
    String units "m";
  }
  sea_water_temperature {
    String ioos_category "Temperature";
    String long_name "Sea Water Temperature";
    String standard_name "sea_water_temperature";
    String units "degree_C";
  }
 }
  NC_GLOBAL {
    String acknowledgment "NOAA Northeast Consortium, Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation, and Northeast Cooperative Research";
    String cdm_data_type "Trajectory";
    String cdm_trajectory_variables "id,depth";
    String contributor_email "james.patrick.manning@gmail.com";
    String contributor_name "James Manning";
    String contributor_role "manager";
    String creator_email "nefsc.erddap@noaa.gov";
    String creator_name "NOAA NEFSC";
    String date_created "2003-01-01";
    String featureType "Trajectory";
    String geospatial_lat_units "degrees_north";
    String geospatial_lon_units "degrees_east";
    String geospatial_vertical_positive "down";
    String geospatial_vertical_units "m";
    String history 
"2014-01-01- reformatted from OPeNDAP to ERDDAP and  converted to metric variables
2025-06-16T15:21:24Z (source database)
2025-06-16T15:21:24Z http://comet.nefsc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/drifters.html";
    String infoUrl "https://studentdrifters.org/tracks/index.html";
    String institution "NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC";
    String keywords "currents, ocean, seawater";
    String license 
"The data may be used and redistributed for free but is not intended
for legal use, since it may contain inaccuracies. Neither the data
Contributor, ERD, NOAA, nor the United States Government, nor any
of their employees or contractors, makes any warranty, express or
implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability for the accuracy,
completeness, or usefulness, of this information.";
    String processing_level "3";
    String sourceUrl "(source database)";
    String summary "This is a collection of drifter tracks collected by various organizations covering the US Northeast shelf and beyond.";
    String title "Drifter Tracks from the NE US Shelf and beyond";
  }
}

Using tabledap to Request Data and Graphs from Tabular Datasets

tabledap lets you request a data subset, a graph, or a map from a tabular dataset (for example, buoy data), via a specially formed URL. tabledap uses the OPeNDAP (external link)

Data Access Protocol (DAP) (external link)

and its selection constraints (external link)

The URL specifies what you want: the dataset, a description of the graph or the subset of the data, and the file type for the response.

(easy) You can get data by using the dataset's Data Access Form or Subset form. They make the URL for you.
(easy) You can make a graph or map by using the dataset's Make A Graph form. It makes the URL for you.
(not hard) You can bypass the forms and get the data or make a graph or map by generating the URL by hand or with a computer program or script.

Tabledap request URLs must be in the form
https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/datasetID.fileType{?query}
For example,
https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/pmelTaoDySst.htmlTable?longitude,latitude,time,station,wmo_platform_code,T_25&time>=2015-05-23T12:00:00Z&time<=2015-05-31T12:00:00Z
Thus, the query is often a comma-separated list of desired variable names, followed by a collection of constraints (e.g., variable<value), each preceded by '&' (which is interpreted as "AND").

For details, see the tabledap Documentation.