Getting Started¶
What's Available¶
The Marine Energy Resource Characterization project provides two categories of publicly accessible datasets:
| Dataset | Energy Type | Coverage | Duration | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Resolution Tidal Hindcast | Tidal | 5 U.S. coastal locations | 1 year each | Hourly / Half-hourly |
| Ocean Surface Wave Hindcast | Wave | U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone | 40 years (1979–2020) | 3-hourly |
Quick Start¶
Access tidal data in 3 lines of Python:
from rex import ResourceX
tidal_file = '/nlr/US_tidal/Cook_Inlet/Cook_Inlet_2005.h5'
with ResourceX(tidal_file, hsds=True) as f:
meta = f.meta
time_index = f.time_index
speed = f['sea_water_speed']
Prerequisites
You'll need rex and h5pyd installed and configured. See HSDS Setup for step-by-step instructions.
Access wave data:
from rex import ResourceX
wave_file = '/nlr/US_wave/West_Coast/West_Coast_wave_2010.h5'
with ResourceX(wave_file, hsds=True) as f:
meta = f.meta
swh = f['significant_wave_height']
Next Steps¶
- HSDS Setup - Configure programmatic data access (required for code examples)
- AWS S3 Downloads - Browse and download data directly
- Marine Energy Atlas - Visualize summary data interactively
- Tidal Dataset Documentation - Full tidal hindcast documentation
- Wave Dataset Documentation - Full wave hindcast documentation