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The Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS) is an electronic library of NOAA environmental data. This web site provides capabilities for finding and obtaining those data.

CLASS is NOAA's premier on-line facility for the distribution of NOAA and US Department of Defense (DoD) Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) data, NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) data, and derived data.

NOTICE:

  • Attention GOES Data Users: CLASS has not received some of the GOES satellite data since Saturday, August 2, due to hardware issues at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility. CLASS will backfill its archive as soon as the problem has been resolved.

NEWS:

  • Jason-2 Data: CLASS is now receiving Jason-2 data. Jason-2 was successfully launched on June 20 from Vandenburg AFB, CA. For details of the launch news go to the OSTM/Jason-2 web site. Jason-2's purpose is to monitor the rate of sea-level rise and help measure the strength of hurricanes. Researchers will use data from the Jason-2/Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) to extend a 15-year record from two earlier altimeter missions that currently show sea level is rising at a rate of 3.2 mm/year - nearly twice as fast as the previous 100 years. For more information please go to the OSTM web site.

  • Jason-2 Restricted Data: Some Jason-2 data is restricted to authorized users during the initial phase of the mission, while other data is permanently restricted. Please reference the CLASS product pull-down menu to see which of the data families is restricted.

  • New DMSP Data: NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is now transferring DMSP SSMI-SSMIS TDR and SDR data in NetCDF format to CLASS along with embedded quality flags to identify climatology anomalies and errors in geolocation, temperature and time values. Also, the period of record is now extended back to August 1993. These data will become available to users in mid August. CLASS will continue to offer the native format SSMI TDR and SDR, which started in February 1997.