Register for an Oceans 2.0 account & get more features

  • Personal history — remember searches, save plots, create annotations.
  • Prolonged storage — logged in users searches persist for 14 days after the search completes. Searches run by anonymous users (i.e. users who are not logged in) only persist for 3 days.
  • Access across different computers — you can start a data request on one computer and download it later to a different computer.  Searches by anonymous users are tied to their browser via a cookie (clear your browser's data and you'll lose your searches)
  • Support — being logged in with an account with a valid email address allows ONC support to contact you if anything goes wrong with your search requests or with the data itself. It also allows us to respond to help requests.
  • Share — send plots to colleagues and friends.

What is it?

Data Search provides data processing and visualization for both scalar and complex data products. Results with accompanying metadata reports can be published in scientific papers. Many more instrument types are searchable than in Data Preview, including hydrophones, sonars, vertical profilers, ship data and cameras. 

Using a shopping cart model, you can create and download multiple searches at your convenience. If you log in with an Oceans 2.0 account, your previous data searches are retained.

Why is this useful?

Searching massive data sets over time can generate huge data downloads. Data Search gives you options such as averaging, Min/Max and selecting Clean or Raw data to control the amount of data you wish to process for downloading. 

A search history lets you start a search while at one location (e.g., work) and then check in on that search from somewhere else (e.g., home).

If you are interested in large amounts of data, you can first sample and explore subsets via Data Search, then automate your big downloads via ONC's Application Programming Interface.

How to use Data Search



Step 1: Browse Data Sources

When you first open Data Search, the list and map display all data source locations in the Ocean Networks Canada archive.

Choose Instruments by Location, Instruments by Category, or Properties (measurements) by Location.

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Demo Video



Step 2: Use the Filters.

The filter panel at right lets you refine the list of Instruments and Measurements by filtering for Depth, Time Period, and Property.

Click the blue triangle to hide and show the filter panel.

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Step 3a: Choose an Instrument or Property from the list.

After you make a selection, a dark grey box lists all Devices (instruments) that have measured your Property of interest at that Location.

Click the red Select This Data Source button to continue.

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Step 3b: Choose an Instrument or Property from the map.

You can also zoom the map and click icons on the map to select instruments. After selecting an Instrument or Property, click the red Select This Data Source button to continue.


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Demo Video



Step 4: Choose Data Products

The Data Product Selection tab lets you decide how you want the data prepared. For the instruments listed over your requested time period, you can choose data product formats, and delivery options.

When you have made your selections, click Add to Cart.


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Demo Video



Step 5: View the Cart

On the View Cart tab, your requested data products appear in the Open Cart box. Click the checkbox for each prduct you want processed and packaged. Review your search parameters, and when you're satisfied click Checkout All.

Your products will processed and bundled into a zip file for you. If the process job is very large, you can log out and return later to download the finished file.

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Demo Video



Step 6: Download and/or Delete

At any point you can review your search cart. You can decide to delete your request before, during or after searches are executed.

Nothing is downloaded to your computer until you click the Download button. If you are logged in to your account, completed product files are stored for you to download up to one week later.


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Demo Video



Step 7: Opening Search Results

After your search has completed, you can download the result.

If you requested more than one file, they will be bundled into a zip file. Open it with a zip compression program that supports 64-bit file format.


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