Search Instructions

Terminology

• A dataset is a collection of related files. In the IPCC database a dataset is typically all files produced by one run of an AOGCM, of a particular temporal frequency.
• A file is a physical data file.IPCC model output data files typically contain exactly one data variable.

Basic dataset search

The basic search form on the home page generates a Google-type scan of all dataset metadata. The result list has links to the full metadata and constituent files of each dataset. Note that this does not search for individual files or variable names.

Advanced dataset search

Use the advanced dataset search to locate a dataset related to a particular scenario ("Climate of the 20th Century"), model, and/or temporal frequency.

File Search

To find all files containing a given variable, e.g., surface air temperature, use the file search. In the 'Variable' field enter all or a portion of the variable long name. Long names are case insensitive. The same criteria as for the dataset search can also be used. Note that the result list may contain files from more than one dataset. Also in the rare case where a file contains more than one variable, the file name will appear once for each variable that matches the search criteria.