Klimaatdatabases

Klimaatdatabases are digital repositories that store, preserve, and provide access to climate-related data. They encompass historical observations, gridded climate fields, climate model simulations, reanalysis products, and future projections. These databases support scientific research, policy analysis, and climate services by enabling the analysis of past trends and the exploration of potential future climates.

Data in klimaatdatabases come from a range of sources. Observational data include measurements from weather stations, buoys, radiosondes, and satellite sensors. Reanalysis products combine observations with models to produce consistent, gridded fields. Climate model outputs include simulations from global and regional models, as well as scenario-driven projections. Large databases often organize data into usable formats and provide tools for querying, visualization, and download.

Access and interoperability are central features. Klimaatdatabases use standardized data formats such as NetCDF or GRIB and rely on metadata that describes data origin, methods, units, and quality. Common standards and conventions, including Climate and Forecast conventions and metadata frameworks, facilitate data discovery and cross-database analyses. Many databases offer programmatic access via APIs and data portals, and some participate in federated networks that enable sharing across institutions.

Governance and usage policies address data quality, provenance, licensing, and long-term preservation. Ensuring traceability of data sources and methods supports reproducibility and transparency. Applications span climate research, hydrology, agriculture, urban planning, and risk management, where consistent, well-documented climate data underpin assessments of trends, variability, and potential impacts.

Notable examples include the Copernicus Climate Data Store, which provides global climate data and tools, and national or regional portals operated by meteorological institutes. Data infrastructures such as the ESGF network and university repositories also play important roles in distributing climate model outputs and related data.