Software for Earth Science and Geography

This is about freely available software for education and research (as well as various other purposes). Besides Zope, and Python, there are many other specific software packages for everything from data ingest and transport to analysis and visualization.

See my software page for some Gentoo and RedHat/fedora/cAos rpm packages (and the downloads menu above).

GIS, Mapping, Geospatial Data Analyis, etc.

• GRASS - GRASS GIS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is an open source, Free Software Geographical Information System (GIS) with raster, topological vector, image processing, and graphics production functionality.
• UMN MapServer - A popular web mapping application with support for GDAL, proj, and other tools.
• ZMapServer - a Zope interface to mapserver; currently being re-factored into Cartographic Objects for Zope and the Python Cartographic Library.
• OpenLayers - An open source pure JavaScript library for displaying map data in most modern web browsers, with no server-side dependencies. Use hobu's example application to browse the state of Iowa.
• Proj.4 - Proj.4 cartographic projection software (additional grids, eg, NAD27 available).
• GDAL (Geospatial Data Abstraction Library) - a translator library for raster geospatial data formats.
• OGR Simple Feature Library - OGR is a C++ library for a variety of vector file formats (also has C and Python APIs).
• OpenEV - An OpenGL/GTK/Python based graphical viewer which uses GDAL for raster access.
• Shapelib - A library for working with ESRI shapefiles (ArcInfo compatible).
• Virtual Terrain Project - a set of software tools, including an interactive runtime environment (VTP Enviro). The VTP libraries also use GDAL.
• gstat - a geostatistical modeling package.

Meteorological Modeling and Data Analysis Software

• LAPS - LAPS Local Analysis and Prediction System, a real-time meteorological analysis package. You must sign up on the list and request the software.
• MM5 - Penn State/NCAR Community Mesoscale Modeling system (needs PG Fortran compiler on Linux).
• LDM - The Unidata Local Data Manager (LDM) is a collection of cooperating programs that select, capture, manage, and distribute meteorological data products.
• GSD - NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory's Global Systems Division (formerly the Forecast Systems Laboratory) develops most of the software and modeling applications used by the National Weather Service, NCEP, and other weather agencies (including LAPS).

Remote Sensing and Image Processing Software

• SeaDAS - Image analysis package for SeaWIFS data.
• OSSIM - Open Source Software Image Map project.

Scientific modeling frameworks

• Ptolemy II - Ptolemy II is a Java-based component assembly framework with a graphical user interface called Vergil. The Ptolemy project studies modeling, simulation, and design of concurrent, real-time, embedded systems. Ptolemy II's generic framework is flexible enough to be used for many different problem domains from discrete event simulation to scientific data analysis workflow tools such as Kepler (see below).
• Kepler - The Kepler project is a cross-project collaboration to develop open source tools for Scientific Workflows (partly based on the Ptolemy II framework).

General Scientific Software

• Scientific Python - SciPy is an open source library of scientific tools for Python. SciPy supplements the popular Numeric module, gathering a variety of high level science and engineering modules together as a single package.
• Octave - GNU Octave is a high-level language, primarily intended for numerical computations (compatible with Matlab).
• R - The R Project for Statistical Computing, a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics (R is essentially the GNU implementation of the S language and environment).
• HDF4 / HDF5 - A general purpose library and file format for storing scientific data.
• NetCDF - NetCDF (network Common Data Form) is an interface for array-oriented data access and a library that provides an implementation of the interface.
• UDUnits - A library for manipulating units of physical quantities.