Context
The Copernicus Marine (CMEMS) data accessible through WEkEO follows a structured naming convention that allows users to quickly identify the nature, origin, and characteristics of the data at a glance.
On WEkEO, each dataset corresponds to what Copernicus Marine refers to as a product, a coherent collection of ocean data grouped by geographical area, thematic, and production center. Within each dataset, layers correspond to the individual data extracts (what Copernicus Marine calls datasets), each representing a specific combination of variables, spatial resolution, and temporal coverage.
In this article, we explain how to decode these names so you can understand at a glance what data you are working with.
Dataset naming conventions
There are three main categories of CMEMS datasets accessible through WEkEO:
Model-based datasets from Monitoring and Forecasting Centers (MFCs): reanalyses, analyses, and forecasts
Observation-based datasets from Thematic Assembly Centers (TACs): data derived from satellite and in-situ measurements
Ocean Monitoring Indicators (OMIs): long-term trend and indicator datasets on the state of the ocean
MFC Datasets
The names of the MFC datasets are built as <Model Geographical Area>_<Product Type>_<Thematic>_<Complementary Info>_<Centre Ranking>_<Centre Id>, where:
Component | Possible values |
| Product families (ARCTIC, BALTICSEA, BLKSEA, GLOBAL, IBI, MEDSEA, NWSHELF) |
| _ANALYSISFORECAST, _MULTIYEAR |
| _PHY, _BGC, _WAV |
| _CPL, _ENS, _TIDE, _ICE, _LMTL (low and mid-trophic levels) |
| _0XX |
| _0YY |
The <Centre Ranking> codes correspond to the following production centers:
Code | Center |
001_0YY | Global MFC |
002_0YY | Arctic Ocean MFC |
003_0YY | Baltic Sea MFC |
004_0YY | Atlantic European North West Shelves |
005_0YY | Iberian Biscay Irish Seas |
006_0YY | Mediterranean Sea MFC |
007_0YY | Black Sea MFC |
📌 Note: Each ProductID has two sets of three digits at the end corresponding to the <Center Ranking>_<Center ID>.
TAC Dataset ID
The names of the TAC products are constructed like <Observation Type>_<Geographical Area>_<Thematic>_<Complementary Info>_<Kind Product>_<Product Type>_<Centre Ranking>_<Centre Id>, where:
Component | Possible values |
| INSITU, OCEANCOLOUR, SEAICE, SEALEVEL, SST, WIND, WAVE, MULTIOBS |
| _ATL, _ARC, _BAL, _BLK, _EUR, _GLO, _IBI, _MED, _NWS |
| _PHY, _BGC, _PHYBGCWAV (for INSITU), _PHYBGC |
| _<VAR>, _CLIMATE, _AUTO, _CHART, _HR |
| _<LEVEL>, _PROFILE, _OA, _3D, _SURFACE, _DISCRETE (for INSITU) |
| _NRT, _MY, _MYNRT, _STATIC |
| _0XX |
| _0YY |
The TAC center codes are:
Code | Center |
008_0YY | Sea Level TAC |
009_0YY | Ocean Colour TAC |
010_0YY | Sea Surface Temperature TAC |
011_0YY | Sea Ice TAC |
012_0YY | Surface Wind TAC |
013_0YY | In-Situ TAC |
014_0YY | Wave TAC |
015_0YY | Multi Observations TAC |
📌 Note:
In
<Geographical Area>ATL = [IBI, NWS] and EUR = [BS, MED, IBI, NWS] (+BAL is optional).In
<Product Type>MYNRT is applicable when the time series are fully consistent between MY & NRT as for MOB & INSITU product families.
Layer naming convention
In this part let's see how the layers names are organized according to the dataset.
DatasetID nomenclature for MFCs & TACs
The names of the layers are constructed like <Origin>_<Group[-pc]>_<Area>_<Thematic[-Var]>_<Type>_<CompInfo[-CompInfo]*>_<TemporalRes[-typology]*>, with:
Component | Possible values |
| cmems, c3s, cci, osisaf |
| _obs (observations), _mod (models) |
| -oc (oceancolour), -si (sea ice), -sl (sea level), -sst (sea surface temperature), -wind, -wave, -mob (multi observations), -ins (in-situ) |
| _atl (atlantic), _arc (arctic), _ant (antarctic), _bal (baltic), _blk (black sea), _eur (europe), _glo (global), _ibi (iberian biscay irish), _med (mediterranean), _nws (north west shelf) |
| _phy, _bgc, _wav (for MFC), _phybgc, _phybgcwav (for INSITU) |
| -temp (temperature), -cur (current), -chl, -car (carbon), -nut (nutrient), -geophy, -plankton, -transp (transparency), -optics, -pp (primary production), -mflux (momentum flux), -wflux (water flux), -hflux (heat flux), -aflux (wave flux air flux) |
| _anfc (analysis forecast), _nrt (near real time), _hcst (hindcast), _my (multiyear), _mynrt, _myint (interim) |
(*optional) | _na (if nothing), _cpl (coupled), _oi (optimal interpolation), _oa (objective analysis), followed by:
|
| _P1M (monthly), _P1W (weekly), _P7D (weekly), _P1D (daily), _PT1H (hourly), _PT3H (tri-hourly), _PT15M (15 mn _static), _irr (irregular) |
(*optional) | -m (mean), -i (instantaneaous). |
📌 Note: The [-typology] suffix describes how values are produced for each time step defined by <TemporalRes>, not the calendar frequency:
-m (mean) = the value is averaged over the time interval given by
<TemporalRes>
Example: P1D-m = daily dataset where each value is the mean over 1 day (typically a 24-hour average).
Example: P1M-m = monthly mean.
-i (instantaneous) = the value is a snapshot (not averaged) provided at the time stamps in the files.
Example: P1D-i = daily dataset with one instantaneous value per day (the exact acquisition/reference time is given by the time coordinate).
OMI Datasets and Layer IDs
For OMIs (from all Production Centers), reference is built as follow <Product_Type>_<OMI Family>_<OMI Sub-Family>_<geographical area>_<Indicator_Type>, with:
Component | Possible values |
| OMI |
| _CLIMATE, _HEALTH, _CIRCULATION, _VAR_EXTREME |
| CLIMATE: _sst, _ohc, _ocu, _sl, _si, _ofc HEALTH: _chl, _pp, _ph, _oxygen, _eutroph, _bloom, _oligo, _coral CIRCULATION: _heattrans, _voltranss, _moc, _gyre, _upwell, _boundary, _windcirc VAR_EXTREME: _mhw, _coldspell, _climvar, _state, _extremesl, _storm, _cyclone |
| _ATLANTIC, _ARCTIC, _ANTARCTIC, _BALTIC, _BLKSEA, _EUROPE , _GLOBAL, _IBI, _MEDSEA, _NORTHWESTSHELF, _INDIAN, _PACIFIC, _SOUTHERN, _NORTHERN |
| _area_averaged_anomalies, _trend, _area_averaged_mean, _enso_nino, _pdo , _mei |
📌 Note:
In
<geographical area>ATL = [IBI, NWS] and EUR = [BS, MED, IBI, NWS] (+BAL is optional)In
<Indicator_Type>pdo is pacific decadal oscillation and mei is multivariate enso index.
What's next?
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