EOS Data Usability Tools for Support of Science Research and Applications

The Earth Observing System (EOS) Data and Information System (EOSDIS), as NASA's overall Earth Science discipline data system, presently holds nearly two petabytes of Earth observation data products. The data format standard used for EOS standard products is Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) for EOS (HDF-EOS) or HDF-EOS 5 for future missions, and the metadata format used is Object Description Language (ODL). To facilitate the use of EOS data for different scientific research and applications, we have developed a series of data and metadata tools to enhance the usability of EOSDIS data products. These tools can be categorized as 1) data format conversion tools, 2) an XML representation of HDF-EOS5 with related utility tools, 3) an XML representation of ODL metadata with viewing tools, and 4) data and metadata standard validation and update tools. This poster presents different usability tools we have developed for EOS data products. Use cases of these tools for support of the research and application community and EOS missions are illustrated.