DMSP Data Download

Information on Tar and Gzip:

The standard format for our web data products is to create one Tape Archive and Retrieval (TAR) file containing the data, header and readme files for each product. End users downloading these tar files will need to untar and unzip the files before viewing the images. The data files have been zipped with gzip. Below are instructions on "How to untar and unzip files" for Linux and windows:

For Linux/Unix users:

Commands needed to untar, unzip and view the files are:
  • tar xvf isa2000_2001.tar
  • gunzip isa2000_2001.tif.gz
  • Use your favorite viewer and open the image.

For Windows users:

Commands needed to untar, unzip and view the files are:
Tar
  • Open up the winzip application on your PC.
  • NOTE: Our files are gzipped and added to tar files under linux. Winzip and some other windows utilities may convert newlines in the data into a windows linefeed. To avoid this in WinZip go to -> Options -> Configuration -> Miscellaneous and uncheck the 'TAR file smart CR/LF conversion'.
  • Navaigate to where the ".tar" file was downloaded to on you PC. Select the tar file by clicking on it once with the mouse.
  • Click the "Extract" button in winzip.
  • A new window apprears and Navigate to the location of where to put the file on your PC and then click the "Extract" button.
Gzip
  • After the tar extraction is complete - Select the file with the ".gz" extention by clicking on it once with the mouse.
  • Click the "Extract" button in winzip.
  • A new window apprears and Navigate to the location of where to put the file on your PC and then click the "Extract" button.
  • Use your favorite viewer and open the image.
Note: Check your file system to verify that you have enough disc space for extraction.