ECMWF Near-Realtime IFS Wave (Short-Cutoff) Forecasts

ECMWF/NRT_FORECAST/IFS/SCWV
Dataset Availability
2024-11-12T18:00:00Z–2025-08-11T06:00:00Z
Dataset Provider
Earth Engine Snippet
ee.ImageCollection("ECMWF/NRT_FORECAST/IFS/SCWV")
Cadence
12 Hours
Tags
climate ecmwf forecast global ocean

Description

This dataset contains 6-day forecasts of the wave model fields generated by the ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) at 0.25 degree resolution. We refer to these as Near-Realtime (NRT) because new products are released twice a day after the release of the ECMWF realtime forecast data, of which this is a subset. This is a "Short-Cutoff" stream, meaning the forecasts have a shorter range than the standard IFS WAVE forecasts. Data may be distributed and used commercially with proper attribution.

Products are available in Earth Engine starting with the implementation of Cycle 49r1 on 2024-11-12; earlier products are not included. For general information about how to use ECMWF NRT datasets, see their user documentation. Sources files are available in the Google Cloud marketplace.

Bands

Pixel Size
28000 meters

Bands

Name Units Min Max Pixel Size Description
mean_zero_crossing_wave_period_sfc seconds 0.889602* 17.573* meters

The mean length of time between occasions where the sea/ocean surface crosses mean sea level.
significant_height_of_combined_wind_waves_and_swell_sfc m 0.0172079* 15.5856* meters

The average height of the highest third of surface ocean/sea waves generated by wind and swell. It represents the vertical distance between the wave crest and the wave trough.
mean_wave_direction_sfc deg 0 360 meters

The mean direction of ocean/sea surface waves relative to the geographic location of the north pole (e.g., 0 means "coming from the north" and 90 "coming from the east").
peak_wave_period_sfc seconds 1.03074* 23.7889* meters

The period of the most energetic ocean waves generated by local winds and associated with swell. The wave period is the average time it takes for two consecutive wave crests, on the surface of the ocean/sea, to pass through a fixed point.
mean_wave_period_sfc seconds 1.04148* 18.3643* meters

The average time it takes for two consecutive wave crests, on the surface of the ocean/sea, to pass through a fixed point.
* estimated min or max value

Image Properties

Image Properties

Name Type Description
creation_day INT

Day of the month when the forecast was created.
creation_doy INT

Day of the year when the forecast was created.
creation_hour INT

Hour of the day when the forecast was created.
creation_month INT

Month of the year when the forecast was created.
creation_time INT

Time, in unix epoch milliseconds, when forecast was created.
creation_year INT

Year when the forecast was created.
forecast_hours INT

Hours into the future, relative to creation_time, of the forecast.
forecast_time INT

Time, in unix epoch milliseconds, of the forecast.
model STRING

The ECMWF forecasting model:

  • ifs: Integrated Forecasting System
  • aifs: Artificial Intelligence/Integrated Forecasting System
stream STRING

The stream from which the variables were fetched. See the full list here.

Terms of Use

Terms of Use

CC-BY-4.0

DOIs

Explore with Earth Engine

Code Editor (JavaScript)

// Observe the ocean in the vicinity of the Caribbean islands and
// Gulf coast.
var aoi = ee.Geometry.Polygon(
    [[
      [-100.6052734375, 31.751243295508836],
      [-100.6052734375, 6.080143483787566],
      [-57.18730468750001, 6.080143483787566],
      [-57.18730468750001, 31.751243295508836]
    ]],
    null, false);

// Extract significant wave height forecasts made at noon on 2025/6/11.
var wave =
    ee.ImageCollection('ECMWF/NRT_FORECAST/IFS/WAVE')
        .filter(ee.Filter.eq('creation_doy', 162))
        .filter(ee.Filter.eq('creation_hour', 12))
        .sort('forecast_hours')
        .select('significant_height_of_combined_wind_waves_and_swell_sfc');

// Display the observations at forecast hour 0 on the map.
var hour0 = wave.first().clip(aoi);
Map.centerObject(hour0);
Map.addLayer(hour0, {min: 0, max: 5}, 'sig height fc=0');

// Animate the wave height forecasts over time.
var videoArgs = {
  dimensions: 540,
  region: aoi,
  framesPerSecond: 7,
  crs: 'EPSG:3857',
  min: 0,
  max: 5,
};
print(ui.Thumbnail(wave, videoArgs));
Open in Code Editor
This dataset contains 6-day forecasts of the wave model fields generated by the ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) at 0.25 degree resolution. We refer to these as Near-Realtime (NRT) because new products are released twice a day after the release of the ECMWF realtime forecast data, of which this is …
ECMWF/NRT_FORECAST/IFS/SCWV, climate,ecmwf,forecast,global,ocean
2024-11-12T18:00:00Z/2025-08-11T06:00:00Z
-90 -180 90 180
Google Earth Engine