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.
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.
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 …
[null,null,[],[],[],null,["Dataset Availability\n: 2024-11-12T18:00:00Z--2025-09-04T06:00:00Z\n\nDataset Provider\n:\n\n\n [ECMWF](https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/datasets/open-data)\n\nCadence\n: 12 Hours\n\nTags\n:\n[climate](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/climate) [ecmwf](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/ecmwf) [forecast](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/forecast) [global](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/global) [ocean](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/ocean) \n\nDescription \nThis dataset contains 6-day forecasts of the wave model fields generated by\nthe ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) at 0.25 degree resolution.\nWe refer to these as Near-Realtime (NRT) because new products are released\ntwice a day after the release of the ECMWF realtime forecast data, of which\nthis is a subset. This is a \"Short-Cutoff\" stream, meaning the forecasts\nhave a shorter range than the standard IFS WAVE forecasts. Data may be\ndistributed and used commercially with\n[proper attribution](https://apps.ecmwf.int/datasets/licences/general/).\n\nProducts are available in Earth Engine starting with the implementation of\n[Cycle 49r1](https://confluence.ecmwf.int/display/FCST/Implementation+of+IFS+Cycle+49r1)\non 2024-11-12; earlier products are not included. For general information\nabout how to use ECMWF NRT datasets, see their\n[user documentation](https://confluence.ecmwf.int/display/DAC/ECMWF+open+data%3A+real-time+forecasts+from+IFS+and+AIFS).\nSources files are available in the\n[Google Cloud marketplace](https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/product/bigquery-public-data/open-data-ecmwf).\n\nBands\n\n\n**Pixel Size**\n\n28000 meters\n\n**Bands**\n\n| Name | Units | Min | Max | Pixel Size | Description |\n|-----------------------------------------------------------|---------|-------------|-----------|------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `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. |\n| `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. |\n| `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\"). |\n| `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. |\n| `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. |\n\n\\* estimated min or max value\n\nImage Properties\n\n**Image Properties**\n\n| Name | Type | Description |\n|----------------|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| creation_day | INT | Day of the month when the forecast was created. |\n| creation_doy | INT | Day of the year when the forecast was created. |\n| creation_hour | INT | Hour of the day when the forecast was created. |\n| creation_month | INT | Month of the year when the forecast was created. |\n| creation_time | INT | Time, in unix epoch milliseconds, when forecast was created. |\n| creation_year | INT | Year when the forecast was created. |\n| forecast_hours | INT | Hours into the future, relative to `creation_time`, of the forecast. |\n| forecast_time | INT | Time, in unix epoch milliseconds, of the forecast. |\n| model | STRING | The ECMWF forecasting model: - ifs: Integrated Forecasting System - aifs: Artificial Intelligence/Integrated Forecasting System |\n| stream | STRING | The stream from which the variables were fetched. See the full list [here](https://codes.ecmwf.int/grib/format/mars/stream/). |\n\nTerms of Use\n\n**Terms of Use**\n\n[CC-BY-4.0](https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html)\n\nDOIs\n\n- \u003chttps://doi.org/10.21957/open-data\u003e\n\nExplore with Earth Engine **Important:** Earth Engine is a platform for petabyte-scale scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets, both for public benefit and for business and government users. Earth Engine is free to use for research, education, and nonprofit use. To get started, please [register for Earth Engine access.](https://console.cloud.google.com/earth-engine)\n\nCode Editor (JavaScript) \n\n```javascript\n// Observe the ocean in the vicinity of the Caribbean islands and\n// Gulf coast.\nvar aoi = ee.Geometry.Polygon(\n [[\n [-100.6052734375, 31.751243295508836],\n [-100.6052734375, 6.080143483787566],\n [-57.18730468750001, 6.080143483787566],\n [-57.18730468750001, 31.751243295508836]\n ]],\n null, false);\n\n// Extract significant wave height forecasts made at noon on 2025/6/11.\nvar wave =\n ee.ImageCollection('ECMWF/NRT_FORECAST/IFS/WAVE')\n .filter(ee.Filter.eq('creation_doy', 162))\n .filter(ee.Filter.eq('creation_hour', 12))\n .sort('forecast_hours')\n .select('significant_height_of_combined_wind_waves_and_swell_sfc');\n\n// Display the observations at forecast hour 0 on the map.\nvar hour0 = wave.first().clip(aoi);\nMap.centerObject(hour0);\nMap.addLayer(hour0, {min: 0, max: 5}, 'sig height fc=0');\n\n// Animate the wave height forecasts over time.\nvar videoArgs = {\n dimensions: 540,\n region: aoi,\n framesPerSecond: 7,\n crs: 'EPSG:3857',\n min: 0,\n max: 5,\n};\nprint(ui.Thumbnail(wave, videoArgs));\n```\n[Open in Code Editor](https://code.earthengine.google.com/?scriptPath=Examples:Datasets/ECMWF/ECMWF_NRT_FORECAST_IFS_SCWV) \n[ECMWF Near-Realtime IFS Wave (Short-Cutoff) Forecasts](/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/ECMWF_NRT_FORECAST_IFS_SCWV) \nThis 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 ... \nECMWF/NRT_FORECAST/IFS/SCWV, climate,ecmwf,forecast,global,ocean \n2024-11-12T18:00:00Z/2025-09-04T06:00:00Z \n-90 -180 90 180 \nGoogle Earth Engine \nhttps://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets\n\n- [https://doi.org/10.21957/open-data](https://doi.org/https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/datasets/open-data)\n- [https://doi.org/10.21957/open-data](https://doi.org/https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/ECMWF_NRT_FORECAST_IFS_SCWV)"]]
