The search for HDF-EOS

Researchers were frustrated by the wide variety of data formats since it tended to create the need for customized data handling techniques for each data set. In the planning stages of the Earth Observing System (EOS) NASA responded to this issue by selecting a standard format for EOS generated, archived, or distributed data. NASA chose the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The format was expanded to better serve the EOS project as these extensions were designated HDF-EOS. This created the need to convert data into HDF-EOS for interaction within the EOS data system. This paper will describe the data conversion process and the difficulties encountered