Associating point data with a time series table?

Question

Hi,

I am fairly new to ArcGIS Pro though have been using ESRI products for a few years. I am wondering if this idea I have is possible to do:

I have a point feature class of sites where water temperatures were recorded over a period of several months. I have separate excel and csv tables with date, time, and water temperature readings for every site where data was collected (so one table associated with each individual point).

1. Can the excel tables be linked to the corresponding point, and how do I do that? I see there is something called a NetCDF and multidimensional data and it sounds like that can relate to time data, but how to set that up and use it is a bit over my head.

2. If 1 is possible, can I take things a step further and create an animation showing the points changing color based on the water temperature changing over time? What would that process look like?

Appreciate any help and can provide more specifics about what I'd like to do if that helps.

Thanks,

Andrew

NCC-TU · Answer

Mehdi,

The layer never showed up (I let it run overnight), so I am going to back up a few steps.

I think my problem is when I am creating the NetCDF file. I don't know how to set up the variables and dimensions correctly. I want to use the Date field as the dimension, but it asks for units and I don't know what to enter for units. If I leave units blank, it defaults to number format. My dates are in M/d/yyyy format and if I enter that as the units, it says it is an invalid unit. Please see the attached image of the error I am receiving.

How do I get past this step?

netcdf error.JPG

MehdiPira1 · Answer

@NCC-TU good to hear that.

Regarding the loading time, it should not take this long.

I can recommend to create it again to see if the issue is resolved.

you can also try a point with fewer dates just to test if it's working on your dataset.

NCC-TU · Answer

Hi Mehdi,

Thank you for the help, this got me started in the right direction. I got all the way through running the "Make NetCDF Feature Layer" tool but now the NetCDF Feature Layer is not loading. I saw that it takes a while to load the first time after the tool is run but it has been 40 minutes. I only have one feature with 90 dates associated so I did not expect it to take this long.

Is it normal to have to wait this long for the layer to show up? I am wondering how long I'll have to wait if I were to try this with a layer of 30 points and each point having 90 date values.

I have a feeling maybe I did something wrong creating the NetCDF file. Doesn't seem like I can click on anything until the NetCDF feature layer finishes loading.

-Andrew