When working on marine GIS projects, we often need to find public data — nearshore bathymetry and topography, ocean current and wave forecasts, satellite remote sensing imagery, in-situ observations from marine stations... In the past, such data were scattered across various maritime institutions, making them time-consuming and laborious to locate, with inconsistent formats. On World Ocean Day 2026 (June 8), the Ministry of Natural Resources released the "Second Batch of Open and Shared Marine Data Catalog", and the data products listed have been simultaneously made available on the National Marine Big Data Service Platform (Ocean Cloud). Today, we recommend this easy-to-use national-level marine data download platform.
About the National Marine Big Data Service Platform (Ocean Cloud)
The National Marine Big Data Service Platform, also known as Ocean Cloud, is a national-level online marine data service platform organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and constructed and operated by the National Marine Data and Information Service. Its official website is:
https://oceancloud.nmdis.org.cn/home
First launched on World Ocean Day (June 8, 2024), the platform is China's first national-level marine big data service platform. It integrates multi-source data resources including the national global ocean stereoscopic observation network, maritime departments, and research institutes, providing one-stop services such as data search, online preview, free download, on-request access, online computation and analysis, and product customization. The data originates from national marine observation surveys and operational production systems. The data are clearly categorized, covering everything from nearshore observations to global ocean hydrography, meteorology, bathymetry, and satellite remote sensing, basically meeting the needs of common marine GIS projects.
Platform data are continuously updated. The "Second Batch of Open and Shared Marine Data Catalog" released on June 8 adds, on the basis of the first batch's 37 products, updated 2024–2025 China marine observation standard datasets, integrated global ocean hydro-meteorological and bathymetric/topographic datasets, and ten new global ocean 3D temperature-salinity, current, wave, air temperature, and pressure fusion datasets, as well as seven global ocean hydro-meteorological statistical analysis products. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, since the release of the first catalog in 2024, the platform has provided data services to over one hundred users more than 600,000 times, totaling over 100 TB and more than 600 million records — a substantial volume.
Data Catalog
The Ocean Cloud platform has released two batches of data catalogs. The main datasets are as follows:
First Batch
- China Marine Station Observation Standard Dataset
- China Voluntary Ship Observation Standard Dataset
- Global Ocean Temperature-Salinity Integrated Dataset
- Global Ocean Water Level Integrated Dataset
- Global Ocean Buoy Integrated Dataset
- Global Ocean Meteorology Integrated Dataset
- Global Ocean Biology Dataset
- Global Ocean Chemistry Dataset
- Global Ocean Sediment Standard Dataset
- Global Ocean Geophysics Standard Dataset
- Global Bathymetry-Topography Grid Product
- Marine Station Observation Statistical Analysis Product
- Global Ocean Reanalysis Product 1.0 (CORA1.0-GLB)
- Northwest Pacific Ocean Reanalysis Product 1.0 (CORA1.0-NWP)
- Northwest Pacific China Marine Real-Time Analysis Product 1.0 (CORTA1.0-NWP)
- China Offshore Marine Biology Statistical Analysis Product
- China Offshore Marine Chemistry Statistical Analysis Product
- Blue Book on China Climate Change
- China Sea Level Bulletin
- China Offshore Marine Climate Change Monthly Report
- Catalog List of China Marine Station Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Buoy Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Ground Wave Radar Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China X-Band Radar Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Voluntary Ship Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Transect Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of 908 Special Project Marine Hydrology Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of 908 Special Project Marine Meteorology Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of 908 Special Project Marine Biology Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of 908 Special Project Marine Chemistry Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of 908 Special Project Marine Sediment Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of 908 Special Project Marine Optics Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Marine Station Hydrology Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of China Buoy Hydrology Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of China Marine Station Meteorology Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of China Buoy Meteorology Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of Global Ocean Hydrographic Background Field Information Product
- Catalog List of Global Ocean Meteorological Background Field Information Product
- Catalog List of Global Ocean Sediment Background Field Information Product
Second Batch
- China Marine Station Observation Standard Dataset
- China Voluntary Ship Observation Standard Dataset
- Marine Station Observation Statistical Analysis Product
- Global Ocean Temperature-Salinity Integrated Dataset
- Global Ocean Water Level Integrated Dataset
- Global Ocean Buoy Integrated Dataset
- Global Ocean Meteorology Integrated Dataset
- Global Bathymetry-Topography Grid Product
- China Global Ocean 3D Temperature Fusion Dataset
- China Global Ocean 3D Salinity Fusion Dataset
- China Global Ocean Surface Current Field Fusion Dataset
- China Global Ocean Surface Height Fusion Dataset
- China Global Ocean Significant Wave Height Fusion Dataset
- China Global Ocean Surface Wind Fusion Dataset
- China Global Air Temperature Fusion Dataset
- China Global Air Pressure Fusion Dataset
- China Global Relative Humidity Fusion Dataset
- China Global Visibility Fusion Dataset
- China Global Ocean Temperature Statistical Analysis Product
- China Global Ocean Salinity Statistical Analysis Product
- China Global Ocean Current Statistical Analysis Product
- China Global Air Temperature Statistical Analysis Product
- China Global Air Pressure Statistical Analysis Product
- China Global Wind Speed Statistical Analysis Product
- China Global Relative Humidity Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of China Marine Station Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Buoy Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Ground Wave Radar Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China X-Band Radar Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Voluntary Ship Observation Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Transect Survey Standard Dataset
- Catalog List of China Marine Station Hydrology Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of China Buoy Hydrology Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of China Marine Station Meteorology Statistical Analysis Product
- Catalog List of China Buoy Meteorology Statistical Analysis Product
User Registration & Data Download
Typically, domestic data download platforms in China ask for excessive personal information — ID numbers, holding-ID photos, as if they want to know everything about you. In this regard, the Ocean Cloud platform is a breath of fresh air among domestic data download platforms.
Surprisingly, you only need to fill in these few fields. After successful registration, log in, find the data you need, and click download.
The author experienced such convenient downloading for the first time on a domestic data platform — no messy forms, no waiting periods, just click and download.
Using Data in ArcGIS/QGIS
Once the data is downloaded locally, it can be imported into common GIS software. Different formats require different loading methods. Taking the just-downloaded netCDF (.nc) data as an example, you can refer to the author's previous article "Summary of Methods for Opening netCDF Files in QGIS (with Solutions to Difficult Problems)" to open the data as shown below:
Summary
Data access has always been a pain point for marine GIS projects. In the past, one either had to rely on international open data (which lacks sufficient detail for China's nearshore areas) or ask maritime institutions for files through personal connections, resulting in a variety of formats. Now, with the National Marine Big Data Service Platform (Ocean Cloud) and its continuously expanding open and shared marine data catalogs, observation, forecast, remote sensing, and thematic products can all be searched and downloaded from a single portal — friendly to individual learning, research projects, and industry applications.
Final reminder: Please comply with the platform's terms of service when using the data. Do not disseminate classified or application-required data without permission. When citing results, acknowledge the data source as the National Marine Science Data Center.