How do I make animated figures?

It is extremely easy to make animations in the data viewer. Let's make an animated image of the 1982-1983 El Niño.

This example begins in the data viewer with the KAPLAN dataset and sea surface temperature anomaly variable already selected. You can find more information about these steps in the Data Library Tutorial. Part I will show you how to locate datasets and Part IIwill show you how to select data variables.

Click here to start the step-by-step example.

1. 1: Put the following text in the date box, replacing the "Jan 1856" that is already there.

   Jan 1982 to Dec 1983

2. Click the "Redraw" button.

   To modify the speed of the animation,

3. Click the "more options" button near the bottom of the page.
4. Modify the frame times for the desired speed and click the "Redraw" button.

   To download the animation,

5. Select one of the download options in the table at the bottom of the page.

The options include downloading the animation as an html page or in multiple image formats.

There is another example of creating an animation in the Data Library Tutorial.

-- Emily Grover