|
The Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Server (WMS) protocol defines a
simple interface for web based mapping applications. The WMS protocol
is based on a simple query syntax for posting a request for the desired
layers and region to the server, which returns a map as a standard
image (GIF, PNG or other format). The list below gives example WMS
URL's for the NOAA Observing Systems. These URL's look like:
http://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/arcgis/services/nosa/MapServer/WMSServer?REQUEST=getmap&BBOX=-180,-90,180,90
&WIDTH=1024&HEIGHT=512&CRS=4326&Layers=AERO
&version=1.3.0&FORMAT=image/png&TRANSPARENT=TRUE&STYLES=default
These include several elements that users can customize to change the
maps:
Parameter
|
Value in example
|
Server Name
|
http://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/arcgis/services/nosa/MapServer/WMSServer |
Bounding Box
|
-180,-90,180,90 (Lower Left, Upper Right) |
Map Width in Pixels
|
1024
|
Map Height in Pixels
|
512
|
Layers to Display
|
NASA%20Aeronet (%20 is a space)
|
Web Map Server Version
|
1.3.0
|
Image Format
|
image/png
|
Transparency Flag
|
true
|
Request Type
|
getmap
|
Styles
|
default
|
CRS
|
4326
|
The Capabilities Document for the NOSA WMS Server is available here.
Below is a grid populated with data from a WMS
capabilities document. You can double-click on a row to see
a map preview of the layer.
WMS Request:
|
