Panoply netCDF, HDF and GRIB Data Viewer

Additional Color Tables

The Panoply application distribution includes over 100 color tables that may be used as scale colorbars in plots. Many additional color tables are provided here.

Please see the notes at the bottom of this page to learn more about the origins of these color tables.

To use a color table in Panoply that you have downloaded from this page or from compatible sources, just open it using the Open command in the File menu. You will then be asked whether you would like to add the color table to Panoply's application support library for future use.


Formats

Panoply is able to read and apply several different color table formats, as identified by their filename extension. They include:

ACT indicates an Adobe Color Table, which may be created by the Photoshop program. The format allows for up to 256 distinct colors.

CPT indicates a color palette format used by the Generic Mapping Tools program. The format defines a number of solid color and/or gradient bands between the colorbar extrema rather than a finite number of distinct colors. Many Panoply-compatible CPT color tables may be obtained from the cpt-city website.

RGB indicates a color table used by the NCL Graphics (formerly NCAR Graphics) software. Although the format does not necessarily have a limit on the number of colors it may define, one does not see an RGB color table with more than 256 colors. Numerous RGB color tables are available from the NCL Graphics color table gallery.


Sequential Color Tables

Sequential palettes are useful for displaying values that range from a low value to a high value.

Sample Name Comments
Sample colorbar NEO_ceres_sw Dark blue to pale green to white. Example usage: reflected shortwave radiation.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_chlor Dark blue to pale yellow. Example usage: chlorophyll concentration in ocean waters, with a logarithmic scale.
Sample colorbar NEO_cdom Dark blue to turquoise to tan. Example usage: dissolved organic matter in water.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_bs_albedo Blue to white. Example usage: albedo.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_cld_fr Blue to white. Example usage: cloud fraction.
Sample colorbar NEO_gebco_bathymetry Dark blue to white. Example usage: ocean depth.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_cld_ot Dark blue to white. Example usage: cloud optical thickness.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_cld_ci Dark purple to white. Example usage: cloud reflectance.
Sample colorbar EO_aura_omi_formal White to light blue to purple. Example usage: formaldehyde.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_cld_rd White to blue. Example usage: cloud particle radius.
Sample colorbar NEO_snow_water White to dark blue. Example usage: snow water equivalent.
Sample colorbar NEO_omi_ozone_to3 Pale blue to dark blue. Example usage: ozone concentration.
Sample colorbar NEO_imperv_surf White to blue. Example usage: impervious surface area.
Sample colorbar NEO_trmm_rainfall White to blue. Example usage: rainfall.
Sample colorbar NEO_soil_moisture White to teal to blue. Example usage: soil moisture.
Sample colorbar GSFC_landsat_udf_density Pale green to dark blue, 11 colors. Example usage: undisturbed forest density.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_sky_wv Cream to dark blue. Example usage: water vapor.
Sample colorbar NEO_amsre_sst Dark blue to purple to pale yellow. Example usage: sea surface temperature.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_sst_45 Dark blue to white. Example usage: sea surface temperature.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_cld_wp Blue to pink to white. Example usage: cloud water content.
Sample colorbar EO_lightning_lis_otd Dark purple to pale pink. Example usage: lightning flash rate.
Sample colorbar NEO_aquarius_sss Dark blue to pink to pale yellow. Example usage: sea surface salinity.
Sample colorbar NEO_ggmcf Black to red to yellow to blue to white. Example usage: carbon footprint, with a logarithmic scale.
Sample colorbar GIST_heat Black to red to white.
Sample colorbar NEO_ceres_insol Dark red to pale yellow. Example usage: solar insolation.
Sample colorbar NEO_mopitt_co Pale yellow to red. Example usage: carbon monoxide concentration.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_aer_od Pale yellow to dark orange. Example usage: aerosol optical thickness.
Sample colorbar NEO_omi_no2 Pale yellow to dark orange. Example usage: nitrogen dioxide concentration.
Sample colorbar NEO_pollution_conc_9 White to brick red, 9 colors. Example usage: pollution concentration.
Sample colorbar NEO_sedac_pop White to red. Example usage: population density, with a logarithmic scale.
Sample colorbar NEO_srtm_topography Green to pale beige. Example usage: land topography.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_ndvi Beige to dark green. Example usage: vegetation net primary productivity.
Sample colorbar NEO_tree_cover Cream to dark green. Example usage: tree cover.
Sample colorbar EO_carbon_density Pale beige to dark green. Example usage: carbon density.
Sample colorbar NCDC_precip20in Brown to green, with unevenly distributed colors and with special outlier colors. Example usage: Total precipitation.
Sample colorbar SVS_soilmoisture Yellow to green to blue. Example usage: Soil moisture.
Sample colorbar NEO_ceres_lw White to blue to red to yellow. Example usage: outgoing longwave radiation.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_lst Blue to red to yellow. Example usage: land surface temperature.
Sample colorbar MRO_ice_freq Blue to red to yellow.
Sample colorbar EO_sargassum_tamo White to blue to yellow to deep red. Example usage: oceanic seaweed bloom.
Sample colorbar NEO_omi_uvi Pale green to pale yellow to dark purple. Example usage: UV index.

Divergent Color Tables

Divergent palettes are useful for displaying values that diverge from a mean value or from a reference value such as 0. The middle colors of a divergent table are usually lighter colors, and often white.

Sample Name Comments
Sample colorbar NCDC_temp_anom Dark blue to dark red. 20 colors plus special outlier colors. Example usage: global surface temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_wind_spd_anom Purple to white to dark orange. Example usage: wind speed anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_bright_temp pale blue to lavenar to pale yellow. Example usage: brightness temperatyure.
Sample colorbar NEO_aod_diff Purple to white to orange. Example usage: aerosol optical depth difference.
Sample colorbar GMT_split Blue to black to red.
Sample colorbar NCDC_temp_anom_f Dark blue to white to dark maroon. Example usage: surface temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_seasurf_hgt_anom Dark teal to white to dark maroon. Example usage: sea surface height anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_giss_temp_anom Blue to white to red. Example usage: global temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar EO_temp_anom_4 Blue to white to red. Example usage: global temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_ns_airtemp Dark blue to white to dark red. Example usage: near-surface air temperature.
Sample colorbar NEO_amsre_sst_anom Dark blue to white to dark red. Example usage: sea surface temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_modis_lst_anom Dark blue to white to dark red. Example usage: land surface temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar MODIS_L3_diverge Dark blue to light blue then light orange to maroon. 16 colors plus special outlier colors.
Sample colorbar NEO_meltseason_anom Dark blue to white to orange Example usage: melt season anomaly.
Sample colorbar SVS_tempanomaly Dark blue to white to dark red. Example usage: global surface temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar UKM_hadcrut_10 Dark blue to pale yellow to dark red. 12 colors, non-linear. Example usage: global surface temperature anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_grav_anom Dark blue to white to red. Example usage: gravity anomaly.
Sample colorbar NCDC_pres_anom Blue to pale gray to red. 15 colors, non-linear, plus special outlier colors. Example usage: Pressure height anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_ceres_net Blue-green to pale yellow to red. Example usage: net radiation.
Sample colorbar NYT_drought Green to pale yellow to red. 7 colors. Example usage: drought index.
Sample colorbar NEO_carb_emit_anom Green to white to brown. Example usage: carbon emission anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_evapstress Green to white to brown. Example usage: evaporative stress.
Sample colorbar NEO_pollution_mort Blue to white to brown. Example usage: pollution.
Sample colorbar EO_soil_moisture_div Brown to blue. Example usage: soil moisture.
Sample colorbar NEO_soil_moisture_pale Pale brown to white to pale blue, with off-center "mid-point". Example usage: soil moisture.
Sample colorbar NEO_albedo_change Pale orange to white to pale blue. Example usage: albedo change.
Sample colorbar NEO_rainfall_anom_9 Brown to white to blue. 9 colors. Example usage: rainfall rate anomaly.
Sample colorbar NCDC_snow_anom Brown to white to blue. Example usage: snow cover anomaly.
Sample colorbar EVL_wind_anom Dark brown to white to dark blue. Example usage: wind speed anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_grace_lwe_anom Brown to white to teal. Example usage: water equivalence anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_div_vegetation_c Brown to white to green. Example usage: vegetation (NDVI) anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_div_vegetation_a Brown to white to green. Example usage: vegetation (NDVI) anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_div_vegetation_b Brown to white to green. Example usage: vegetation (NDVI) anomaly.
Sample colorbar NCDC_precip_anom Brown to blue. 10 colors plus special outlier colors. Example usage: precipitation anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_wind_spd_anomaly_pwg Purple to white to dark turquoise. Example usage: wind speed anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_soil_moisture_anom Maroon to white to dark turquoise. Example usage: soil moisture anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_soil_moisture_anom_nl Red to white to blue, non-linear. Example usage: soil moisture anomaly.
Sample colorbar NEO_chlorophyll Blue to white to green. Example usage: chlorophyll concentration in water.
Sample colorbar NEO_chlorophyll_oc Blue to white to green, with off-center "mid-point". Example usage: chlorophyll concentration in water.

Topographic (or Earth/Ocean) Color Tables

Topographic color tables are, in a sense, a form of sequential color table specifically designed for showing topographic relief. However, color shifts may be dis-continuous, particularly if the color table is designed to show both ocean depth and land height. Use of topographic color tables usually requires knowledge of the minimum and maximum values for which a specific color table is designed.

Sample Name Comments
Sample colorbar GIST_earth Example usage: Ocean and land topography.
Sample colorbar GMT_globe Example usage: Ocean and land topography.
Sample colorbar GMT_relief Example usage: Ocean and land topography.
Sample colorbar NEO_srtm_topography Green to white. Example usage: land topography.
Sample colorbar NEO_gebco_bathymetry Dark blue to white. Example usage: ocean depth.

Rainbow Color Tables

Rainbow color tables are a form of sequential color table that to some degree mimics the color spectrum. They may begin with red and progress through orange, yellow, green and blue to reach purple, or vice versa. Sometimes they are cyclic, wrapping around so that red follows purple. Although rainbow color tables are very often used to display sequential data, their use is discouraged because they can be hard to interpret by persons who have some form of color blindness or vision deficiency.

Sample Name Comments
Sample colorbar GISS_isccp_rainbow Rainbow.
Sample colorbar GISS_isccp_rainbow_20 Rainbow. 20 colors.
Sample colorbar GMT_seis Rainbow.
Sample colorbar GMT_seis_20 Rainbow. 20 colors.
Sample colorbar GMT_cyclic Rainbow, cyclic.
Sample colorbar GMT_haxby Rainbow. 32 colors.
Sample colorbar MODIS_L3_rainbow Rainbow. 16 colors plus special outlier colors.
Sample colorbar NCDC_temp100f Dark blue to pale yellow to dark red. 20 colors plus special outlier colors. Example usage: Surface temperature.

Qualitative or Category Color Tables

A qualitative color table is typically used to indicate a number of discrete values that probably do not have a logical progression. They might, for example, be category IDs. The hue and saturation of each color in the table may also be used to show some relative factor such as strength or importance.


Sources

Many color tables built into Panoply and also those available here come from several sources. Among them are:

CB. Color tables whose names begin with the prefix "CB" are based on color information obtained from ColorBrewer2.org by Cynthia A. Brewer of the Dept. of Geography at Pennsylvania State University.

EO and NEO. Color tables whose names begin with "EO" or "NEO" are based on color schemes used in graphics on the NASA Earth Observatory and NASA Earth Observations websites by the EOS Project Science Office at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

EVL. Color tables whose names begin with "EVL" are based on color schemes used in graphics posted on the NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory.

GMT. Color tables whose names begin with "GMT" are based on color schemes included in the Generic Mapping Tools software from SOEST at the University of Hawai'i.

JS. Color tables whose names begin with "JS" are based on color schemes created by Joshua Stevens.

MODIS. Color tables whose names begin with "MODIS" are based on color schemes suggested by members of the MODIS instrument team at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

NCDC. Color tables whose names begin with "NCDC" are based on color schemes used by the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, now part of the National Centers for Environmental Information.

NCL. Color tables whose names begin with "NCL" are based on color schemes from the NCL Graphics Color Table Gallery from UCAR.

NYT. Color tables whose names begin with "NYT" are based on color schemes used in graphics that appeared in the New York Times.

OCM. Color tables whose names begin with "OCM" are based on color schemes included in True Colors of Oceanography by Thyng et al.

SCM. Color tables whose names begin with "SCM" are based on color schemes included in Scientific Color Maps 6 by Crameri et al.

SVS. Color tables whose names begin with "SVS" are based on color schemes used by the Scientific Visualization Studio at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

UO. Color tables whose names begin with "UO" are based on color schemes described by Light & Bartlein of the Department of Geography at the University of Oregon.

UKM. Color tables whose names begin with "UKM" are based on color schemes used by the UK Met Office.

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