Plotting coordinate data on top of a map in Python matplotlib

Question

So, what I am having trouble with is how I am supposed to plot the data I have on top of a global map. I have an array of data, and two arrays of coordinates in latitude and longitude, where each datapoint was taken, but I am not sure of how to plot it on top of a global map. Creating the map itself is not too difficult, I just use:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from mpl_toolkits.basemap import Basemap

fig = plt.figure(figsize=(10, 8))
m = Basemap(projection='cyl', resolution='c',
            llcrnrlat=-90, urcrnrlat=90,
            llcrnrlon=-180, urcrnrlon=180, )
m.shadedrelief(scale=0.5)
m.drawcoastlines(color='black')

But the next step is where I am having problems. I have tried doing both a colormesh plot and scatter plot, but they haven't worked so far. How should I go about it so that the data is plotted in the correct coordinate locations for the global map?

Thanks a lot for any help!

Answer 1

Maybe a bit late, but I have this piece of code I used to plot multiple linear plot over a map in Basemap that worked for me.

map = Basemap(projection='cyl', resolution='c',
            llcrnrlat=mins[1], urcrnrlat=maxs[1],
            llcrnrlon=mins[0], urcrnrlon=50, )
plt.figure(figsize=(15, 15))
for i in range(1259): 
    filepath = filename[i]
    data = pd.read_csv(filepath, index_col=0)
    map.plot(data.x,data.y,'k-', alpha=0.1) ### Calling the plot in a loop!!
map.drawcoastlines(linewidth=1)
map.drawcountries(linewidth=0.5, linestyle='solid', color='k' ) 
plt.show()

The loop calls data from different folders, and I just use the map.plot command to plot. By doing it like that, you can plot all data in the same map.