code: def normalize_array(var):
      
      if np.issubdtype(var.dtype, 'S1'):
          if var.dtype == str:
              # Python 2 on netCDF4 'string' variables needs this.
              # Python 3 returns false for np.issubdtype(var.dtype, 'S1')
              return var[:]
  
          def decoder(x):
              return str(x.decode('utf-8'))
          vfunc = np.vectorize(decoder)
          return vfunc(nc4.chartostring(var[:]))
      else:
          return var[:]
docs: Returns a normalized data array from a NetCDF4 variable. This is mostly
      used to normalize string types between py2 and py3. It has no effect on types
      other than chars/strings