Traditional relational databases are optimized for data transactions (e.g. update, delete) while On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) technologies and multidimensional data structures pick up where transactional processes and two-dimensional joined data tables get bogged down: large volumes of data for analysis and aggregation. OLAP technologies were developed as a result of great demand for improved and more efficient data access for the purpose of analysis. While the principle drivers behind the development of OLAP technologies have been in business management, sales, and financial markets over the last decade; OLAP may be applied to large volumes of data inputs and outputs pertaining to natural systems modeling and geosciences. The intension of this paper is to provide definitions of OLAP, multidimensional data structures and data warehouses; and to illustrate how these advances in database technology may be applied to support natural systems modeling efforts.