diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/GeoGetStylesUtility.java b/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/GeoGetStylesUtility.java
index 78e62af..530bb00 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/GeoGetStylesUtility.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/GeoGetStylesUtility.java
@@ -9,11 +9,13 @@ import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.bean.NcWmsLayerMetadata;
+import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.bean.NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.bean.WmsParameters;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.wms.NcWmsGetMetadata;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.wms.NcWmsGetMetadataRequest;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.wms.WmsGetStyles;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.wms.WmsUrlValidator;
+import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.wms.ZAxis;
 
 
 /**
@@ -173,9 +175,16 @@ public class GeoGetStylesUtility {
 				logger.debug("Wms GetStyles not found, Trying to get styles by 'NcWmsGetMetadata'");
 				isNcWms = true;
 				try{
-					NcWmsLayerMetadata ncMetadata = NcWmsGetMetadata.getMetadata(uriWMSService, layerName, connectionTimeout);
+
+					METADATA[] meta = new METADATA[3];
+					meta[0] = METADATA.SUPPORTEDSTYLES;
+					meta[1] = METADATA.DEFAULTPALETTE;
+					meta[2] = METADATA.PALETTES;
+
+					NcWmsLayerMetadata ncMetadata = NcWmsGetMetadata.getMetadata(uriWMSService, layerName, connectionTimeout, meta);
 
 					if(ncMetadata!=null && ncMetadata.getResponseCode()==200){
+						//STYLES
 						if(ncMetadata.getSupportedStyles().size()>0){
 							styles.add(ncMetadata.getSupportedStyles().get(0)+"/"+ncMetadata.getDefaultPalette()); //DEFAULT STYLE
 							logger.debug("added ncWms default style: "+ncMetadata.getSupportedStyles().get(0)+"/"+ncMetadata.getDefaultPalette());
@@ -190,6 +199,10 @@ public class GeoGetStylesUtility {
 								}
 							}
 						}
+						//Z-AXIS
+						if(ncMetadata.getZAxis()!=null){
+
+						}
 					}
 				}catch(Exception e){
 					logger.error(e);
@@ -203,6 +216,30 @@ public class GeoGetStylesUtility {
 		this.geoStyles = styles;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Load z axis values for a ncWMS layer
+	 *
+	 * @param connectionTimeout the connection timeout
+	 * @return the z axis
+	 */
+	public ZAxis loadZAxis(int connectionTimeout){
+
+	    String uriWMSService = validator.getBaseWmsServiceUrl();
+	    String layerName = validator.getValueOfParsedWMSParameter(WmsParameters.LAYERS);
+
+		METADATA[] meta = new METADATA[1];
+		meta[0] = METADATA.Z_AXIS;
+
+		try {
+			NcWmsLayerMetadata ncMetadata = NcWmsGetMetadata.getMetadata(uriWMSService, layerName, connectionTimeout, meta);
+			return ncMetadata.getZAxis();
+		}
+		catch (Exception e) {
+			logger.error("Exception during ncWMS get zAxis: "+e);
+			return null;
+		}
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Gets the geo styles.
 	 *
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/bean/NcWmsLayerMetadata.java b/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/bean/NcWmsLayerMetadata.java
index 07ede0d..377b49f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/bean/NcWmsLayerMetadata.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/bean/NcWmsLayerMetadata.java
@@ -23,10 +23,32 @@ public class NcWmsLayerMetadata implements Serializable {
 	private static final long serialVersionUID = 5111586382138532571L;
 
 	//GET PARAMETERS
-	public static final String SUPPORTEDSTYLES = "supportedStyles";
-	public static final String PALETTES = "palettes";
-	public static final String DEFAULTPALETTE = "defaultPalette";
-	public static final String Z_AXIS = "zaxis";
+//	public static final String SUPPORTEDSTYLES = "supportedStyles";
+//	public static final String PALETTES = "palettes";
+//	public static final String DEFAULTPALETTE = "defaultPalette";
+//	public static final String Z_AXIS = "zaxis";
+
+	public static enum METADATA {
+		SUPPORTEDSTYLES("supportedStyles"),
+		PALETTES("palettes"),
+		DEFAULTPALETTE("defaultPalette"),
+		Z_AXIS("zaxis");
+
+		private String key;
+
+		METADATA(String key){
+			this.key = key;
+		}
+
+		/**
+		 * @return the key
+		 */
+		public String getKey() {
+
+			return key;
+		}
+
+	};
 
 	private String defaultPalette;
 	private List<String> supportedStyles;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/wms/NcWmsGetMetadata.java b/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/wms/NcWmsGetMetadata.java
index 8072b81..3fad32f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/wms/NcWmsGetMetadata.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gcube/spatial/data/geoutility/wms/NcWmsGetMetadata.java
@@ -11,12 +11,14 @@ import java.net.SocketTimeoutException;
 import java.net.URL;
 import java.net.URLConnection;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.bean.NcWmsLayerMetadata;
+import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.bean.NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.bean.WmsParameters;
 import org.gcube.spatial.data.geoutility.util.UrlEncoderUtil;
 import org.json.JSONArray;
@@ -44,19 +46,21 @@ public class NcWmsGetMetadata {
 	 * @throws Exception the exception
 	 */
 	public static NcWmsLayerMetadata getMetadata(String wmsServerUri, String layerName) throws Exception {
-		return getMetadata(wmsServerUri, layerName, CONNECTION_TIMEOUT);
+		return getMetadata(wmsServerUri, layerName, CONNECTION_TIMEOUT, METADATA.values());
 	}
 
+
 	/**
 	 * Gets the metadata.
 	 *
 	 * @param wmsServerUri the wms server uri
 	 * @param layerName the layer name
-	 * @param connectionTimeout the connection timeout sets a specified timeout value, in milliseconds, to be used when opening URLConnection.
+	 * @param connectionTimeout the connection timeout
+	 * @param meta the meta
 	 * @return the metadata
 	 * @throws Exception the exception
 	 */
-	public static NcWmsLayerMetadata getMetadata(String wmsServerUri, String layerName, int connectionTimeout) throws Exception {
+	public static NcWmsLayerMetadata getMetadata(String wmsServerUri, String layerName, int connectionTimeout, NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA...meta) throws Exception {
 
 		if(wmsServerUri==null || wmsServerUri.isEmpty())
 			throw new Exception("Invalid wms server uri");
@@ -70,7 +74,7 @@ public class NcWmsGetMetadata {
 		try {
 
 			String query = UrlEncoderUtil.encodeQuery(parameters);
-			return  openConnectionGetMetadata(wmsServerUri, query, connectionTimeout);
+			return  openConnectionGetMetadata(wmsServerUri, query, connectionTimeout, meta);
 
 		}catch (Exception e) {
 			logger.error("Error Exception with url " + wmsServerUri);
@@ -86,9 +90,10 @@ public class NcWmsGetMetadata {
 	 * @param urlConn the url conn
 	 * @param query the query
 	 * @param connectionTimeout the connection timeout sets a specified timeout value, in milliseconds, to be used when opening URLConnection.
+	 * @param meta the meta
 	 * @return the nc wms layer metadata
 	 */
-	private static NcWmsLayerMetadata openConnectionGetMetadata(String urlConn, String query, int connectionTimeout) {
+	private static NcWmsLayerMetadata openConnectionGetMetadata(String urlConn, String query, int connectionTimeout, NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA...meta) {
 
 		URL url;
 		NcWmsLayerMetadata metadata = null;
@@ -113,7 +118,7 @@ public class NcWmsGetMetadata {
 				int code = httpConnection.getResponseCode();
 
 				if (code == 200) {
-					metadata = getMetadata(httpConnection);
+					metadata = getMetadata(httpConnection, meta);
 					metadata.setResponseCode(code);
 				}else{
 					logger.warn("openConnectionGetMetadata error, code = " + code +", returning");
@@ -147,10 +152,11 @@ public class NcWmsGetMetadata {
 	 * Gets the metadata.
 	 *
 	 * @param httpConnection the http connection
+	 * @param meta the meta
 	 * @return the metadata
 	 * @throws IOException Signals that an I/O exception has occurred.
 	 */
-	private static NcWmsLayerMetadata getMetadata(HttpURLConnection httpConnection) throws IOException{
+	private static NcWmsLayerMetadata getMetadata(HttpURLConnection httpConnection, METADATA[] meta) throws IOException{
 
 		InputStream source = null;
 		NcWmsLayerMetadata metadata = new NcWmsLayerMetadata();
@@ -160,44 +166,57 @@ public class NcWmsGetMetadata {
 			String jsonTxt = IOUtils.toString(source);
 			metadata.setRawJson(jsonTxt);
 
+			if(meta==null)
+				meta = METADATA.values();
+
+			List<METADATA> listMeta = Arrays.asList(meta);
+
 			JSONObject json = new JSONObject(jsonTxt);
 
-			JSONArray supportedStyles = json.getJSONArray(NcWmsLayerMetadata.SUPPORTEDSTYLES);
-			if(supportedStyles!=null){
-				List<String> s = new ArrayList<String>(supportedStyles.length());
-				for (int i=0; i<supportedStyles.length(); i++) {
-					s.add(supportedStyles.getString(i));
-				}
-				metadata.setSupportedStyles(s);
-			}
-
-			JSONArray palettes = json.getJSONArray(NcWmsLayerMetadata.PALETTES);
-			if(palettes!=null){
-				List<String> s = new ArrayList<String>(palettes.length());
-				for (int i=0; i<palettes.length(); i++) {
-					s.add(palettes.getString(i));
-				}
-				metadata.setPalettes(s);
-			}
-
-			metadata.setDefaultPalette(json.getString(NcWmsLayerMetadata.DEFAULTPALETTE));
-
-			JSONObject zaxis = json.getJSONObject(NcWmsLayerMetadata.Z_AXIS);
-			if(zaxis!=null){
-				System.out.println(zaxis);
-				ZAxis zAxis = new ZAxis();
-				zAxis.setUnits(zaxis.getString(ZAxis.UNITS));
-				zAxis.setPositive(zaxis.getBoolean(ZAxis.POSITIVE));
-				JSONArray values = zaxis.getJSONArray(ZAxis.VALUES);
-				System.out.println(values);
-				if(values!=null){
-					List<Integer> s = new ArrayList<Integer>(values.length());
-					for (int i=0; i<values.length(); i++) {
-						s.add(values.getInt(i));
+			if(listMeta.contains(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.SUPPORTEDSTYLES)){
+				JSONArray supportedStyles = json.getJSONArray(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.SUPPORTEDSTYLES.getKey());
+				if(supportedStyles!=null){
+					List<String> s = new ArrayList<String>(supportedStyles.length());
+					for (int i=0; i<supportedStyles.length(); i++) {
+						s.add(supportedStyles.getString(i));
 					}
-					zAxis.setValues(s);
+					metadata.setSupportedStyles(s);
+				}
+			}
+
+			if(listMeta.contains(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.PALETTES)){
+				JSONArray palettes = json.getJSONArray(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.PALETTES.getKey());
+				if(palettes!=null){
+					List<String> s = new ArrayList<String>(palettes.length());
+					for (int i=0; i<palettes.length(); i++) {
+						s.add(palettes.getString(i));
+					}
+					metadata.setPalettes(s);
+				}
+			}
+
+			if(listMeta.contains(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.DEFAULTPALETTE)){
+				metadata.setDefaultPalette(json.getString(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.DEFAULTPALETTE.getKey()));
+			}
+
+			if(listMeta.contains(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.Z_AXIS)){
+				JSONObject zaxis = json.getJSONObject(NcWmsLayerMetadata.METADATA.Z_AXIS.getKey());
+				if(zaxis!=null){
+					System.out.println(zaxis);
+					ZAxis zAxis = new ZAxis();
+					zAxis.setUnits(zaxis.getString(ZAxis.UNITS));
+					zAxis.setPositive(zaxis.getBoolean(ZAxis.POSITIVE));
+					JSONArray values = zaxis.getJSONArray(ZAxis.VALUES);
+					System.out.println(values);
+					if(values!=null){
+						List<Integer> s = new ArrayList<Integer>(values.length());
+						for (int i=0; i<values.length(); i++) {
+							s.add(values.getInt(i));
+						}
+						zAxis.setValues(s);
+					}
+					metadata.setZAxis(zAxis);
 				}
-				metadata.setZAxis(zAxis);
 			}
 
 			logger.trace("returning: "+metadata.toString());