diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 42ab3cd..2cb8f2d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -1,7 +1,18 @@
 v1.2.2
 ======
+Added
+-----
+* `psyplot.data.open_dataset` now decodes grid_mappings attributes,
+see `#17 <https://github.com/psyplot/psyplot/pull/17>`__
+
+Changed
+-------
 * psyplot has been moved from https://github.com/Chilipp/psyplot to https://github.com/psyplot/psyplot,
   see `#16 <https://github.com/psyplot/psyplot/pull/16>`__
+* Specifying names in `x`, `y`, `t` and `z` attributes of the `CFDecoder` class
+  now means that any other attribute (such as the `coordinates` or `axis` attribute)
+  are ignored
+
 
 v1.2.1
 ======
diff --git a/psyplot/data.py b/psyplot/data.py
index ee2d881..3e4f2c4 100755
--- a/psyplot/data.py
+++ b/psyplot/data.py
@@ -646,6 +646,8 @@ def add_attrs(obj):
             if 'coordinates' in obj.attrs:
                 extra_coords.update(obj.attrs['coordinates'].split())
                 obj.encoding['coordinates'] = obj.attrs.pop('coordinates')
+            if 'grid_mapping' in obj.attrs:
+                extra_coords.add(obj.attrs['grid_mapping'])
             if 'bounds' in obj.attrs:
                 extra_coords.add(obj.attrs['bounds'])
         if gridfile is not None and not isinstance(gridfile, xr.Dataset):
@@ -915,16 +917,26 @@ def get_variable_by_axis(self, var, axis, coords=None):
         if not coord_names:
             return
         ret = []
+        matched = []
         for coord in map(lambda dim: coords[dim], filter(
                 lambda dim: dim in coords, chain(
                     coord_names, var.dims))):
             # check for the axis attribute or whether the coordinate is in the
             # list of possible coordinate names
-            if (coord.name not in (c.name for c in ret) and
-                    (coord.attrs.get('axis', '').lower() == axis or
-                     coord.name in getattr(self, axis))):
-                ret.append(coord)
-        if ret:
+            if coord.name not in (c.name for c in ret):
+                if coord.name in getattr(self, axis):
+                    matched.append(coord)
+                elif coord.attrs.get('axis', '').lower() == axis:
+                    ret.append(coord)
+        if matched:
+            if len(matched) > 1:
+                warn("Found multiple matches for %s coordinate in the "
+                     "coordinates: %s. I use %s" % (
+                         axis, ', '.join([c.name for c in matched]),
+                         matched[0].name),
+                     PsyPlotRuntimeWarning)
+            return matched[0]
+        elif ret:
             return None if len(ret) > 1 else ret[0]
         # If the coordinates attribute is specified but the coordinate
         # variables themselves have no 'axis' attribute, we interpret the
diff --git a/tests/test_data.py b/tests/test_data.py
index 0e451fa..9caeebe 100755
--- a/tests/test_data.py
+++ b/tests/test_data.py
@@ -81,6 +81,15 @@ def assertAlmostArrayEqual(self, actual, desired, rtol=1e-07, atol=0,
 class DecoderTest(unittest.TestCase, AlmostArrayEqualMixin):
     """Test the :class:`psyplot.data.CFDecoder` class"""
 
+    def test_decode_grid_mapping(self):
+        ds = xr.Dataset()
+        ds['var'] = (('x', 'y'), np.zeros((5, 4)), {'grid_mapping': 'crs'})
+        ds['crs'] = ((), 1)
+
+        self.assertNotIn('crs', ds.coords)
+        ds = psyd.CFDecoder.decode_coords(ds)
+        self.assertIn('crs', ds.coords)
+
     def test_1D_cf_bounds(self):
         """Test whether the CF Conventions for 1D bounaries are correct"""
         final_bounds = np.arange(-180, 181, 30)