[Met_help] [rt.rap.ucar.edu #49506] History for input netcdf grid file support

[RAL HelpDesk {for John Halley Gotway}]

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  Initial Request
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Dear Met Help,

I see in the User's Guide that GRIB1 is the only data format supported for the input model forecast.
I noticed that the plan is to be able to support netcdf and grib2 formats as well.

I have some MM5 model input data in netcdf format and would like to use MET to validate these files.
I don't have any way to post-process the data to come up with the standard GRIB1 format.
Has the MET team made any progress, and how soon do you expect to be able to support the netcdf format?

Many thanks,
Jon

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Jonathan Case, ENSCO Inc.
NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (aka SPoRT Center)
320 Sparkman Drive, Room 3062
Huntsville, AL 35805
Voice: 256.961.7504
Fax: 256.961.7788
Emails: Jonathan.Case-1 at nasa.gov / case.jonathan at ensco.com
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"Whether the weather is cold, or whether the weather is hot, we'll weather
  the weather whether we like it or not!"



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  Complete Ticket History
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Subject: Re: [rt.rap.ucar.edu #49506] input netcdf grid file support
From: John Halley Gotway
Time: Mon Sep 12 13:03:22 2011

Jon,

I wrote some folks here asking if there's any way to get MM5 into
GRIB1 format.  Here's the most helpful response:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

John -

MM5 wrote/writes binary files - so this user must have converted
them to NetCDF!   If he created them to be "WRF-like" - WPP or UPP
might work - but that would be a long shot - given the
different grids and such that MM5 used...

A quick search indicates something called "Climate Data Operators"
might
do this...  NCL goes the other way (Grib to NetCDF)

Laurie

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To answer your question about MET though, adding direct support for
the output of MM5 isn't on our radar.  Our goal with more generalized
support for NetCDF would be to support NetCDF files that are
in the CF-convention.  However, I assume that MM5 is using a staggered
grid - I really don't know.  MET is only set up to verify data on
regularly spaced grids and on pressure levels in the vertical.
 I assume those would still be issues.

It would probably be possible to take the NetCDF files you currently
have, add some global (grid definition parameters) and variable
(timing information) attributes, and make it look roughly like the
NetCDF output of the PCP-Combine tool.  Again though, it'd need to be
on a regularly-spaced grid.

As for when we'll have full support for CF-compliant NetCDF, it won't
be in the next release.  However, we are currently restructuring how
we store data internally with the goal of making adding
support for additional gridded data formats easier.

Sorry I don't have the silver bullet for you.  Let me know if more
questions arise.

Thanks,
John Halley Gotway


On 09/12/2011 11:44 AM, RAL HelpDesk {for Case, Jonathan[ENSCO INC]}
wrote:
>
> Mon Sep 12 11:44:11 2011: Request 49506 was acted upon.
> Transaction: Ticket created by jonathan.case-1 at nasa.gov
>        Queue: met_help
>      Subject: input netcdf grid file support
>        Owner: Nobody
>   Requestors: jonathan.case-1 at nasa.gov
>       Status: new
>  Ticket <URL:
https://rt.rap.ucar.edu/rt/Ticket/Display.html?id=49506 >
>
>
> Dear Met Help,
>
> I see in the User's Guide that GRIB1 is the only data format
supported for the input model forecast.
> I noticed that the plan is to be able to support netcdf and grib2
formats as well.
>
> I have some MM5 model input data in netcdf format and would like to
use MET to validate these files.
> I don't have any way to post-process the data to come up with the
standard GRIB1 format.
> Has the MET team made any progress, and how soon do you expect to be
able to support the netcdf format?
>
> Many thanks,
> Jon
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Jonathan Case, ENSCO Inc.
> NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (aka SPoRT
Center)
> 320 Sparkman Drive, Room 3062
> Huntsville, AL 35805
> Voice: 256.961.7504
> Fax: 256.961.7788
> Emails: Jonathan.Case-1 at nasa.gov / case.jonathan at ensco.com
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "Whether the weather is cold, or whether the weather is hot, we'll
weather
>   the weather whether we like it or not!"
>

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