WRFand WRF-CHEM
Contents
Weather Research and Forecasting Model
WRF and WRF-CHEM have been installed on Abel. To check which version is available:
module avail wrf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /cluster/etc/modulefiles --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- wrf/3.6.1
To set-up your environment:
module load wrf/3.6.1
When loading wrf, the following environment variables are defined:
- WRF_HOME: directory where WRF has been installed; this can be used to check WRF sources
- WPS_HOME: directory where WPS has been installed. It is unlikely you have to check or change WPS source code but you will find in this directory all the metadata required to run WPS (the GEOGRID.TBL, METGRID.TBL, and Vtable files).
- WPS_GEOG_PATH: contains theterrestrial static input data. Even if you use your own compiled version of WRF/WPS, it is NOT necessary to download these files again.
- WRFIO_NCD_LARGE_FILE_SUPPORT: it is set to 1 to allow you to store large netCDF files (more than 2GB).
- WRF_EXAMPLES: directory where all WRF and WRF-CHEM examples are stored. If you wish to run one of this example see our dedicated section on running tutorials.
WRF has been compiled with intel compilers and MPI:
module list Currently Loaded Modulefiles: 1) use.own 3) openmpi.intel/1.6.1 5) netcdf.intel/4.2.1.1 7) jasper/1.900.1 9) openmpi.intel/1.8 11) wrf/3.6.1 2) intel/2011.10 4) hdf5/1.8.9_intel 6) intel-libs/2013.sp1.3 8) intel/2013.sp1.3 10) ncl/6.2.0
We suggest you specify the version you wish to use to avoid any problems if we install a new default version (as it is important to stick to the very same version for your simulations).
Running WRF:
The following steps are necessary to run WRF on our systems:
- WRF Preprocessing System (WPS)
- WRF System
WRF Preprocessing System (WPS)
Most parameters for WPS must be given in namelist.wps
- define_grid.py uses namelist.wps to plot your defined grid
- run_geogrid.py runs geogrid.exe to create static data for your domain
- run_ungrib.py runs ungrib.exe to unpack your input GRIB data
- run_metgrid.py runs metgrid.exe to interpolate input data onto your model domain
WRF
Most parameters for WRF must be given in namelist.input
- run_init_wrf.py runs real.exe to initialize WRF and creates two files such as wrfinput_d<domain> and wrfbdy_d<domain> where <domain> is the domain number (01, 02, etc.)
- run_wrf.py runs the numerical integration program wrf.exe
TIPS: to get the usage of these python scripts, use -h or --help. For instance:
run_ungrib.py -h Usage: run_ungrib.py --expid expid --vtable vtable --datadir datadir [--start_date startdate --end_date enddate] [--interval_seconds val] [--prefix FILE] Options: -h, --help show this help message and exit -s startdate, --start_date=startdate A list of MAX_DOM character strings of the form 'YYYY-MM-DD_HH:mm:ss' specifying the starting UTC date of the simulation for each domain. -e enddate, --end_date=enddate A list of MAX_DOM character strings of the form 'YYYY- MM-DD_HH:mm:ss' specifying the ending UTC date of the simulation for each domain -t interval_seconds, --interval_seconds=interval_seconds The integer number of seconds between time-varying meteorological input files. No default value. -p FILE, --prefix=FILE prefix of the intermediate meteorological data files -v Vtable, --vtable=Vtable vtable filename -i expid, --expid=expid Experiment identifier -d datadir, --datadir=datadir Directory where input fields can be found
For each of these python scripts, some arguments are optionals and indicated in squared brackets such as start_date and end_date. If you don't specify them on the command line, it will keep what has been defined in your namelist. This is usually how you will run your "real" cases.
WRF examples:
All WRF examples can be found in $WRF_EXAMPLES
A subdirectory can be found for each example and it contains all you need to run the corresponding examples (namelist.wps, namelist.input, Vtable, workflow.bash, and all the DATA required to run the simulation). You may found one or more files named workflow*.bash. These files are describing the sequence of programs to run for each example and can be divided in two groups:
January2000Case
This case is the East Coast Winter Storm of January 24-25, 2000 (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/misc/000125.html)
To run it, you need to execute each of the statement in workflow.bash:
> cat workflow.bash #!/bin/bash # check your domain is OK define_grid.py --path /cluster/software/VERSIONS/wrf/examples/January2000Case # Run geogrid.exe to create static data for this domain: run_geogrid.py -p /cluster/software/VERSIONS/wrf/examples/January2000Case --expid January2000Case # Unpack input GRIB data (ungrib.exe) run_ungrib.py --expid January2000Case \ --start_date 2000-01-24_12:00:00 \ --end_date 2000-01-25_12:00:00 \ --interval_seconds 21600 \ --prefix FILE \ --vtable /cluster/software/VERSIONS/wrf/examples/January2000Case/Vtable \ --datadir /cluster/software/VERSIONS/wrf/examples/January2000Case/DATA/ #Interpolate the input data onto our model domain (metgrid.exe) run_metgrid.py --expid January2000Case # Initialize WRF model (real.exe/ideal.exe) run_init_wrf.py --expid January2000Case \ --namelist /cluster/software/VERSIONS/wrf/examples/January2000Case/namelist.input # Run the model (wrf.exe) run_wrf.py --expid January2000Case \ --namelist /cluster/software/VERSIONS/wrf/examples/January2000Case/namelist.input
You don't have to change paths or namelists. it has been set-up to execute WPS/WRF in your workdir ($WORKDIR) and a subdirectory named January2000Case (named from your experiment identifier given with --expid option).
To visualize your outputs (named wrfout*), you may use ncview:
module load ncview ncview wrfout_d01_2000-01-24_12:00:00
and select the variables you wish to plot. For instance, to visualize SST:
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TIPS: ncview is not recommended for quality graphical displays, but is a very handy tool for a quick first-look at the data.
HurricaneKatrina
As for previous examples, you just need to run workflow.bash and check the directory $WORKDIR/HurricaneKatrina
On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was in the Gulf of Mexico, where it strengthened to a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, packing winds estimated at 175 mph. (http://www.katrina.noaa.gov/).
Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005 (image taken from http://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/OnLineTutorial/CASES/SingleDomain/) |
HurricaneKatrinaSST
NestedModelRuns
RestartRun
April2005Case
BiogenicEmissions
DustErosion2010
GOCARTaerosols