19991220: 19991216: model elevation question

Matt,

Can you tell me what platform you are building on, and
try going down into the gdtopo directory- run "make clean" then
"make all >& make.out".

and send me the output from make.out so I can see if there is anything
that might be different than the platforms I tested on.

Steve Chiswell
Unidata User Support

>From: "Matthew G. Fearon" <address@hidden>
>Organization: Desert Research Institute
>Keywords: 199912202201.PAA14314

>Steve,
>
>The file you create for me "us.west" works well with gdctnr
>and gdlist. I believe the tercnvrt program is working correctly,
>however something with gdtopo may not be. It seems like
>one of the fortran programs that makes up gdtopo is not working
>correctly - I am not sure which. You mentioned you may be
>able to create additional files like "us.west" for a different
>region. As of right now, I am just cosidering the West, but I know
>my advisor and his mind changes like a clock ticking time. So
>I was wondering if it would an unreasonable request to ask
>about making addtiional files that would encompass the total
>area of the 40km eta model ? Then I could create a program
>that could match the lat/lons from the topo elevations to the
>closest lat/lon given by the eta using gdlist and the gfunc of
>mul(latr,RTD), mul(lonr,RTD). I figured it would be 15 files if
>considering a 20 x 20 grid as you did with the "us.west" file.
>I figured I would ask if this is something you could do before
>sending what the gareas would be.
>
>Let me know when it is convenient. Thank you again,
>
>Matt Fearon
>address@hidden
>
>
>Unidata Support wrote:
>
>> Matt,
>>
>> I guess first thing is to make sure that you can use the us.west grid
>> file that I provided in the tar file. If needed, I can make a file
>> for another area you need.
>>
>> If the tercnvrt program is the culprite in creating your direct access
>> file, then I should check what operating system you are running on,
>> and your compiler version. I can see if I can duplicate your trouble here.
>>
>> Steve Chiswell
>> Unidata User Support
>>
>> >From: "Matthew G. Fearon" <address@hidden>
>> >Organization: Desert Research Institute
>> >Keywords: 199912172159.OAA25747
>>
>> >Steve,
>> >
>> >I tried running the program interactively and I received the following
>> >error message. I am thinking something is wrong with the terrain.gsf
>> >file or the tercnvrt.f program. I will continue to tinker with things,
>> >but I thought I would send you these errors since they are
>> >different.
>> >
>> >Thank you again,
> >Matt
>> >
>> >
>> >fire:/opt/nawips-5.4/terrain 74 > gdtopo
>> > GDFILE    Grid file                         $GEMDATA/HRCBOB.GRD
>> > GAREA     Grid area                         WV
>> > GDATTIM   Grid date/time                    LAST
>> > TOPOFL    Topography file name
>> > Parameters requested: GDFILE,GAREA,GDATTIM,TOPOFL.
>> > GEMPAK-GDTOPO>gdfile=us.west
>> > GEMPAK-GDTOPO>garea=25;-125;45;-105
>> > GEMPAK-GDTOPO>gdattim=990101/1200
>> > GEMPAK-GDTOPO>topofl=terrain.gsf
>> > GEMPAK-GDTOPO>r
>> > look read           80
>> > terrain.gsf
>> > look access           11           0
>> > here        41095
>> > look REC      534236   1.000000
>> >fmt: read unexpected character
>> >apparent state: unit 11 named terrain.gsf
>> >last format: (2i5)
>> >Unit 11 is a direct formatted external file
>> >*** Execution Terminated (115) ***
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Unidata Support wrote:
>> >
>> >> Matt,
>> >>
>> >> the error message implies that the terrain.gsf data file
>> >> is not being found. Since you know that the file does exist,
>> >> you might need to verify that:
>> >> 1) Your file permissions allow you to access the file from the
>> >>    path.
>> >> 2) The line in your script where you define
>> >>    TOPOFL    = /data1/nawips-5.4/terrain/terrain.gsf
>> >>
>> >>    check for any typos in the path or hidden cntrl characters
>> >>    (sometimes text editors can stick in a ^H or something if you backspac
> e
>> >>    and fudge a character).
>> >>
>> >> 3) try running the program interactively instead of from your redirection
>> >>    to eliminate the above possibility.
>> >>
>> >> Steve Chiswell
>> >> Unidata User Support
>> >>
>> >> >From: "Matthew G. Fearon" <address@hidden>
>> >> >Organization: Desert Research Institute
>> >> >Keywords: 199912172026.NAA22512
>> >>
>> >> >Steve,
>> >> >
>> >> >Thank you for this information. It will be very helpful to me.
>> >> >I followed all the procedures after retrieving the terrain.tar.Z
>> >> >file. I made a direct access binary file from the ascii as well. I
>> >> >received the normal completion message after running
>> >> >tercnvrt. When I run gdtopo however, I receive the following
>> >> >error
>> >> >
>> >> >$GEMEXE/gdtopo << EOF
>> >> > GDFILE    Grid file                         $GEMDATA/HRCBOB.GRD
>> >> > GAREA     Grid area                         WV
>> >> > GDATTIM   Grid date/time                    LAST
>> >> > TOPOFL    Topography file name
>> >> > Parameters requested: GDFILE,GAREA,GDATTIM,TOPOFL.
>> >> > GEMPAK-GDTOPO> GEMPAK-GDTOPO> GEMPAK-GDTOPO> GEMPAK-GDTOPO> GEMPAK-GDTO
> PO>
>> >  [G
>> >> > DT
>> >> >OPO -12]  Topography file does not exist.
>> >> > Parameters requested: GDFILE,GAREA,GDATTIM,TOPOFL.
>> >> > GEMPAK-GDTOPO> GEMPAK-GDTOPO>
>> >> >
>> >> >rm *.nts
>> >> >
>> >> >Here is my gdtopo program:
>> >> >
>> >> >$GEMEXE/gdtopo <<EOF
>> >> >GDFILE    = us.west
>> >> >GAREA     = 25;-125;45;-105
>> >> >GDATTIM = 990101/1200
>> >> >TOPOFL    = /data1/nawips-5.4/terrain/terrain.gsf
>> >> >r
>> >> >
>> >> >exit
>> >> >
>> >> >EOF
>> >> >
>> >> >#$GEMEXE/gpend
>> >> >rm *.nts
>> >> >
>> >> >The terrain.gsf file does exist. Do you know what may be
>> >> >the problem ? Please reply at your convienence. Thank you
>> >> >again for all your help.
>> >> >
>> >> >Matt Fearon
>> >> >address@hidden
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >Unidata Support wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >> Matt,
>> >> >>
>> >> >> All models use some smoothed form of surface data since using
>> >> >> terrain data at a higher resolution than the grid and/or large
>> >> >> discontinuities inadjacent grid point values will cause the model
>> >> >> to blow up with anomalous gravity waves and non-hydrostatic
>> >> >> forcing.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> The ETA model employs a step terrain. There are some points about
>> >> >> the difference in actiual station elevation and the model elevation in
>> >> >> the 32km ETA whitepaper at:
>> >> >> http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/447body.htm
>> >> >>
>> >> >> You can also look at the FSL RUC 40km topography at:
>> >> >> http://maps.fsl.noaa.gov/40kmtopocol.gif
>> >> >> They also have ascii 40km and 60km topography datasets for download at
> :
>> >> >> http://maps.fsl.noaa.gov/MAPS.domain.cgi
>> >> >>
>> >> >> We do have a 5 minute (approx 10km) gridded topography dataset for
>> >> >> Gempak which you can use as a gridded data set (eg gdlist, gdpoint etc
> ).
>> >> >>
>> >> >> To use the gempak terrain dataset, download from the gbuddy ftp accoun
> t
>> >> >> nawips-5.4/contrib/terrain.tar.Z
>> >> >>
>> >> >> and unpack on your system with:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> zcat terrain.tar.Z | tar xvf -
>> >> >>
>> >> >> This will create a directory called terrain which containe
>> >> >> the ascii terrain data set (63 Mb) and a program directory called
>> >> >> gdtopo which can be used to convert the data into a gempak
>> >> >> grid file.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> First you need to convert the ascii terrain file into a direct access
>> >> >> file (like a gempak map datafile). To do this, you need to build the
>> >> >> tercnvrt program from the fortran code with:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> f77 -o tercnvrt tercnvrt.f
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Then run tercnvrt to create the direct access file, eg:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> prompt% tercnvrt
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Please enter name of original terrain dataset: terrain.ascii
>> >> >>                                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> >> >>  Now enter name of file which will
>> >> >>  contain sector of terrain data: terrain.gsf
>> >> >>                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Now build and install gdtopo by cd'ing into the gdtopo directory
>> >> >> and building with:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> make all
>> >> >> make install
>> >> >> make clean
>> >> >>
>> >> >> (This will install the gdtopo program into the $GEMEXE directory and
>> >> >> install the ancillary pdf files as well).
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Now you can create a grid file for some area. Since the maximum number
>  of
>> >> >> grid points by default in a gempak grid file is ~97,000 points, this
>> >> >> is approximately 311x311 grid points (for the 5 minute data set this i
> s
>> >> >> roughly 25 degrees x 25 degrees). In otherwords, even though the datab
> ase
>> >> >> covers the entire globe, you can only view a 25 degree square at a tim
> e
>> >> >> as a gempak grid file. As an example, I created a file called us.west
>> >> >> in the terrain subdirectory that is a 20x20 degree file (garea =
>> >> >> 25;-125;45;-105) as an example which you can use.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> To create your own grid file area, run gdtopo:
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  GDFILE   = us.west
>> >> >>  GAREA    = 25;-125;45;-105
>> >> >>  GDATTIM  = 990101/1200
>> >> >>  TOPOFL   = terrain.gsf
>> >> >>  GEMPAK-GDTOPO>r
>> >> >>
>> >> >> The gdattim is only used to create a grid time in the output file but
>> >> >> really doesn't do anything else.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> An example of running gdcntr with the us.west grid file that is produc
> ed:
>> >> >>  GDATTIM  = 990101/1200
>> >> >>  GLEVEL   = 0
>> >> >>  GVCORD   = pres
>> >> >>  GFUNC    = topo
>> >> >>  GDFILE   = us.west
>> >> >>  CINT     = 200
>> >> >>  LINE     = 5/1/1/0
>> >> >>  MAP      = 6
>> >> >>  TITLE    = 1
>> >> >>  DEVICE   = ps
>> >> >>  SATFIL   =
>> >> >>  RADFIL   =
>> >> >>  PROJ     = ced
>> >> >>  GAREA    = grid
>> >> >>  CLEAR    = y
>> >> >>  PANEL    = 0
>> >> >>  TEXT     = .5
>> >> >>  SCALE    = 0
>> >> >>  LATLON   = 7/10/1//1;1
>> >> >>  HILO     =
>> >> >>  HLSYM    =
>> >> >>  CLRBAR   =
>> >> >>  CONTUR   = 0
>> >> >>  SKIP     = 0
>> >> >>  FINT     = 200
>> >> >>  FLINE    = 30-7
>> >> >>  CTYPE    = c
>> >> >>  LUTFIL   =
>> >> >>  STNPLT   =
>> >> >>  GEMPAK-GDCNTR>r
>> >> >> Creating process: ps for queue 251454
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  Grid file: us.west
>> >> >>  GRID IDENTIFIER:
>> >> >>     TIME1             TIME2         LEVL1 LEVL2   VCORD PARM
>> >> >> 990101/1200                             0          PRES TOPO
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  GAREA:     grid
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM VALUES -4765.00  3790.00
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  LINE CONTOURS:
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  LEVELS:     -4600.00 -4400.00 -4200.00 -4000.00 -3800.00 -3600.00 -34
> 00.
>> > 00
>> >> >>  COLORS:            5        5        5        5        5        5
>> >  5
>> >> >>  LINTYP:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LINWID:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LABEL:             0        0        0        0        0        0
>> >  0
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  LEVELS:     -3200.00 -3000.00 -2800.00 -2600.00 -2400.00 -2200.00 -20
> 00.
>> > 00
>> >> >>  COLORS:            5        5        5        5        5        5
>> >  5
>> >> >>  LINTYP:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LINWID:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LABEL:             0        0        0        0        0        0
>> >  0
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  LEVELS:     -1800.00 -1600.00 -1400.00 -1200.00 -1000.00  -800.00  -6
> 00.
>> > 00
>> >> >>  COLORS:            5        5        5        5        5        5
>> >  5
>> >> >>  LINTYP:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LINWID:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LABEL:             0        0        0        0        0        0
>> >  0
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  LEVELS:      -400.00  -200.00     0.00   200.00   400.00   600.00   8
> 00.
>> > 00
>> >> >>  COLORS:            5        5        5        5        5        5
>> >  5
>> >> >>  LINTYP:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LINWID:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LABEL:             0        0        0        0        0        0
>> >  0
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  LEVELS:      1000.00  1200.00  1400.00  1600.00  1800.00  2000.00  22
> 00.
>> > 00
>> >> >>  COLORS:            5        5        5        5        5        5
>> >  5
>> >> >>  LINTYP:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LINWID:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LABEL:             0        0        0        0        0        0
>> >  0
>> >> >>
>> >> >>  LEVELS:      2400.00  2600.00  2800.00  3000.00  3200.00  3400.00  36
> 00.
>> > 00
>> >> >>  COLORS:            5        5        5        5        5        5
>> >  5
>> >> >>  LINTYP:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LINWID:            1        1        1        1        1        1
>> >  1
>> >> >>  LABEL:             0        0        0        0        0        0
>> >  0
>> >> >> Enter <cr> to accept parameters or type EXIT:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> I hope this helps you with your work.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Steve Chiswell
>> >> >> Unidata User Support
>> >> >>
>> >> >> >From: "Matthew G. Fearon" <address@hidden>
>> >> >> >Organization: Desert Research Institute
>> >> >> >Keywords: 199912170024.RAA17299
>> >> >>
>> >> >> >Steve,
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >I attached my question below. I just figure I would mention briefly
>> >> >> >what I am trying to accomplish first.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >I have created a text file of 40km eta model hght@0%none field or
>> >> >> >what is consider the ground surface in the eta model. I have done
>> >> >> >this for each grid point for the entire eta grid and each hght has a
>> >> >> >corresponding latitude and longitude. I then compared the true
>> >> >> >ground surface of certain sounding stations to the heights
>> >> >> >from the eta model by locating the closet lat/lon relationship. From
>> >> >> >this comparison, I am noticing that the eta heights are always quite
>> >> >> >higher than the true ground surface of the sounding sites, except for
>> >> >> >FSX which is lower. I attached a list below, the heights are in meter
> s:
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >stn       sounding      eta
>> >> >> >RNO    1341.5      1776.8
>> >> >> >UIL      54.880      229.29
>> >> >> >OAK    3.0500      109.45
>> >> >> >FSX     2134.1      1740.0
>> >> >> >EKO    1551.8       1872.2
>> >> >> >BOI      871.95      1371.6
>> >> >> >DEN    1612.8       2238.7
>> >> >> >TUS     786.59      1084.6
>> >> >> >GGW   695.12      832.76
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >Do you know if there is a prewritten grid file containing the true
>> >> >> >ground
>> >> >> >surface elevation (hgt above mean sea level) that I could match to th
> e
>> >> >> >lat/lons that are available from the 40km eta ?
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>> >> >> >Thank you in advance,
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >Matt Fearon
>> >> >> >address@hidden
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >>
>> >> >> **********************************************************************
> ***
>> > ***
>> >> >> Unidata User Support                                    UCAR Unidata P
> rog
>> > ram
>> >> >> (303)497-8644                                                  P.O. Bo
> x 3
>> > 000
>> >> >> address@hidden                                   Boulder, CO
>  80
>> > 307
>> >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>> > ---
>> >> >> Unidata WWW Service                        http://www.unidata.ucar.edu
> /
>> >> >> **********************************************************************
> ***
>> > ***
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> *************************************************************************
> ***
>> >> Unidata User Support                                    UCAR Unidata Prog
> ram
>> >> (303)497-8644                                                  P.O. Box 3
> 000
>> >> address@hidden                                   Boulder, CO 80
> 307
>> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>> >> Unidata WWW Service                        http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/
>> >> *************************************************************************
> ***
>> >
>>
>> ****************************************************************************
>> Unidata User Support                                    UCAR Unidata Program
>> (303)497-8644                                                  P.O. Box 3000
>> address@hidden                                   Boulder, CO 80307
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Unidata WWW Service                        http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/     
>> ****************************************************************************
>