METplus Practical Session Guide (Version 5.0) | Session 7: Feature Relative Use Cases > METplus Use Case: Feature Relative (Series-Analysis by Initialization Time)

METplus Use Case: Feature Relative (Series-Analysis by init)

Setup

In this exercise, you will perform a series analysis based on the init time of your sample data. This use case focuses on using the latitude and longitude pairs for a "feature", such as a tropical cyclone or extra-tropical cyclone, to identify a user-specified tile around the feature.  The tiles are then used to compute statistics using Series_Analysis.  Therefore, this use-case utilizes the MET Tc-Pairs, Tc-Stat, and Series-Analysis tools, and the METplus wrappers: TcPairs, ExtractTiles, TcStat, and SeriesAnalysis. Please refer to the MET Users Guide for a description of the MET tools and the METplus Users Guide for more details about the wrappers.

Review Use Case Configuration File: feature_relative.conf

View the file and study the configuration variables that are defined.

less ${METPLUS_BUILD_BASE}/parm/use_cases/model_applications/medium_range/TCStat_SeriesAnalysis_fcstGFS_obsGFS_FeatureRelative_SeriesByInit.conf

Note the configuration settings for this complex use-case. The PROCESS_LIST contains 5 items, 2 of which are the same wrapper, TCStat. Since METplus version 4.0.0 was released, users have had the ability to run multiple instances of a given tool using an instance name. The METplus User's Guide describes in detail how to use Instance Names in the Process List to configure two or more instances of the same tool with different settings.

For this example, the [for_series_analysis] instance of TCStat, which runs after the initial TCStat instance and an ExtractTiles instance, will inherit all of the settings from the initial TCStat instance. Then, it will override those settings with any of the settings found in the [for_series_analysis] section. Looking at the configuration file, we see the following:

TC_STAT_JOB_ARGS = -job filter -init_beg {INIT_BEG} -init_end {INIT_END} -dump_row {TC_STAT_OUTPUT_DIR}/{TC_STAT_DUMP_ROW_TEMPLATE}
TC_STAT_OUTPUT_DIR = {SERIES_ANALYSIS_OUTPUT_DIR}
TC_STAT_LOOKIN_DIR = {EXTRACT_TILES_OUTPUT_DIR}

This indicates that the TC_STAT_JOB_ARGS, TC_STAT_OUTPUT_DIR, and TC_STAT_LOOKIN_DIR will be overridden with the provided values.

Instance names are a powerful option for METplus users who need to run tools multiple times with different settings for some or all of the variables between each run. Combined with options such as CUSTOM_LOOP_LIST, intricate verification tasks can be completed in a single configuration file.

The SERIES_ANALYSIS_STAT_LIST is set to four statistics, but can be set to many more.  The size of the tiles are configurable using the EXTRACT_TILES settings.  Also, note that variables in feature_relative.conf reference other variables you defined in other configuration files. For example: 

TC_STAT_INPUT_DIR = {OUTPUT_BASE}/tc_pairs

This references OUTPUT_BASE which you set in the METplus defaults configuration file (${METPLUS_BUILD_BASE}/parm/metplus_config/defaults.conf). METplus config variables can reference other config variables, even if they are defined in a config file that is read afterwards.

Run METplus

Change to the METplus Tutorial Directory:

cd ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}

Run the following command. Use config.OUTPUT_BASE to change the output directory from the command line:

run_metplus.py \
${METPLUS_BUILD_BASE}/parm/use_cases/model_applications/medium_range/TCStat_SeriesAnalysis_fcstGFS_obsGFS_FeatureRelative_SeriesByInit.conf \
${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/tutorial.conf \
config.OUTPUT_BASE=${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init

You will see output streaming to your screen. This may take up to 4 minutes to complete. METplus is finished running when control returns to your terminal console and you see the following text:

INFO: METplus has successfully finished running.

Review the Output Files

You should have output files in the following directories from the intermediate wrappers TcPairs, ExtractTiles, and TcStat, respectively:

ls ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init
tc_pairs
extract_tiles
track_data_atcf

and the output of interest, from the SeriesAnalysis wrapper:

series_analysis_init

which has a directory corresponding to the date(s) of data in the data window.  This area also includes the logs and a tmp directory:

ls ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/series_analysis_init
20141214_00

and under that directory are subdirectories named by the storm. They begin with ML. Below are a few examples:

ls ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/series_analysis_init/20141214_00
ML1201032014
ML1201042014, etc.

and under each of those directories lies the files of interest:

ls ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/series_analysis_init/20141214_00/ML1201042014
series_analysis_files_fcst_ML1201042014_init_20141214000000_valid_ALL_lead_ALL.txt
series_analysis_files_obs_ML1201042014_init_20141214000000_valid_ALL_lead_ALL.txt
series_TMP_Z2_FBAR.png
series_TMP_Z2_FBAR.ps
series_TMP_Z2_ME.png
series_TMP_Z2_ME.ps
series_TMP_Z2.nc
series_TMP_Z2_OBAR.png
series_TMP_Z2_OBAR.ps
series_TMP_Z2_TOTAL.png
series_TMP_Z2_TOTAL.ps

The series_analysis_files_obs_ML########## (where ########## is the storm) is a text file that contains a list of the observation data included in the series analysis.

The series_analysis_files_fcst_ML########## (where ########## is the storm) is a text file that contains a list of forecast data included in the series analysis.

The .nc files are the series analysis output generated from the MET series_analysis tool.

The .png and .ps files are graphics files that can be viewed using display or ghostview, respectively:

display ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/series_analysis_init/20141214_00/ML1201042014/series_TMP_Z2_FBAR.png &

or

gv ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/series_analysis_init/20141214_00/ML1201042014/series_TMP_Z2_FBAR.ps &

Note: the & is used to run this command in the background

Review the Log File

A log file is generated in your logging directory: ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/logs. The filename contains the timestamp corresponding to the current day. To view the log file:

ls ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/logs/metplus.log.*

Review the Final Configuration File

The final configuration file is metplus_final.conf. This contains all of the configuration variables used in the run.

less ${METPLUS_TUTORIAL_DIR}/output/feature_relative_by_init/metplus_final.conf