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.
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_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.
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:
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:
Run the following command. Use config.OUTPUT_BASE to change the output directory from the command line:
${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:
Review the Output Files
You should have output files in the following directories from the intermediate wrappers TcPairs, ExtractTiles, and TcStat, respectively:
extract_tiles
track_data_atcf
and the output of interest, from the SeriesAnalysis wrapper:
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:
and under that directory are subdirectories named by the storm. They begin with ML. Below are a few examples:
ML1201042014, etc.
and under each of those directories lies the files of interest:
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:
or
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:
Review the Final Configuration File
The final configuration file is metplus_final.conf. This contains all of the configuration variables used in the run.
