Re: Masking MSLP-WRF MSLP issues

From: Dennis Shea <shea_at_nyahnyahspammersnyahnyah>
Date: Wed Mar 02 2011 - 09:39:58 MST

> If you don't have WRF-ARW data, then maybe Dennis will
> have something to add about the
> differences between pslec, pslhyp, and pslhor.

These were taken directly from the old CCM processor.
No changes were made. The only reference to the pslec
and pslhor is a paper based NCAR Tech Note.
I may have a copy but I'd have to hunt for it.

On 03/02/2011 09:01 AM, Mary Haley wrote:
>
> On Feb 28, 2011, at 10:03 AM, Peter Q. Olsson wrote:
>
>> Hello all-
>>
>> I would like some advice on what might be a common problem.
>>
>> I am plotting MSLP in a domain that is about 50/50 ocean and land. As most of us know,
>> MSLP is well-defined at sea level, but involves several assumptions over elevated
>> terrain, which are seldom met. The result is that terrain -> large, MSLP contours become
>> all about terrain, w/ no relation to pressure distributions.
>>
>> What I would like to do is to minimize this issue by plotting MSLP contour lines only
>> where they relate to pressure patterns in a reasonable way. One way I have come up with
>> is to somehow mask off the contours where the terrain height exceeds an arbitrary limit:
>> sat for example's sake 200 meters. Now, I can see how this would be done with color-fill,
>> essentially setting MSLP values to missing-value at i,j points where terrain exceeds the
>> threshold (though I am not sure how to do this adjustment in the most elegant NCL
>> way).
>
> Hi Peter,
>
> Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question, but have you looked at the "where" function for
> setting values you don't want to missing (_FillValue attribute)?
>
> http://www.ncl.ucar.edu/Document/Functions/Built-in/where.shtml
>
>> However, I am not sure how to implement this for contour lines, since they seem to
>> be informed by values in adjoining cells. I must confess I have never understood how
>> NCARG did contour lines... I guess I am most concerned on how contours would be drawn in
>> fjords where topo is ~few meters at one point and 400 meters at an adjacent point.
>>
>
> I think if you set your data to missing using the "where" function, then hopefully this shouldn't
> be an issue.
>
>
>> I would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.
>>
>> Finally, there seem to be a few algorithms for computing MSL in NCL/NCARG land. I would
>> be interested in hearing others' thoughts on the comparative value of these methods. I
>> currently use "wrf_user_getvar(nc_file,"slp",time_dim)".
>
> This function will only work for WRF-ARW data. IF that's what you have, then this is
> probably the best way to get this quantity.
>
> If you don't have WRF-ARW data, then maybe Dennis will have something to add about the
> differences between pslec, pslhyp, and pslhor.
>
> --Mary
>
>>
>> PQO
>>
>> ___________________________________________________________
>> |
>> | Dr. Peter Q. Olsson,
>> | Alaska State Climatologist, Alaska State Climate Center
>> | Chief Scientist, Alaska Experimental Forecast Facility
>> | University of Alaska Anchorage
>> | 2811 Merrill Field Drive
>> | Anchorage, AK 99501
>> | voice: (907) 786-7234, fax (907) 786-7237|
>>
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-- 
======================================================
Dennis J. Shea                  tel: 303-497-1361    |
P.O. Box 3000                   fax: 303-497-1333    |
Climate Analysis Section                             |
Climate & Global Dynamics Div.                       |
National Center for Atmospheric Research             |
Boulder, CO  80307                                   |
USA                        email: shea 'at' ucar.edu |
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Received on Wed Mar 2 09:40:03 2011

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