An Update on COLA’s Software Development

Jennifer M. Adams and Brian Doty

Software Components

GrADSAn interactive tool for geoscience data analysis and

visualization

GrADS Data Server (GDS)An OPeNDAP server that provides remote data access,

subsetting, and server-side analysis

Greta A web-based searchable catalogue

for all of IGES’s data holdings

GrADS Release HighlightsMajor changes to the core of GrADS:• Added 5th dimension for ensembles• Internal data handling in double precision

New GDS Release: • Ensemble data via OPeNDAP• GDS can serve all GrADS-readable data set• GrADS is a client for all GDS data sets

New Analysis capabilities:• Slice diagonally through ensembles

GrADS Release Highlights (cont’d)

Added interfaces for reading new data formats:• GRIB 2• HDF 5• Compressed NetCDF-4• Shapefile

New options for creating output in various formats:• NetCDF (classic and compressed)• GeoTIFF• KML

Other Noteworthy Accomplishments

GrADS team received funding from NASA’s Applied Information Systems

Research Program (AISRP)

COLA assumed management of GrADS users forum

THORPEX Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE) forecast data are behind GDS at NCAR

GrADS team partnered with NOAA Climate Prediction Center

to develop products for GIS applications

Diagonal Slicing Through a Set of Lag Ensembles

GrADS Display of Cloud Fraction (AURA L2G in HDF5 format)

GrADS Plot of GFS Precipitation Data Displayed in Google Earth

GrADS Integrates GIS and Gridded Data FormatsPalmer Drought Severity Index in U.S. Climate Zones

with 500mb Height Anomalies, July 1993

GrADS Integrates Gridded and GIS Data FormatsGridded Radar Observations during Snowmageddon, 12Z 6 Feb 2010

with Roads and State and County Boundaries

WSR-88D Base Reflectivity

[dBZ]

In Support of High Resolution Climate Modeling

Data volume reduction using NetCDF-4 compression: 6.4 : 1 (84%) soil moisture 3.7 : 1 (73%) precipitation 1.5 : 1 (33%) u-wind Improved I/O performance: Calculate a time series of zonal means 50 Mb grid, 12 time steps 26 seconds (netCDF-4) vs. 11.5 minutes (binary)

Handling of Very Large GRIB Files 47-year IFS AMIP and Time Slice Runs

Visualization Image generation shortcuts, animation techniques