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This document covers:

  • Format of input files
  • Contents of input files
  • Mapping between files and unit numbers used by the model

To learn about relationship and rules between input files, see GCM/InputFileRules

The format for this document is: 

Unit: ###
Name: <quick description>
Ex: <typical file name>
Size: xx kb or xx bytes
Description: <full description>
Arrays: <what is in the file>

Initial Conditions

Ground Data

  • Unit: 7
  • Name: Ground Data
  • Ex: G8X10
  • Size: 48392 bytes
  • Description: This file is used for istart=5 runs, paleo runs where the ground data does not match the information in the atmospheric conditions file because the ground has moved.
  • Arrays: GS(IM*JM*14) which is described as
    1. snow amount for ocean ice (kg h2o/m**2)
    2. snow amount for earth (kg h2o/m**2)
    3. first ground temperature for ocean ice (deg c)
    4. first ground temperature for earth (deg c)
    5. first ground earth water (kg h2o/m**2)
    6. first ground earth ice (kg h2o/m**2)
    7. second ground temperature for ocean ice (deg c)
    8. second ground temperature for earth (deg c)
    9. second ground earth water (kg h2o/m**2)
    10. second ground earth ice (kg h2o/m**2)
    11. age of snow (days)
    12. snow amount for land ice (kg h2o/m**2)
    13. first ground temperature for land ice (deg c)
    14. second ground temperature for land ice (deg c)

Restart File

  • Unit: 9/109
  • Name: Atmospheric initial conditions, also known as the restart file (rsf)
  • Ex: NOV1910.rsfP003a
  • Size: 473,364-715,284 bytes (qflux or sst vs deep ocean)
  • Description: All the information about the atmosphere of a run is saved into this file. As the model runs a restart file is generated every month which can be used to also start new runs. Many utilities can modify this file to change the initial conditions for a run. The first and last values in the file are the TAU the file was saved at and can be used as a safety check.
  • Arrays: The varied size is because some arrays are required and some are optional. The required arrays are:
    • TAU,JC,C,RC,KEYNR,U,V,T,P,Q,ODATA,GDATA,BLDATA,RQT,SRHR,TRHR,TSFREZ
  • The optional arrays for deep ocean runs are:
    • TG3M,RTGO,STG3,DTG3
  • At the end of the file is always another:
    • TAU

Ocean

  • Unit: 15
  • Name: Ocean
  • Ex: O8X10, O8X10.100MLD
  • Size: 124,560 bytes (3 array), 166,032 bytes (4 array), 16,579,248 bytes (observed)
  • Description: There are three versions of this file. The smaller ocean file has just the surface temperatures for the ocean for every month. When the smaller file is used the ocean temperature is fixed. The larger 4 array ocean file adds in a mixed layer depth so that the water in the mixed layer can change temperature. For the mixed layer to work some additional files must be read in by the model. The third version of the file is observed mode. The ocean file contains a number of years of ocean data starting from February of the first year. TAUI is matched to the start of the first year of the ocean file so that the model can advanced the file to the correct month. In all cases the ocean files contain an averaged value for the middle of each month and days are linearly interpolated between the two nearest monthly values
  • Arrays: Two version of the ocean include 12 months of data with the following format for the 3 array ocean:
    • MON, O(IM,JM,3)
  • The 4 array ocean adds a mixed layer depth:
    • MON, O(IM,JM,3), OMLD(IM,JM)
  • Arrays: Observed oceans contain these arrays repeated from 02/01/1870-12/01/1998

The contents of the (IM,JM,3) array is 

   1. OCEAN SURFACE TEMPERATURE (DEGREES C)'
   2. RATIO OF OCEAN ICE TO WATER (PERCENT)',
   3. OCEAN ICE AMOUNT OF LAYER 2 (10**2 KG/M**2)',

And the 4th layer is the mixed layer depth.

The format of the observed ocean file is (thanks to vieira): 

I read the O8X10.B.1871.M02.Hadl1.1.obsr data file successfully. I have used the following format:

• FORTRAN format (header/trailer for each record)
• Register number: integer 32 bits
• Data (36x24x3): 4 byte floating point
• Year: 32 bits integer
• Month: 32 bits integer

Ocean Transports

  • Unit: 17
  • Name: Ocean transports spectral coefficient (OTSpec)
  • Ex: OTSPEC.RP041bC9.M250ZD
  • Size: 62,216 bytes
  • Description: fourth order spectral coefficients for ocean heat transports in the qflux and deep ocean. Gary developed a complex scheme where the annual temperature variations of an ocean grid cell's mixed layer are encoded into spectral coefficients. The upshot is that the otspec file adjusts the temperature of the mixed layer to incorporate season and the energy that would be added or removed by ocean currents (if they existed).
  • Arrays: 
    OTA1(IM,JM),OTB1(IM,JM),OTC(IM,JM)   
OTA2(IM,JM),OTB2(IM,JM),OTA3(IM,JM) 
OTB3(IM,JM),OTA4(IM,JM),OTB4(IM,JM)

Drag Coefficient

  • Unit: 19
  • Name: Drag coefficient
  • Ex: CD8X10
  • Size: 3464 bytes
  • Description: Drag coefficient
  • Arrays: ROUGHL(IM,JM)

Radiation

  • Unit: 21
  • Name: Radiation RTAU
  • Ex: RTAU.G25L15
  • Size: 316 kb
  • Description: Radiation RTAU
  • Arrays: ?

Radiation

  • Unit: 22
  • Name: Radiation RPLK
  • Ex: RPLK25
  • Size: 28 kb
  • Description: Radiation RPLK
  • Arrays: ?

Vegetation

  • Unit 23
  • Name: Vegetation
  • Ex: V8X10
  • Size: 28040 bytes
  • Description: There are eight types of vegetation defined by the model. Eight arrays store the distributions of vegetation as a percentage of the land in each grid box. There is also a veg-table (vadata) that defines the properties of each of the kinds of vegetation. The four (!) sections of the veg-table are: bare earth visual albedos (seasonal), bare earth near ir albedos (seasonal), water field capacities in kg/m**2 (3 arrays), masking depths in m (1 array). Since the eight simple types are mappings from thirty complex types the distributions are difficult to change for the modern. See NASA tech memo 86096, June 1984, Elaine Matthews.
  • Arrays: V(IM,JM,8), VADATA(8,4,3)

The order of the vegetation in the file is: 

     1'RATIO OF DESERT TO EARTH (PERCENT)',
     2'RATIO OF TUNDRA TO EARTH (PERCENT)',
     3'RATIO OF GRASSLAND TO EARTH (PERCENT)',
     4'RATIO OF SHRUB/GRASSLAND TO EARTH (PERCENT)',
     5'RATIO OF TREE/GRASSLAND TO EARTH (PERCENT)',
     6'RATIO OF DECIDUOUS FOREST TO EARTH (PERCENT)',
     7'RATIO OF EVERGREEN FOREST TO EARTH (PERCENT)',
     8'RATIO OF RAINFOREST TO EARTH (PERCENT)'/

QFlux Max Mixed Layer Depth

  • Unit: 25
  • Name: QFLUX Max Mixed Layer Depth
  • Ex: Z1OMAX.8X10.250M
  • Size: 3464 bytes
  • Description: The mixed layer is the surface part of the ocean handled in qflux runs. The max mixed layer depth is simply the maximum thickness of the mixed layer during the year for every grid point. This array is trivial to calculate and later versions of the GCM do this internally instead of using this file. For not very good reasons this file usually starts with a Z however it is not connected to topography in any way.
  • Arrays: (IM,JM)

Topography

  • Unit: 26
  • Name: Topography
  • Ex: Z8X101
  • Size: 10376 bytes
  • Description: The topography file defines the three inorganic properties of land in Model II. It is important to realize that this file is not the same as in Model II' or Model E. The three properties are: topographic height in meters scaled by gravity, land cover, and land ice. The topographic height is the area weighted average height of the land in a grid box. The wacky part is that topographic height is scaled by gravity. Land cover is just the percent of a grid box covered by land. Land ice is the percentage of land in a grid box covered by ice. Thus is a grid box is 12% land by all that land is ice covered then the land ice is 100%. Land ice is special unmelting ice that doesn't interact with the ice created by repeated snowfall.
  • Arrays: PHIS(IM,JM),PLAND(IM,JM),RLICE(IM,JM)

23 Special Regions

  • Unit: 29
  • Name: 23 special regions
  • Ex: REG8X10
  • Size: 3728 bytes
  • Description: The 23 special regions in model have extra information collected for them. Unlike all the other input files there is a hidden special regions file in the model that is used if no file is read in. The file contains an 80 byte title and then a single array of the 23 special regions. The regions are numbered 1-23 with 24 as no special region. Since there is only a single array the regions cannot overlap, but they do not have to be contiguous. The last array contains the names of the 23 special regions as 8 character strings.
  • Arrays: TITLE, JREG(IM,JM), IXJX(23)

Deep Ocean

  • Unit: 62
  • Name: ED Deep Ocean
  • Ex: ED8X10
  • Size: 3464 bytes
  • Description: Eddie diffusions to the deep ocean from modern observations. How fast the bottom of the mixed layer is diffused into the deep ocean. This file is only used when kocean=2.
  • Arrays: EDO(IM,JM)