Plans for CFMIP-2

Meetings

CFMIP observational simulator package (COSP)

ISCCP simulator

Publications

FAQ

CFMIP-1

Diagnostic Subprojects

Experimental Protocols

Data Requirements

Project Extensions

Participating Groups

Data Available

Change History


NEWS: version 0.3 of COSP is released as of October 2008.

The CFMIP Observational Simulator Package (COSP)

To facilitate the exploitation of CloudSat, CALIPSO data in numerical models, we are developing a system that allows to simulate the signal that CloudSat/CALIPSO would see in a model-generated world. It is a flexible tool to simulate active instruments in models (climate, forecast, cloud-resolving). The ISCCP simulator is also included in the package.

There are several groups involved in the project:

  • Met Office Hadley Centre
  • LMD/IPSL (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique/Institut Pierre Simon Laplace)
  • LLNL (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
  • CSU (Colorado State University)
  • UW (University of Washington)
The approach is to create a modular code in FORTRAN90 that can be plugged in different types of models, from GCMs to cloud CRMs. The figure below shows this modular approach in a very schematic way. There are 5 modules that do science:
  • SCOPS: sub-grid cloud distribution.
  • SG PRECIP: sub-grid precipitation.
  • CLOUDSAT: radar simulator
  • CALIPSO: lidar simulator
  • STATISTICS: summary statistics diagnostics

Color code:

  • Light blue: modules that do work at sub-grid scale. Instrument simulators and summary statistics.
  • Green: modules that break the gridbox mean information down to subcolumns.
  • Dark blue: wrappers that provide different entry points, depending on the type of model to use. For instance, CRMs do not need to use green modules, so they will pass inputs at sub-grid level.
If you want to know a bit more, please read the The Cloud Feedback Model Inter-comparison Project-Plans for CFMIP-2 or contact alejandro.bodas(at)metoffice.gov.uk.

Additional notes on COSP v0.3 (06/11/2008)

1. Change in Makefile for some compilers (e.g. g95)

The Makefile contains a small error that prevents installation in some compilers. Here is the diagnostic:
g95 -O -c icarus-scops-3.7/scops.f
Error: Can't open included file 'congvec.f'

You'll need to add -I$(ISCCP_PATH) for scops.o. Lines 96 to 98 in your Makefile should look like these:
scops.o : $(ISCCP_PATH)/scops.f

$(F90) $(F90FLAGS) -c -I$(ISCCP_PATH) $<

Thanks to J.-L. Dufresne for this correction.

2. Avoiding UDUNITS and CDMS (part of CDAT)

Currently, building COSP v0.3 may be complicated if you don't have UDUNITS and CDAT already installed in your system. CMOR can be built without CDMS and UDUNITS by setting CPPFLAGS_USER = "" in the CMOR Makefile. This will make the build process of COSP much easier as you won't need UDUNITS and CDAT. You will also need to change a couple of things in COSP v0.3:
  • a) delete the use of CDMS_LIB and UDUNITS_LIB in the COSP Makefile
  • b) set Lboxptopisccp=.false. in cosp_input_nl.txt. This is the only variable whose units are changed by CMOR. If you ask for this variable with a version of CMOR without UDUNITS and CDAT, then COSP will fail. This will be changed in future versions so that UDUNITS and CDMS are no longer required.

Thanks to K. Taylor for this.

Public release of COSP v0.3 (20/10/2008)

We are pleased to announce the release of v0.3 of COSP. This is a collaborative effort, and we would like to thank everyone involved in the project.

There are many changes with respect to v0.1 (v0.2 was not distributed publicly).

These include:

- CMOR-compliant outputs

- Inclusion of ISCCP simulator (v3.7)

- Outputs on model levels or fixed-height levels

- Treatment of non-spherical particles in lidar computations

- Implemented capability of passing effective radius to the radar simulator.

- Possibility of providing inputs in 1D or 2D mode ('curtain' or lon/lat)

- New outputs, including PARASOL-like reflectances

- Flexibility in the selection of instruments and/or outputs

This version should still be considered as a beta version, but we are already working towards the release of the first operational version.

Our plans for that version are:

- Optimisation of the radar code so that it can be run efficiently in vector computers.

- Inclusion of a MISR simulator.

- Operational version of ISCCP simulator.

- Additional documentation.

- The plan is to release this version by end of the year.

Instructions on how to access all the modules can be found in 1_DownloadREADME.txt Please visit the link below to download the software.

COSP v0.3 download

Public release of CICCS v0.1 (01/02/2008)

We are pleased to announce the release of v0.1 of CICCS. Please visit this link if you want to download the software:

CICCS v0.1 download

Version 0.1 is an stand-alone version of the code, with I/O section to NetCDF files, so that it can be run off-line.

We plan to release a second beta version (v0.2) prior to the release of the first official version. Version v0.2 will include the following improvements:

  • Possibility of producing outputs in height levels. Currently the outputs are in model levels.
  • A parameterisation for treatment of non-spherical ice particles in the lidar code.
  • Code optimisation. There are a few loops that will need to be vectorised before the code is used intensively in vector computers.
  • Additional documentation.
The ISCCP simulator is not currently included.