ACCESS MOPPeR - A Model Output Post-Processor for the ACCESS climate model

ACCESS-MOPPeR processes the raw ACCESS climate model output to produce CMIP style post-processed output using CMOR3. MOPPeR is developed by the Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes CMS team. ACCESS-MOPPeR is based on the APP4 tool  developed by CSIRO and used to produce ESGF-compliant formats, primarily for publication to CMIP6. Respect to the APP4 tool, the ACCESS-MOPPeR is:

• python3 based;
• uses latest CMOR version;
• has an integrated tool to help generating mapping for new model versions;
• has more customisable options.

Usage

The ACCESS-MOPPeR includes two distinct modules mopper and mopdb.

MOPPER

This is the module used to setup and run the files processing as a PBS job.

• setup - setup the working environment and the PBS job
• run - execute the processing

MOPDB

This module is used to manage the mapping of raw output to CMIP style variables.

• varlist - creates an initial list of variables and attributes based on actual files
• template - uses the above list to egenrate a template of mappings to use in the processing
• cmor - populates the database cmor varaibles table
• map - populates the database mappings table
• check - checks a variable list against the cmor database table to individuate variables without a definition
• table - creates a CMOR style table based on a variable list
• del   -  selects and removes records based on constraints passed as input

MOPPeR was first developed as an upgrade and to extend the custom mode as much as it is allowed by the CMOR tool. It can be used to produce CMIP6 compliant data but other standards can also be defined.

CMOR uses Controlled Vocabularies as metadata constraints, with CMIP6_CV.json being the main one. This has an effect on how the data is written in the files, variables' names, directory structure, filenames, and global attributes. The APP4 also relied on mapping files to match the raw model output to CMOR defined variables. Mopdb helps the users create their own mapping and handling CMOR tables definitions.

Designed for use on ACCESS model output that has been archived using the ACCESS Archiver tool.

Main changes for this version (0.6)

• package has been re-organised
• data is now part of package and a user who wants to override defaults, needs to provide only files that are customised
• more calculations added 
• treatment of coordinates is improved, in particular it can now handle ocean and ice model grids (2D lat/lon coordinates)
• mapping streamlined and improved, both in terms of output and clarity of code
• more mappings and variable definitions added to database
• database is now stored also as sql to allow diff between versions
• update_db.py script improved
• added "del" sub-command to mopdb