GRIB Data Conversions |
|||
 Previous |
 Next |
|
|
Many meteorological centers archive their model output fields in the GRIdded Binary format (GRIB). The GRIB standard defines the contents of a data record. A GRIB record consists of six sections:
- An indicator section which always starts with the four ASCII characters “GRIB”,
- a product definition section,
- a grid description section,
- a bit map section,
- a binary data section,
- and a record terminator which always consists of the ASCII characters “7777”.
GRIB does not define the record contents of a file and each meteorological center may package their data differently. Therefore, rather than designing HYSPLIT to work directly with GRIB files (Version 5 may allow direct read of GRIB2), an intermediate program is required to convert GRIB data to the HYSPLIT compatible format.
Converting from GRIB to HYSPLIT
The HYSPLIT GUI contains FTP links to HYSPLIT compatible archives. Some GRIB conversion programs (for NOAA and ECMWF data) are integrated into the GUI. Programs for other meteorological formats (e.g. RAMS) are available from the HYSPLIT data web page. The Convert to ARL menu tab is used to convert data already on the local computer. Conversions may also be performed in conjunction with the analysis and forecast data FTP menus. These menus will be discussed in more detail in subsequent sections.
Previous |
Next |