CliMT

Note

The information here refers to CliMT v 0.5.9 and earlier. For the most recent version, go here.

Overview

CliMT is a Python-based software component toolkit which provides a flexible, multi-purpose problem-solving environment geared to climate science problems.

CliMT consists of two layers:

• a library of climate modeling components (e.g. radiative schemes), mostly in Fortran or C;
• a Python architecture providing standardized access to each component and allowing coupling of components to form time-dependent models.

The Python architecture, summarized in the UML class diagram above, is fairly simple and lightweight. It provides facilities for file input/output in NetCDF format and for graphical display, including runtime monitoring of model fields. The component library currently has a mostly atmospheric bias, reflecting the developer's background and interests; other parts of the climate system will be included in more detail as the project develops.

CliMT is aimed at a broad audience. Because the accent is on simplicity and intuitiveness, it is accessible to undergraduate or even high-school students. On the other hand, it uses state-of-the-art components, and so is suitable for full-blown research projects.

Requirements

To install and run CliMT, you need

• Python 2.3 or higher.
• Numeric (NumPy compatibility coming soon)
• The GNU C compiler (gcc).
• A Fortran 90 compiler (see below).
• A minimum of familiarity with Python.

The following are optional; without them, core CliMT will still work but you will lose some functionality:

• ScientifcPython for NetCDF I/O.
• Matplotlib for graphics.

For Mac users, all the above are available through Fink. A binary distribution of the GNU Fortran 90 compiler (gfortran) is available here.

Download and installation

Current version (25 October 2006) is 0.5.9 Download

Supported platforms:

• Linux with PGI pgf90, Intel ifort or GNU gfortran
• Mac OS X with IBM xlf (PowerPC only), Intel ifort (Intel only) or GNU gfortran (both)

It shouldn't be too hard to compile CliMT on other Unix-style platform/compiler combinations - just edit CliMT/src/CompilerFlags.mk to add the new flags. If you manage to do this, please let me know <rodrigo.caballero_at_ucd.ie>.

To install:

• tar xvzf climt.tar.gz
• cd CliMT/src
• edit the section marked "User adjustable parameters" near the top of Makefile, set the correct values for your system
• make
• make install

If compilation was successful, make sure the CliMT install location (CLIMT_DIR in the Makefile) is on your Python executable path (you can also set environment variable PYTHONPATH to point to wherever you chose for CLIMT_DIR). Then try make test; this should produce a bunch of reasonable-looking numbers and no error messages. If you encounter problems you can't solve, please email me <rodrigo.caballero_at_ucd.ie> and we'll work on it.

Using CliMT

Using CliMT consists of writing a Python script which invokes the components necessary for a given application. Here is a simple example. You'll find more in lib/examples.

Python is also a good language for CGI scripting, so you can easily build web interfaces to CliMT applications. Here is an example of CliMT used in a CGI script.

Documentation

Usage directions for specific components.

Authors

CliMT is developed by Rodrigo Caballero, with contributions from Jonathan Mitchell and Mike Steder.
It initiated as a project of the Climate Systems Center at the Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, with funding from NSF Information Technology Research grant ATM-0121028.