Geographic Static Data for the WRF Preprocessing System (WPS)

Static Data

Data files, required by the WPS geogrid program, containing terrestrial, time-invariant fields for each model domain.

The following downloadable data packages and additional details are available in the sections below.

• Mandatory static data

  Static files required by the geogrid program

• Static data for specific applications

  Static fields mandatory when using specific options in WRF

• Older static files

  Static files that have been replaced by updated data files, but are still available for those wanting these specific files

• Static files for use with WPSv3

  Files that are required, along with the Mandatory static data above, for use with WPSv3

Mandatory Static Data

Many static fields are mandatory input to the geogrid program. Regardless of whether any files from the below sections are used, one of the following two downloads is required for any run of the WPS Geogrid program. Beneath the orange buttons below is a table that includes a link to each individual file, a description of the file, the resolution, and whether that particular file is included in the High-res and/or Low-res pacakaged link.

• The high-resolution data file contains the highest resolution of each mandatory field - this is the one that is most commonly-used, and is recommended for most applications. Note that this file is ~29G uncompressed (2.6G compressed). If using a shared cluster, it is recommended to place these files in a shared directory so that it is not necessary to install on multiple individual spaces.

• The low-resolution data file contains only the lowest resolution of each mandatory field (useful for model testing and educational purposes - not for real forecasting applications).

Note

Unless planning to only run simulations for teaching purposes, it is recommended to download the highest resolution of each field.

• Download Highest Resolution of Each Mandatory Field

• Download Lowest Resolution of Each Mandatory Field

Details of files included in above two links

File	Description	Resolution	Included in High-res Data Package	Included in Low-res Data Package
albedo_modis	Monthly MODIS surface albedo	3-arc-min	X	X
greenfrac_fpar_modis greenfrac_fpar_modis_5m	MODIS green vegetation fraction, which is the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by green vegetation	3-arc-sec 5-arc-min	X	X X
lai_modis_10m lai_modis_30s	MODIS Leaf area index	10-arc-min 30-arc-sec	X X	X
maxsnowalb_modis	MODIS maximum snow albedo	3-arc-min	X	X
modis_landuse_20class_30s_with_lakes modis_landuse_20class_5m_with_lakes	Noah-modified IGBP-MODIS landuse with 20 classes	30-arc-sec 5-arc-min	X
orogwd_2deg orogwd_1deg orogwd_30m orogwd_20m orogwd_10m	Oragraphic Gravity Wave Drag (GWDO) for use with the GSL GWD WRF model option (gwd_opt = 3)	2-degree 1-degree 30-arc-min 20-arc-min 10-arc-min	X X X X X	X
soiltemp_1deg	Annual mean deep soil temperature	1-degree	X	X
soiltype_bot_5m soiltype_bot_30s soiltype_top_5m soiltype_top_30s	16-category bottom-layer and top-layer soil type	5-arc-min 30-arc-sec 5-arc-min 30-arc-sec	X X	X X
topo_gmted2010_5m topo_gmted2010_30s	USGS GMTED terrain elevation	5-arc-min 30-arc-sec	X	X
varsso varsso_10m varsso_5m varsso_2m	Variance of subgrid-scale orography	30-arc-sec 10-arc-min 5-arc-min 2-arc-min	X X X X

Static Data for Specific Applications

These data are mandatory for specific applications.

Note

These data must be used in combination with the Mandatory Static Data.

Packaged File	Individual Files in Package	Description	Usage
geog_thompson28_chem	clayfrac_5m erod sandfrac_5m	5-min clay fraction EROD, and 5-min sand fraction	Required if mp_physics=28 and dust_emis=1
geog_noahmp	crop groundwater soilgrids drainage_map	crop file contains mean harvest date, growing season GDD, mean planting date, fraction of corn/soybeans/wheat/cotton, flood irrigation fraction, micro-irrigation fraction, sprinkler irrigation fraction, along with the drainage map and irrigation map groundwater file contains transmissivity e-folding depth, climatological recharge, riverbed elevation, and climatological water table depth soilgrids contains soil composition and categories based on soilgrids	Can be used with NoahMP LSM (sf_surface_physics=4) includes NoahMP irrigation data drainage map used with opt_tdrn= 1 or 2
irrigation	irrigation	Irrigated land percentage	Use with Surface Irrigation Schemes (sf_surf_irr_scheme= 1,2,3)
geog_px	nlcd2011_can_ll_9s nlcd2011_imp_ll_9s nlcd2011_ll_9s	2011 NLCD Canopy Percent 2011 NLCD Imperviousness Percent 2011 NLCD and MODIS land cover fraction data	Required when considering urban effects and using the Pleim-Xiu LSM (sf_surface_physics=7); Data is only for the U.S.
geog_urban	NUDAPT44_1km urbfrac_nlcd2011	NLCD urban parameters Urban fraction derived from 30 m NLCD 2011	Optional when using urban parameterization (sf_urban_physics=1,2,3)
geog_ssib	ssib_landuse_10m ssib_landuse_5m	SSIB 12-category vegetation map	Use with SSiB LSM (sf_surface_physics=8)
lake_depth	lake_depth	lake depth at 30-arc-sec	for utilizing the lake model (sf_lake_physics=1)
topobath_30s	topobath_30s	Bathymetry and topography	For using shallow water roughness (shalwater_z0=1)
cglc_modis_lcz_global	CGLC_MODIS_LCZ_global	natural CGLC mapped to MODIS and built LCZ categories	Data for using WUDAPT LCZ urban landuse categories (use_wudapt_lcz=1), along with urban physics (urban_physics=1,2,3)
gsl_gwd	orogwd3_2deg orogwd3_1deg orogwd3_30m orogwd3_20m orogwd3_10m orogwd3_2.5m	convexity of small-scale topography, orographic asymmetry, orographic effective length, and standard deviation of small-scale topography	GWDO data for use with GSL GWD (gwd_opt=3)
slucm	slucm	Numerous files are available to use with the single-layer urban canopy model	For use with the single-layer urban canopy model (sf_urban_physics=1), along with option to use spatially varying 2-D urban Zero-plane Displacement, Roughness length for momentum, and Frontal area index (slucm_distributed_drag=.true.). Note all directories within this file should be used together for consistency.

Older Static Files

These fields have been updated and replaced by newer data files, but these may be used optionally.

Packaged File	Individual Files in Package	Description	Usage
geog_older_than_2000	albedo_ncep greenfrac landuse_30s_with_lakes maxsnowalb	Monthly surface albedo Monthly green fraction 24-category USGS landuse maximum snow albedo	For use with simulations older than the year 2000
geog_alt_lsm	bnu_soiltype_bot bnu_soiltype_top	16-category bottom-layer soil type 16-category top-layer soil type	An alternative data source for all LSMs
modis_landuse_20class_15s	modis_landuse_20class_15s	MODIS modified-IGBP landuse - 500 meter	An alternative MODIS high-resolution data
modis_landuse_20class_15s_with_lakes	modis_landuse_20class_15s_with_lakes	MODIS modified-IGBP landuse with a lake category - 500 meter	An alternative MODIS high-resolution data
nlcd2006_ll_9s	nlcd2006_ll_9s	2006 NLCD and MODIS land cover fraction data	An alternative high-resolution data available only for U.S. domains
updated_Iceland_LU	landuse_30s landuse_30s_with_lakes	24-category USGS landuse 24-category USGS landuse with lakes	Modified USGS land cover tiles over Iceland

Static Files for Use with WPSv3

If using a version of WPS prior to V4.0, in addition to the Mandatory Static Data above, the following fields are required as the default input. You may use the orange download buttons below to download the full package, or each individual file by clicking the file link in the table. Note that some fields are included in the high-resolution package (which is the recommended package), and some are included in the low-resolution package.

Note

Unless planning to only run simulations for teaching purposes, it is recommended to download the highest resolution of each field.

• Download Highest Resolution of Each Mandatory Field for WPSv3

• Download Lowest Resolution of Each Mandatory Field for WPSv3

If using the low-resolution dataset, use this namelist.wps file.

Details of files included in above two links

File	Description	Included in High-res Data Package	Included in Low-res Data Package
albedo_ncep	Monthly surface albedo	X	X
greenfrac	Monthly green fraction	X	X
islope	14-category slope index	X	X
landuse_10m landuse_5m landuse_2m landuse_30s	24-category USGS landuse at various resolutions	X X X X	X
landuse_30s_with_lakes	24-category USGS landuse with lakes	X
maxsnowalb	Maximum snow albedo	X	X
modis_landuse_20class_30s modis_landuse_20class_15s modis_landuse_21class_30s	MODIS landuse for various resolutions	X X X
nlcd2006_ll_30s	2006 NLCD and MODIS land cover fraction data	X
soiltype_bot_10m soiltype_top_10m	16-category bottom- and top-layer soil type	X	X