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Creating custom configurations

To create a custom configuration, first make a .yml file. In the file, you can set configuration arguments as key: value pairs to override the default config. YAML parsing is forgiving – values generally parse to the correct type. One caveat: unquoted true/false are parsed to Bools; if a configuration argument expects the literal string "true" or "false", put quotes around it.

To start the model with a custom configuration, run:

import ClimaAtmos as CA

config = CA.AtmosConfig("path/to/config.yaml")
simulation = CA.AtmosSimulation(config)
CA.solve_atmos!(simulation)

Example

Below is the default BOMEX configuration (config/model_configs/prognostic_edmfx_bomex_column.yml):

initial_condition: "Bomex"
turbconv: "prognostic_edmfx"
implicit_diffusion: true
approximate_linear_solve_iters: 2
edmfx_entr_model: "Generalized"
edmfx_detr_model: "Generalized"
edmfx_sgs_mass_flux: true
edmfx_sgs_diffusive_flux: true
edmfx_nh_pressure: true
edmfx_vertical_diffusion: true
edmfx_filter: true
prognostic_tke: true
microphysics_model: "1M"
config: "column"
z_max: 4200
z_elem: 60
z_stretch: false
perturb_initstate: false
dt: "120secs"
t_end: "6hours"
dt_save_state_to_disk: "10mins"
toml: [toml/prognostic_edmfx_1M.toml]
netcdf_interpolation_num_points: [2, 2, 60]
ode_algo: "ARS222"

Keys can also point to artifacts. As artifacts are folders, we specify both the artifact name, as we would from the REPL, and file to read from, separated by a /. For example, to drive a single column model with an external forcing file from GCM output, we include the following lines in the configuration:

initial_condition: "GCM"
external_forcing_file: artifact"cfsite_gcm_forcing"/HadGEM2-A_amip.2004-2008.07.nc

To learn more about artifacts and how they're used in CliMA, visit ClimaArtifacts.jl.

To add a new configuration argument/key, open config/default_configs/default_config.yml. Add an entry with the following format:

<argument_name>:
    value: <argument_value>
    help: <help string>

The help field is optional if you don't plan on making a permanent change to the configuration argument.

The full list of configuration arguments is in Configuration options.

Overriding parameters

Physical constants and calibratable parameters are managed by ClimaParams.jl, which stores the default values and lets you override them without touching source code. To override a parameter, create a TOML file with one block per parameter:

[gravitational_acceleration]
value = 9.81
type = "float"

The type field (bool, float, integer, string, or datetime) is optional; the ClimaParams TOML documentation describes the full format. Then list the file under the toml key of your configuration:

toml: [parameters.toml]

and run as usual. The toml key accepts several files; later files override earlier ones, and many shipped model configurations already carry one (e.g. toml/prognostic_edmfx_1M.toml in the BOMEX example above).

Environment variables

A few behaviors are controlled by environment variables rather than the configuration file:

  • CI: when set (as it is on our continuous-integration tests), the default output directory is <job_id> instead of output/<job_id>. Set by the CI system; you normally do not need to set it yourself. (See setup_output_dir in src/simulation/restart.jl.)

  • CLIMAATMOS_GC_NSTEPS: the garbage-collection interval for distributed runs, described under Running on GPUs and MPI.

Common Configurations

ClimaAtmos provides a set of common numerical configurations that can be used as building blocks for different types of simulations. These configurations are located in config/common_configs/ and contain standardized settings for grid resolution, time stepping, numerical schemes, and diagnostics.

Available Common Configurations

Column Configurations

  • numerics_column_ze63.yml: Single column configuration with 63 vertical levels

Sphere Configurations

  • numerics_sphere_he6ze10.yml: Spherical configuration with 6 horizontal elements (550km), 10 vertical levels, 30km domain top, no sponge, explicit vertical diffusion

  • numerics_sphere_he6ze31.yml: Spherical configuration with 6 horizontal elements (550km), 31 vertical levels, 60km domain top, rayleigh and viscous sponges, implicit vertical diffusion

  • numerics_sphere_he16ze63.yml: Spherical configuration with 16 horizontal elements (206km), 63 vertical levels, 60km domain top, rayleigh and viscous sponges, implicit vertical diffusion

  • numerics_sphere_he30ze43.yml: Spherical configuration with 30 horizontal elements (110km), 43 vertical levels, 30km domain top, no sponge, explicit vertical diffusion

  • numerics_sphere_he30ze63.yml: Spherical configuration with 30 horizontal elements (110km), 63 vertical levels, 60km domain top, rayleigh and viscous sponges, implicit vertical diffusion

Diagnostics Configurations for PROPHET Columns

Common diagnostics sets for PROPHET (prognostic EDMF) single-column runs. Each file defines a diagnostics: block mostly at 10-minute output frequency; individual model configs can add case-specific diagnostics on top.

  • diagnostics_column_progedmf_0M.yml: Standard diagnostics for PROPHET columns with 0-moment microphysics (microphysics_model: "0M"). Includes atmospheric state, surface fluxes and precipitation, updraft/environment profiles, and entrainment/detrainment variables.

  • diagnostics_column_progedmf_1M.yml: Standard diagnostics for PROPHET columns with 1-moment microphysics (microphysics_model: "1M"). Extends the 0M set with rain/snow specific humidities, updraft/environment precipitation variables, and the full suite of 1M bulk microphysics process rates for the grid mean, updraft, and environment (mp1m_*, mp1mup_*, mp1men_*).

Using Common Configurations

Common configurations are designed to be combined with model-specific configurations. In the CI pipeline and when running simulations, you can specify multiple configuration files:

import ClimaAtmos as CA

config = CA.AtmosConfig([
    "config/common_configs/numerics_sphere_he16ze63.yml",
    "config/model_configs/your_model_config.yml",
])
simulation = CA.AtmosSimulation(config)
CA.solve_atmos!(simulation)

For PROPHET single-column runs, a diagnostics common config is prepended before the model config:

import ClimaAtmos as CA

config = CA.AtmosConfig(
    [
        "config/common_configs/diagnostics_column_progedmf_1M.yml",
        "config/model_configs/prognostic_edmfx_bomex_column.yml",
    ]; job_id = "prognostic_edmfx_bomex_column")
simulation = CA.AtmosSimulation(config)
CA.solve_atmos!(simulation)

The common configuration provides the numerical setup (grid, time stepping, etc.), or common diagnostics, while the model configuration provides the physical setup (physics schemes, initial conditions, etc.). The model configuration overrides any conflicting settings from the common configuration. Please modify them only if you are certain of the implications.