******************************************************************************** Announcing the release of MCIP Version 3.6 (19 March 2010) ******************************************************************************** The MCIP code is updated to version 3.6. MCIPv3.6 encompasses all changes from unofficial codes MCIPv3.4.1.1 which was only distributed to very few users, and MCIPv3.5 (beta) which had a reasonably wide circulation. These release notes and the change log reflect all changes that have been made to MCIP since MCIPv3.4.1 (the previous official release). Changes to MCIPv3.6 were overseen by Tanya Otte (EPA/ORD/NERL, RTP, NC). User contributions are also noted below. The detailed list of changes to the MCIP code is in the CHANGES file, which is part of the MCIP tar file in the "doc" sub-directory. *** NOTE: Users are encouraged to update to this version of MCIP, particularly for WRF-based applications. *** NOTE: The dry deposition calculations will be removed from MCIP in the 2011 release of the code. These calculations are available in CMAQv4.7 and beyond, and there is additional science available to compute bi-directional fluxes (i.e., evasion or emissions) of some species in CMAQ. *** NOTE: Please consider updating I/O API v3.0 to the latest update. There is a new option to define a spherical earth with the radius that is consistent with the released code in MM5 and WRF (6370.0 km). That is normal sphere option 20 in I/O API. (Note that this aspect of I/O API is not invoked in MCIP, but it will help the CMAQ system to maintain spatial consistency among subprocessors.) In addition, there is improved compatibility with netCDF4 in the I/O API v3.0 updates. *** NOTE: In this release of MCIP, the representation of Mercator grids from MM5 and WRF has been changed to "equatorial Mercator" from "general Mercator". VERDI now recognizes this version of Mercator. Neither PAVE nor IDV can correctly create the maps for equatorial Mercator (EQMGRD3 in I/O API). Also updated with this release is the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file, which is located in the MCIP tar file in the "doc" sub-directory. Users are encouraged to read the FAQ to obtain information specific to changes made in this release, particularly on applications that use input data from WRF. ***Users should read the FAQ before submitting inquiries to M3User, M3List, Bugzilla, CMAS, or the code developers.*** Interactions with the following users (in alphabetical order) have resulted in some of the code changes/corrections that were made for MCIPv3.6: Carlie Coats, Baron AMS, Raleigh, NC (comp. sci. considerations and Mercator compatibility with I/O API) Kenneth Craig, Sonoma Tech., California (Bug 2905) Neil Davis, UNC Institute for the Environment, Chapel Hill, NC (Bug 2905 and several gridding issues) Jeremiah Johnson, ENVIRON (Bug 2963) Hsin-Mu Lin, STC Corp., Hampton, VA (potential vorticity code) Feng Liu, Maricopa Assn. of Governments, Phoenix, AZ (Bug 2905) Chris Loughner, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (Bug 2949) Rohit Mathur, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC (pot'l vort. code) Moti Mittal, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL (Mercator & WRF) Talat Odman, Georgia Tech Univ., Atlanta, GA (wind rotation error) Martin Otte, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC (netCDF issues, optimization, and gfortran) Tao "LJ" Ruan, Hong Kong UST (WRF gridding issues and minor bugs) Lucio de Souza, Brazil (Mercator & MM5) Kyoung-Hee Sung, Pusan National University, Korea (Bug 2851) The following users (in alphabetical order) graciously participated in the MCIPv3.5 Beta Testing Program, and they are thanked for their time, effort, data sets, and contributions toward improving the robustness of MCIPv3.6: Neil Davis, UNC Institute for the Enviroment, Chapel Hill, NC Andrea Fraser, AEA, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom Rob Gilliam, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC Winston Hao, NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY Gong-Do Hwang, CCRC, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH Mike Ku, NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY Paul Livingstone, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento, CA Chris Loughner, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Ricardo Marcelo da Silva, Brazil Moti Mittal, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL Nilton Moraes, Brazil Martin Otte, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC Pruek Pongprueksa, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX Lara Reynolds, CSC, Research Triangle Park, NC Tao "LJ" Ruan, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Hong Kong Lucio de Souza, Brazil Kevin Talgo, UNC Institute for the Environment, Chapel Hill, NC The following are the notable changes in MCIPv3.6: 1. Several changes to the representation of WRF grids in I/O API headers that are generated by MCIP. Many are bug fixes, particularly for polar stereographic projection and WRF nests in Lambert conformal projection. Mercator representation has also been changed. (The method of computing dot-point latitude and longitude for MM5 is also changed to use the new algorithms.) 2. Corrected error in computing wind direction when U-component wind is effectively zero. 3. Added a user option to define a reference latitude for WRF domains with Lambert conformal projection. This option uses a new namelist variable, and it is particularly useful when trying to match a WRF domain to an existing MM5 domain (to compare WRF vs. MM5 or to "recycle" emissions surrogates). 4. Updated MCIP to support various new options in WRFv3.1+. Several of these changes are reflected in MCIP metadata (viewable with the command "ncdump -h " and at the tail of the MCIP log file). 5. Added support for Modified IGBP MODIS NOAH and NLCD/MODIS land use classification schemes for WRF. Changed GRIDCRO2D to print land use category description and source classification scheme rather than just index for fractional land use. 6. Added condition that vegetation fraction must be greater than zero to be considered a land point for dry deposition. 7. Allow fractional land use field to be read in from output file of WRF Preprocessing System (WPS) "GEOGRID" (similar to MM5's TERRAIN). 8. Changed representation of Mercator projection from MM5 and WRF in I/O API from "general Mercator" to "equatorial Mercator". 9. Improved file handling with netCDF for WRF files. 10. Changes to output files: GRIDDOT2D: * Changed latitude and longitude from LAT and LON to LATD and LOND. * Added latitude, longitude, and map-scale factors squared for the cell faces where the u- and v-component winds are valid (LATU, LATV, LONU, LONV, MSFU2, MSFV2). METCRO3D: * Created user option to not write vertical velocity created by the meteorological model (WWIND) to the file to save space. (WWIND is purely available for diagnostics, and it is not used by SMOKE or CMAQ. WHAT_JD is used by CMAQ for some mass conservation options.) * Created user option to output 3D potential vorticity field (PV) for research purposes. METDOT3D: * Created user option to output u- and v-component winds on the C-staggered grid (UWINDC and VWINDC) that is native to both WRF and CMAQ. (Changes are introduced in the companion release of CMAQ to use these fields if they are available.) MCIP log: * Added metadata summary (as it appears in the I/O API headers) to echo meteorological model options in log. 11. Several minor bug fixes have also been introduced into MCIP as a result of various interactions with the user community via Bugzilla, M3List, and direct contact. See the CHANGES file for specific details.