Re: Newbie radar questions

• To: monte.bateman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
• Subject: Re: Newbie radar questions
• From: Bill Hibbard <hibbard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
• Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 06:13:04 -0500

Hi Monte,

I'd say your biggest problem will be reading cedric files
into VisAD. A web search found:

  http://www.mmm.ucar.edu/pdas/pdas.html#overview

where it says:

     CEDRIC is a mesoscale data analysis program that
     processes datasets on regular Cartesian and
     longitude-latitude grids. The analysis options
     include many numerical operations such as
     algebraic, filtering, and Doppler radar wind
     synthesis, both ground-based and airborne, as well
     as graphical operations. Several REMAPpings
     (interpolations) are possible: XYE --> XYZ,
     LLE--> LLZ, XYE <--> LLE, and XYZ <-->
     LLZ, where XY (LL) is a regular Cartesian
     (longitude-latitude) grid. Z (E) refers to a constant
     height (elevation angle) surface. CEDRIC uses its
     own self-describing, binary format as well as the
     network Common Data Format (netCDF) that was
     developed by NASA and UCAR's UNIDATA. 

and:

     Each package was deliberately designed to stand alone,
     without a direct run-time link to others in the suite.
     However, SPRINT, GEMINI, ACANAL, and CEDRIC do
     share a self-describing, highly efficient,
     platform-independent, binary format for their gridded data.
     This input/output (I/O) format was devised as their native
     format to bypass conversions that are required each time a
     file is read or written when using the network Common
     Data Format (netCDF). The netCDF was developed mostly
     for transfering data files from one platform to another. To
     allow for this and to connect to other packages, including
     commercial ones, CEDRIC can also read and write netCDF
     files. However, the CEDRIC binary format is preferred
     when operating on a single platform.

I assume your radar data are in the self-describing, binary
format of the CEDRIC data analysis program. I'd say your
nest bet will be to use the CEDRIC program to convert its
files to netCDF files. The Unidata folks who created netCDF
also helped create VisAD, and VisAD is very good at reading
netCDF files.

Cheers,
Bill

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: Newbie radar questions
    • From: Don Murray