Kameleon Grid Tutorial

This document details usage of the grid.py command line tool.

All Python examples will eventually have a full-fledged command line interface to make it easier for users to leverage the powerful post-processing tools offered by Kameleon. The grid.py example is a good start. Navigate to python examples

cd <path_to_kameleon>/bin/ccmc/examples/python

Interrogating global metadata from a file

If you want to see what global information is stored in the file, run

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -ginfo

This will yield all the global parameters: model name, run type, run time, etc.

To list all variables in the file, type:

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -lvar -v

The -v verbose flag will also print variable metadata. You can use -vv for “very verbose” to get even more info.

Querying variable metadata

To get information on a specific variable, type:

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -vinfo variable-name

where variable-name could be rho for density:

rho [ amu/cm^3 ]
    valid_min : 0.0
    valid_max : 9.99999995904e+11
    units : amu/cm^3
    grid_system : grid_system_1
    mask : -1.09951162778e+12
    description : atomic mass density, limit may bee exceeded in dense atmosphere; solar corona 2e8
    is_vector_component : 0
    position_grid_system : grid_system_1
    data_grid_system : grid_system_1
    actual_min : 0.0992666035891
    actual_max : 25.3303718567

Choosing variables for interpolation

To set which variables are to be interpolated, use

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf --variables var1 var2 var3 where you could use rho p bx by bz in place of var1 var2 var3

You will get an error if you try to choose a variable that does not exist.

Setting interpolation positions

The positions will depend on the coordinate system of the underlying model. For magnetospheric runs, this usually means SM coordinates. Unfortunately, finding out which coordinate system is not yet documented!

There are three ways to set your interpolation positions:

  • Specifying a single position at command line
  • Specifying a rectilinear cartesian grid
  • Specifying an input file in columnar x,y,z format

Specifying a single position

This is useful for verifying that you are in the right coordinate system and the results match what you would expect for your domain.

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf --variables var1 var2 var3 -p -30 0 0 This returns the following table (actual values/variables depend on input):

rho[amu/cm^3]        p[nPa]        bx[nT]        by[nT]        bz[nT]
       0.121        0.060        8.351       -0.824       -0.655

Interpolating outside the bounds of the model will result in junk data, most likely a large negative value. You can also format the output of this using c-style syntax: python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf --variables var1 var2 var3 -d '\t' -f "12.3f" -p -30 0 0

Results in:

rho[amu/cm^3]          p[nPa]          bx[nT]          by[nT]          bz[nT]
       0.121           0.060           8.351          -0.824          -0.655

Specifying a grid

A grid may be generated in cartesian (or spherical?) coordinates. Parameters for specifying the grid are as follows:

  • -res <ni> <nj> <nk> Grid resolution in each dimension
  • -x <xmin> <xmax>. Inclusive range of x. If not specified, a constant value of x-intercept = 0 will be used.
  • -xint <x-intercept> overriedes default x-intercept. Ignored if -x is set.
  • -y <xmin> <xmax> -yint <y-intercept> -z <zmin> <zmax> -zint <z-intercept> same as above.
  • -order 'F' for Fortran-style column major. Positions will be in row major by default.

Example 1 - Planar output

This command computes variables on a 2 x 3 plane at x = -30 with fortran ordering:

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -xint -30 -y -10 10 -z -10 10 -order 'F' -res 1 2 3 -vars rho p bx by bz

Returns:

      x            y            z rho[amu/cm^3]       p[nPa]       bx[nT]       by[nT]       bz[nT]
-30.000      -10.000      -10.000        0.463        0.005      -14.188       -3.648       -1.768
-30.000       10.000      -10.000        0.130        0.001      -14.626        0.292       -2.098
-30.000      -10.000        0.000        0.522        0.055        9.560        1.758        0.508
-30.000       10.000        0.000        0.397        0.043       10.131       -3.109        1.361
-30.000      -10.000       10.000        0.504        0.006       14.860       -0.025       -0.062
-30.000       10.000       10.000        0.191        0.003       15.025       -2.743        1.391

Example 2 - Volume output

Computing variables on a 2 x 2 x 2 grid in the tail with C ordering:

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -x -10 -50 -y -10 10 -z -10 10 -res 2 2 2 -vars rho p bx by bz

Returns:

      x            y            z rho[amu/cm^3]       p[nPa]       bx[nT]       by[nT]       bz[nT]
-10.000      -10.000      -10.000        0.956        0.020      -26.503      -12.704       -3.907
-10.000      -10.000       10.000        0.651        0.011       29.393        8.146       -4.921
-10.000       10.000      -10.000        0.366        0.007      -28.422        9.572       -6.825
-10.000       10.000       10.000        0.361        0.010       29.279      -10.665        0.849
-50.000      -10.000      -10.000        0.444        0.004      -10.964       -2.785       -2.127
-50.000      -10.000       10.000        0.723        0.007       11.192       -0.474        0.179
-50.000       10.000      -10.000        0.134        0.001      -11.449       -0.635       -2.087
-50.000       10.000       10.000        0.243        0.003       11.774       -2.202        0.056

Output Options

In the above examples, results were printed to console by default. Alternatively, you may specify an output file in which to store the results:

Exporting to ASCII

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -x -10 -50 -y -10 10 -z -10 10 -res 2 2 2 -vars rho p bx by bz -o /tmp/output_file.txt

By default, the results are stored as column ascii data using the same format and delimitters as above.

Exporting to json

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -p -30 0 0 -vars rho -o /tmp/results.json -ff json

Exporting to IDL (fits format)

python grid.py /path/to/ccmc/output/file.cdf -x -10 -50 -y -10 10 -z -10 10 -res 2 2 2 -o /tmp/fits_out -ff fits -vars rho p bx by bz

The results may be read into IDL. To print the global and variable metadata from the cdf file:

IDL> results = MRDFITS('fits_out', 0, header)
IDL> print, header

To extract the results of the interpolation:

IDL> results = MRDFITS('fits_out', 1, header)
MRDFITS: Binary table.  8 columns by  8 rows.

IDL> help, results,/str
** Structure <131f5238>, 8 tags, length=32, data length=32, refs=1:
   X               FLOAT          -10.0000
   Y               FLOAT          -10.0000
   Z               FLOAT          -10.0000
   RHO             FLOAT          0.955738
   P               FLOAT         0.0203208
   BX              FLOAT          -26.5025
   BY              FLOAT          -12.7045
   BZ              FLOAT          -3.90678

IDL> print, results
{     -10.0000     -10.0000     -10.0000     0.955738    0.0203208     -26.5025     -12.7045     -3.90678}{     -10.0000     -10.0000      10.0000     0.650893    0.0111245      29.3928
      8.14576     -4.92121}{     -10.0000      10.0000     -10.0000     0.365616   0.00686792     -28.4215      9.57153     -6.82492}{     -10.0000      10.0000      10.0000     0.361352
   0.00967156      29.2788     -10.6648     0.849321}{     -50.0000     -10.0000     -10.0000     0.444090   0.00394465     -10.9637     -2.78490     -2.12730}{     -50.0000     -10.0000
      10.0000     0.722521   0.00713427      11.1925    -0.474207     0.179418}{     -50.0000      10.0000     -10.0000     0.133836   0.00134037     -11.4489    -0.634802     -2.08698}{
     -50.0000      10.0000      10.0000     0.242857   0.00283294      11.7740     -2.20208    0.0556372}

More Options

Run the python code with -h or –help

python grid.py --help

The code will spit out a bunch of useful info:

usage: grid.py [-h] [-v] [-ginfo] [-lvar] [-vinfo var] [-vars var1 [var2 ...]]
               [-pout positions_output_flag]
               [-pfile /path/to/input/positions.txt] [-p px py pz]
               [-x xmin xmax] [-y ymin ymax] [-z zmin zmax] [-res nx [ny ...]]
               [-xint xint] [-yint yint] [-zint zint] [-order ordering]
               [-t TRANSFORM TRANSFORM TRANSFORM] [-o path/to/output_file]
               [-f <flags><width><.precision><length>specifier] [-d ' ']
               [-ff fits [json ...]]
               full/path/to/input_file.cdf

Interpolates variables onto grid.

positional arguments:
  full/path/to/input_file.cdf
                        kameleon-compatible file

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -v, --verbose         verbosity of output
  -ginfo, --global-info
                        print global attributes

variable options:
  List and interrogate variables. Not all variables will have interpolator
  support.

  -lvar, --list-vars    list variables in the file (use -v to print all
                        variable attributes)
  -vinfo var, --variable-info var
                        print attributes for given variable
  -vars var1 [var2 ...], --variables var1 [var2 ...]
                        list of variables to be interpolated
  -pout positions_output_flag, --positions_out_flag positions_output_flag
                        pass interpolating positions to output

input positions file options:
  File containing positions for interpolation

  -pfile /path/to/input/positions.txt, --positions_file /path/to/input/positions.txt
                        file containing column positions x, y, z. Optional
                        separators: ' ' (default), <tab>, ','

point options:
  interpolation options for a single point

  -p px py pz, --point px py pz
                        point at which to interpolate variables

grid options:
  interpolation options for a grid of points

  -x xmin xmax, --x-range xmin xmax
                        range of x
  -y ymin ymax, --y-range ymin ymax
                        range of y
  -z zmin zmax, --z-range zmin zmax
                        range of z
  -res nx [ny ...], --resolution nx [ny ...]
                        resolution of the grid along each axis
  -xint xint, --x-intercept xint
                        fixes x for line or plane (ignores x-range)
  -yint yint, --y-intercept yint
                        fixes y for line or plane
  -zint zint, --z-intercept zint
                        fixes z for line or plane
  -order ordering, --ordering ordering
                        sets ordering of output arrays. options: 'C' (default
                        - C-style row major) or 'F' (FORTRAN-style column
                        major)
  -t TRANSFORM TRANSFORM TRANSFORM, --transform TRANSFORM TRANSFORM TRANSFORM
                        transformation matrix to apply to grid before
                        interpolating (not implemented yet)

ouput options:
  where to store results of interpolation

  -o path/to/output_file, --output_file path/to/output_file
                        output file name and location
  -f <flags><width><.precision><length>specifier, --format <flags><width><.precision><length>specifier
                        c-sytle format of output variables (e.g. 12.3f)
  -d ' ', --delimiter ' '
                        delimiter for ascii output (default is ' ')
  -ff fits [json ...], --file_format fits [json ...]
                        File format for output. default: 'txt' for ASCII. Use
                        'fits' for binary IDL fits file (requires astropy), or
                        'json'