Output files¶
An overview of all possible output files is provided in the table below. Notice that not all these files are written out in every model run; the user settings control which files are produced. At the beginning of a run, FLEXPART records descriptive metadata to either the gridded NetCDF output file (IOUT>8 or LNETCDFOUT=1), the particle output (IPOUT](running.md#iout)=1), or to a dedicated binary file header and a plain text file header_txt (with the exception of the orography data and release information). Corresponding files header_nest are produced if nested output is selected.
When IOUT is set to a non-zero value, FLEXPART produces gridded output. When requiring binary files (IOUT<8), separate files are created for every output time step (LOUTSTEP), species and domain (mother and, if requested, nest). The naming convention for these files is grid_type_date_nnn. When requiring NetCDF output (IOUT>8), this information is all contained in one file for the mother grid, and one for a possible nested grid (NESTED_OUTPUT). When IPOUT is switched on, this information is also contained in the partoutput_nnn.nc files.
| Name | Format | Switches | Description of contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ** Header ** | |||
header |
binary | IOUT<8 | run metadata + ancillary data, included in grid_conc_date.nc and partoutput_date.nc when IOUT>8 and IPOUT=1, respectively. |
header_nest |
binary | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 IOUT<8 | run metadata + ancillary data, included in grid_conc_date_nest.nc and partoutput_date_nest.nc when IOUT>8 and IPOUT=1, respectively. |
header_txt |
text | IOUT<8 | human-readable run metadata (from COMMAND) |
header_txt_releases |
text | IOUT<8 | human-readable run metadata (from RELEASES or part_ic.nc) |
dates |
text | IOUT<8 | time series: dates of output files |
| ** Gridded data ** | |||
grid_conc_date_nnn |
binary | LDIRECT=1 IOUT=1,3,5 | 3D tracer mass density and 2D deposition |
grid_pptv_date_nnn |
binary | LDIRECT=1 IOUT=2,3 | 3D tracer volume mixing ratio and 2D deposition |
grid_time_date_nnn |
binary | LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=1 | 3D sensitivity of atmospheric receptor to emissions |
grid_drydep_date_nnn |
binary | LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=1 IND_RECEPTOR=3 | 3D sensitivity of dry deposition receptor to emissions |
grid_wetdep_date_nnn |
binary | LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=1 IND_RECEPTOR=4 | 3D sensitivity of wet deposition receptor to emissions |
grid_conc_date.nc |
NetCDF | LDIRECT=1 IOUT=9,10,11,13 | 3D tracer and 2D wet and dry deposition |
grid_time_date.nc |
NetCDF | LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=9 | 3D sensitivity of atmospheric receptor to emissions |
grid_drydep_date.nc |
NetCDF | LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=9 IND_RECEPTOR=3 | 3D sensitivity of dry deposition receptor to emissions |
grid_wetdep_date.nc |
NetCDF | LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=9 IND_RECEPTOR=4 | 3D sensitivity of wet deposition receptor to emissions |
grid_initial_nnn |
binary | LDIRECT=-1 LINIT_COND>0 | 3D sensitivity of receptor concentrations and deposition to initial conditions |
| ** Nested gridded data ** | |||
grid_conc_nest_date_nnn |
binary | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=1 IOUT=1,3,5 | 3D tracer mass density and 2D deposition |
grid_pptv_nest_date_nnn |
binary | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=1 IOUT=2,3 | 3D tracer volume mixing ratio and 2D deposition |
grid_time_nest_date_nnn |
binary | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=1 | 3D sensitivity of atmospheric receptor to emissions |
grid_drydep_nest_date_nnn |
binary | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=1 IND_RECEPTOR=3 | 3D sensitivity of dry deposition receptor to emissions |
grid_wetdep_nest_date_nnn |
binary | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=1 IND_RECEPTOR=4 | 3D sensitivity of wet deposition receptor to emissions |
grid_conc_nest_date.nc |
NetCDF | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=1 IOUT=9,10,11,13 | 3D tracer and 2D wet and dry deposition |
grid_time_nest_date.nc |
NetCDF | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=9 | 3D sensitivity of atmospheric receptor to emissions |
grid_drydep_nest_date.nc |
NetCDF | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=9 IND_RECEPTOR=3 | 3D sensitivity of dry deposition receptor to emissions |
grid_wetdep_nest_date.nc |
NetCDF | NESTED_OUTPUT=1 LDIRECT=-1 IOUT=9 IND_RECEPTOR=4 | 3D sensitivity of wet deposition receptor to emissions |
| ** Particle data ** | |||
partoutput_date.nc |
NetCDF | IPOUT=1,2,3 | Data at particle level. Output fields set in PARTOPTIONS |
partinit_date.nc |
NetCDF | IPOUT=1,2,3 IPIN=1 | Initial particle data at t=0. Output fields set in PARTOPTIONS |
restart_date |
binary | LOUTRESTART>=0 | Binary restart files are written to file at each LOUTRESTART interval, see Restarting a simulation |