This page describes how to configure MESH to run SVS version 1.0 and version 2.0 in a "point mode".
Overview
MESH can be configured to run SVS version 1.0 and version 2.0 in a point mode. This process uses a combination of the MESH_input_run_options.ini, MESH_input_soil_levels.txt, and MESH_parameters.txt input files. Compared to traditional MESH configurations, the INI format parameter files are disabled. Driving data can be provided via the CLASS MET format forcing file, or using files in CSV format, or a combination of both.
Page contents:
Step-by-step guide
Meteorological forcing data
Driving data must be prepared in the CLASS MET forcing file or CSV formats. The data must be a continuous time-series with no missing data (i.e., no NO_DATA frames), and must have a consistent time-stepping between frames. The time-series must be in UTC+00 time and consider leap-days (i.e., February 29) on leap-years.
CLASS MET format forcing file
The CLASS MET forcing file is a format borrowed from former standalone release of the Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS). The columns of the file are described below. Sample files may show the file in legacy fixed formatting, though MESH reads the file in free-format. Thus, fields need to separated by whitespace, such as one or more tabs or spaces, but do not necessarily need to follow the exact same formatting as shown. The file contains no header.
The file must be named "basin_forcing.met".
1 0 274 1994 0.00 337.80 0.0000E+00 10.95 8.4580E-03 0.90 86382.00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 2 0 274 1994 0.00 337.60 0.0000E+00 10.85 8.4490E-03 0.80 86382.00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 3 0 274 1994 0.00 337.30 0.0000E+00 10.65 8.3470E-03 0.70 86382.00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00
| Column | Variable | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HOUR | Hour in day (0-23). | -- |
| 2 | MINS | Minutes in hour (must be in common with the model time-step, such that mod(model time-step, MINS) = 0). | -- |
| 3 | JDAY | Day in year (must account for leap-days in leap-years). | -- |
| 4 | YEAR | Year (in format YYYY). | -- |
| 5 | FSIN | Incoming shortwave radiation at the surface. | W m**-2 |
| 6 | FLIN | Incoming longwave radiation at the surface. | W m**-2 |
| 7 | PRE | Total precipitation rate at the surface. If the "rr_sr" option is specified on BASINFORCINGFLAG, this value is still required but not used internally; it is replaced with "PRERN" and "PRESNO" (below). | kg m**-2 s**-1 or mm s**-1 |
| 8 | TA | Air temperature at the forcing reference height. Note: This is the only file that expects temperature in degrees Celsius. If mixing file formats, temperature should be provided in units of Kelvin in other file formats. | degrees C |
| 9 | QA | Specific humidity at the forcing reference height. | kg kg**-1 |
| 10 | UV | Wind speed at the forcing reference height for momentum. | m s**-1 |
| 11 | PRES | Surface pressure. | Pa |
| 12 | PRERN | Total incoming liquid precipitation rate. Only expected and read if BASINFORCINGFLAG is used with the "rr_sr" option. | kg m**-2 s**-1 |
| 13 | PRESNO | Total incoming solid precipitation rate. Only expected and read if BASINFORCINGFLAG is used with the "rr_sr" option. | kg m**-2 s**-1 |
CSV format forcing files
Individual time-series can be passed as separate forcing files using the CSV format.
The file contains no header, no date column, and a single column of data. The data must be a continuous time-series with no missing data (i.e., NO_DATA) frames, and must have a consistent time-stepping between frames. The time-series must be in UTC+00 time and consider leap-days (i.e., February 29) on leap-years.
284.11, 284.01, 283.81,
| File | Variable | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| basin_shortwave.csv | FSIN | Incoming shortwave radiation at the surface. | W m**-2 |
| basin_longwave.csv | FLIN | Incoming longwave radiation at the surface. | W m**-2 |
| basin_rain.csv | PRE | Total precipitation rate at the surface. | kg m**-2 s**-1 or mm s**-1 |
| basin_temperature.csv | TA | Air temperature at the forcing reference height. | K |
| basin_humidity.csv | QA | Specific humidity at the forcing reference height. | kg kg**-1 |
| basin_wind.csv | UV | Wind speed at the forcing reference height for momentum. | m s**-1 |
| basin_pres.csv | PRES | Surface pressure. | Pa |
Time-stepping
MESH does not read time-stamps or dates from forcing files. In some ways, this is a legacy of how forcing files were originally created for MESH from ECCC numerical weather prediction outputs, but also strategic to remove file seek-times and improve run-time performance. This is why certain file formats, such as files in CSV format, do not contain dates.
The start date corresponding to the first frame of record in forcing files, is passed to MESH as a variable, either in the last line of MESH_parameters_CLASS.ini, if using the INI format parameter files, or with the "start_date=" option on BASINFORCINGFLAG. The sample excerpts on this page specify the start date using the BASINFORCINGFLAG control flag, as using the INI format parameter files is disabled.
The frame length/time-stepping of records in the file is provided either using the HOURLYFLAG control flag, or using the "hf=" option on BASINFORCINGFLAG. The date corresponding to a frame of data is calculated from the specified start date, where the minutes elapsed are determined as the product of the offset of records read from the file and the frame length.
These "start_date=" and "hf=" options of BASINFORCINGFLAG are described in detail here.
Creating and configuring the MESH_input_run_options.ini file
A new text file should be created, named "MESH_input_run_options.ini". This file contains model configuration. The sections of the file are described here.
This example MESH_input_run_options.ini file is described in detail below:
MESH run options input file
##### Control flags #####
----#
8 # Number of control flags
BASINFORCINGFLAG met rr_sr start_date=1994100101 hf=60
SHDFILEFLAG 2
INPUTPARAMSFORMFLAG only txt
SOILINIFLAG 0
NRSOILAYEREADFLAG 3
RUNMODE runsvs noroute
DIAGNOSEMODE on
TIMESTEPFLAG 5
##### Diagnostic point output selection #####
----#
0 # Number of output points
---------#
1 #1 Grid number
1 #2 GRU (if applicable)
output #3 Output directory
##### Output directory #####
---------#
output # Output directory for total-basin files
##### Simulation run times #####
---#---#---#---#
0 0 0 0 # Start year, day, hour, minute
0 0 0 0 # Stop year, day, hour, minute
Control flags
If control flags are added or removed, the "Number of control flags" at the top of this section must be updated to reflect the number of controls flags that are listed in the file:
----#
8 # Number of control flags
Descriptions of the active control flags in the example file are as follows:
| Control Flag | Option | Description |
|---|---|---|
BASINFORCINGFLAG | met | BASINFORCINGFLAG with the "met" option specifies that driving data should be read from the CLASS MET format forcing file. The expected file is named "basin_forcing.met". The "met" option can be replaced with "csv" to read driving data from forcing files in CSV format instead. BASINFORCINGFLAG can be replaced or complemented with the BASINRAINFLAG, BASINTEMPERATUREFLAG, etc.., overrides to specify file format on a variable-basis. These overrides are described here. This is also described below. |
rr_sr | BASINFORCINGFLAG with the "rr_sr" option activates reading two extra columns in the CLASS MET format forcing file ( With the "rr_sr" option, the column corresponding to "total precipitation" ( The CLASS MET format forcing file is the only forcing file that uses this option. | |
start_date=1994100101 | The "start_date=" option on BASINFORCINGFLAG specifies the date of the first frame of driving data read from the forcing files. In this case, the start date is October 1, 1994 01:00. If the date provided is in The excepted start date formatting and options are described here. MESH does not read time-stamps from forcing files. Thus, it requires the start date to be passed as a variable. | |
hf=60 | The "hf=" option on BASINFORCINGFLAG specifies the frame length of each record in the forcing files in minutes. In this case, it's provided as 60 minutes (e.g., hourly). The record length must be must be in common with the model time-step, such that mod(model time-step, hf) = 0 or mod(hf, model time-step) = 0. MESH does not read time-stamps from forcing files. Thus, the frame length is required to associate times with records read from file. The date corresponding to a record is calculated from the specified start date, where the minutes elapsed are determined as the product of the offset of records read from the file and the frame length. For this reason, frames in the file must have uniform time-stepping. If mixing forcing file formats or using separate CSV format files instead, the frame length can be specified before BASINFORCINGFLAG or its overrides using the HOURLYFLAG control flag, or the "hf=" option can be specified on the forcing file flags individually (e.g., if the forcing files have different frame lengths). There are examples of this below. | |
SHDFILEFLAG | 2 | For point mode, SHDFILEFLAG must be set to 2 to activate the "point mode" and prevent MESH from searching for a drainage database input file, which contains additional attributes for running fully-distributed hydrological simulations. |
INPUTPARAMSFORMFLAG | only | The "only" option on INPUTPARAMSFORMFLAG prevents MESH from searching for the INI format parameter files. |
txt | The "txt" option on INPUTPARAMSFORMFLAG tells MESH to read the MESH_parameters.txt input file. | |
SOILINIFLAG | 0 | SOILINIFLAG can be configured to optionally redistribute soil texture parameters when their sum adds to greater than 100% of the soil triangle. |
NRSOILAYEREADFLAG | 3 | NRSOILAYEREADFLAG controls how many values to read from file for soil-related parameters and initial conditions. In this case, the option 3 tells MESH to expect three values for soil-related parameters and initial conditions when reading data from file. If more than 3 values exist in the file, they are ignored. If more than three soil layers exist in the discretization, the values of the third layer are applied to all deeper layers. This flag is useful to assign values to deeper layers when many layers exist in the discretization that are assumed to all be of the same soil type, in which case those layers do not need to be parameterized and initialized by repeating values in the input file. This flag is described in detail here. To parameterize and initialize all layers explicitly, set the flag to 1. To parameterize and initialize a subset of the layers, between 3 and the total number of layers, set the flag value equal to the number of layers to read from file. |
RUNMODE | runsvs | To activate SVS, RUNMODE must include the "runsvs" option, or MESH will run with the default Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) instead. |
noroute | To run in point mode, RUNMODE must include the "noroute" option to disable distributed routing routines, which require additional hydrological attributes and basin information not included in the subset of input files used for "point mode". | |
DIAGNOSEMODE | on | DIAGNOSEMODE can be optionally activated to print additional diagnostic information during the initialization of the model to screen and to MESH_output_echo_print.txt. The option can be disabled by changing the setting from "on" to "off". |
TIMESTEPFLAG | 5 | TIMESTEPFLAG specifies the time-step in minutes used by the land surface scheme, in this case of SVS. In point mode, as this is the only process-based module active in the model, TIMESTEPFLAG defines the model time-step. |
Diagnostic point outputs
"Diagnostic point outputs" can be optionally activated by changing the "Number of output points" to 1. However, creating diagnostic outputs saves a significant amount of data to file at every time-step of the model, which creates very large files and impacts model run-time performance. Using these outputs is only recommended for very specific diagnostic purposes. Where possible, creating outputs using OUTFILESFLAG (configured with outputs_balance.txt) is recommended instead. A list of all of the variables that are available as MESH outputs via OUTFILESFLAG is here.
In point mode, only 1 grid and 1 GRU are used (a single tile within a single "unit grid") so only 1 output point should be specified in this section.
The outputs will be written inside the "output directory". MESH does not create directories by itself, so the folder must be created and already exist before the simulation is run, or the program will abort with an error. The folder name cannot contain any whitespace, such as tabs or spaces.
To write the outputs in the same location as the program (e.g., alongside the input files), set the "output directory" to a single period ".".
##### Diagnostic point output selection #####
----#
0 # Number of output points
---------#
1 #1 Grid number
1 #2 GRU (if applicable)
output #3 Output directory
General outputs
Most model outputs are saved to the general "output directory". Outputs include general model outputs, the basin-average outputs files, and outputs created via OUTFILESFLAG, if enabled.
The folder name must be less than 10 characters (the same number of dashes in the line above where the "output directory" is specified). MESH does not create directories by itself, so the folder must be created and already exist before the simulation is run, or the program will abort with an error. The folder name cannot contain any whitespace, such as tabs or spaces.
To write the outputs in the same location as the program (e.g., alongside the input files), set the "output directory" to a single period ".".
##### Output directory ##### ---------# output # Output directory for total-basin files
Simulation run times
Simulation run times specify the simulation window. If a specific date for the simulation start date is provided, it must occur on or after the start date corresponding to the first frame in the forcing files. If the simulation start date occurs after this start date, MESH will automatically skip the necessary number frames in the forcing files.
If the simulation start date is specified as all zeros, the simulation starts from the first frame in the forcing files, such that the simulation runs from when driving data are available.
The simulation stop date is not included in the simulation. The simulation ends in the last time-step just before the specified simulation stop date. Thus, to run a full year of data, the simulation stop date is not December 31 23:55 (assuming 5-minute model time-step), but rather January 1 00:00. This assumption is by design, to simplify how the simulation stop date is specified in this file.
If the simulation stop date is specified as all zeros, the simulation runs until it runs out of driving data.
The simulation start and stop dates are described in detail here.
##### Simulation run times ##### ---#---#---#---# 0 0 0 0 # Start year, day, hour, minute 0 0 0 0 # Stop year, day, hour, minute
BASINFORCINGFLAG and forcing file considerations
If using driving data in the CLASS MET format forcing file, BASINFORCINGFLAG must be included in the list of control flags with the "met" option.
In the following file,
- "met" specifies that driving data should be read from the CLASS MET format forcing file
- "start_date=1994100101" specifies that the first frame of data occurs on October 1, 1994 at 01:00
- "hf=60" specifies that the frame length/time-stepping of the file is 60 minutes (e.g., hourly)
BASINFORCINGFLAG met rr_sr start_date=1994100101 hf=60
If using driving data in CSV format where the frame length is consistent between all files, BASINFORCINGFLAG can be used with the "csv" option.
In the following file,
- "csv" specifies that driving data should be read from CSV format forcing files
- "start_date=1994100101" specifies that the first frame of data occurs on October 1, 1994 at 01:00
- "hf=60" specifies that the frame length/time-stepping of the file is 60 minutes (e.g., hourly)
BASINFORCINGFLAG csv start_date=1994100101 hf=60
If the driving data are in CSV format, but the frame length is not consistent between files, the BASINFORCINGFLAG overrides can be used to specify "hf=" on a per-flag basis. BASINFORCINGFLAG should be listed before overrides for specific files.
In the following file,
- The options of BASINFORCINGFLAG are applied for all fields
- "csv" specifies that driving data should be read from CSV format forcing files
- "start_date=1994100101" specifies that the first frame of data occurs on October 1, 1994 at 01:00
- "hf=60" specifies that the frame length/time-stepping of the file is 60 minutes (e.g., hourly)
- The options of BASINRAINFLAG override these options of the total precipitation field (
PRE) specifically- "hf=360" specifies that the frame length/time-stepipng of the "basin_rain.csv" forcing file is actually 360 minutes (e.g., 6-hourly)
BASINFORCINGFLAG csv start_date=1994100101 hf=60 BASINRAINFLAG 2 hf=360
The above approach can also be used to use the CLASS MET and CSV format forcing files together. For example, to read a background field of station data from the CLASS MET format file, and overwrite specific columns with revised or modified values read from CSV format files. BASINFORCINGFLAG should be listed before overrides for specific files.
In the following file,
- HOURLYFLAG is used to specify the frame length as 30 minutes (e.g., half-hourly), which applies for all forcing files
- BASINFORCINGFLAG is specified with the "met" option to read driving data from the CLASS MET format forcing file
- BASINRAINFLAG with option 2 specifies that total precipitation should also be read from the "basin_rain.csv" CSV format file, which will overwrite "
PRE" read from the CLASS MET format forcing file - BASINTEMPERATUREFLAG with option 2 specifies that temperature should also be read from the "basin_temperature.csv" CSV format file, which will overwrite "
TA" read from the CLASS MET format forcing file
HOURLYFLAG 30 BASINFORCINGFLAG met BASINRAINFLAG 2 BASINTEMPERATUREFLAG 2
Creating and configuring the MESH_input_soil_levels.txt file
A new text file should be created, named "MESH_input_soil_levels.txt". This file defines the soil layer discretization. The file is described here.
MESH determines the number of soil layers in the domain from reading the number of lines in this file. The first column in the file identifies the soil layer thickness. The second column identifies the depth from the surface to the bottom of the soil layer. Thus, the value in the second column in the last row of the file is the total depth of the soil profile.
soiltext" option of SVS must be set to "NIL". This variable and option are specified in MESH_parameters.txt, and described in the next section.An example MESH_input_soil_levels.txt file:
0.05 0.05 !> delz(1)/dl_svs(1)
0.05 0.1 !> delz(2)/dl_svs(2)
0.1 0.2 !> delz(3)/dl_svs(3)
0.2 0.4 !> delz(4)/dl_svs(4)
0.6 1.0 !> delz(5)/dl_svs(5)
1.0 2.0 !> delz(6)/dl_svs(6)
1.0 3.0 !> delz(7)/dl_svs(7)
Note that the vertical discretization of the sample file above corresponds to the default soil profile used for SVS in GEM-Hydro (ECCC prediction system), which includes 7 soil layers and max. depth of 3m.
Creating and configuring the MESH_parameters.txt file
A new text file should be created, named "MESH_parameters.txt". This file can contain options, parameters, and variables for specific process-modules. In this case, the file has been configured for SVS. The file, structure, and fields supported by the file are described here.
This example MESH_parameters.txt file is described in detail below. The file shown below is adapted for SVS1. Please refer to the test case on the GitHub repo to get an example of a file adapted for SVS2.
! TXT (free-format) MESH configuration file. ! ! See important notes below to use this file for basin configuration (e.g., to run point mode). ! When running in distributed mode, 'npoints' should correspond to the number of GRUs ! determined from the distributed database (LSS or drainage database, depending on operating mode). ! When running in point mode, 'npoints' defines the number of subbasins/simulation points. ! See details on this file format here: https://wiki.usask.ca/display/MESH/MESH_parameters.txt ! Basin information. ! Only a single column (single point) for point mode. !npoints ----- 1 deglat 45.30 !degrees deglng 5.77 !degrees ! Forcing configuration. observed_forcing height !height: uses heights directly. !npoints ----- 1 zusl 10.0 !m, for momentum ztsl 1.5 !m, for temperature/humidity ! Surface (WATDRN). ! npoints ----- 1 slop 0.005 !m m**-1 draindens 0.05 !m m**-2 ! Soils. soiltext NIL !NIL: required to use soil_levels.txt as-is ! By default, values for 3 layers are required and only read. The values of the third layer are applied to all deeper layers. ! To override this behaviour, activate "NRSOILLAYEREADFLAG" in MESH_input_run_options.ini with an option. ! See details here: https://wiki.usask.ca/display/MESH/NRSOILAYEREADFLAG ! Validate the mapping by activating "DIAGNOSEMODE" in MESH_input_run_options.ini. ! A summary of the soil layers, texture values, and mapping are then printed to MESH_output_echo_print.txt. !nlayers ----- 1 ----- 2 ----- 3 ----- 4 ----- 5 ----- 6 ----- 7 sand 60.0 60.0 60.0 !% clay 30.0 30.0 30.0 !% wsoil 0.083 0.086 0.098 !vol. content isoil 0.0 0.0 0.0 !vol. content ! Special values not tied to soil layer scheme. !nlayers ----- 1 ----- 2 tground 284.81 284.43 !Kelvin, only 2 values for svs1 ! Vegetation canopies. ! Map land cover to the most appropriate land cover in SVS. ! Values are required for 26 pre-defined categories. !ncanopies ----- 1 ----- 2 ----- 3 ----- 4 ----- 5 ----- 6 ----- 7 ----- 8 ----- 9 ---- 10 ---- 11 ---- 12 ---- 13 ---- 14 ---- 15 ---- 16 ---- 17 ---- 18 ---- 19 ---- 20 ---- 21 ---- 22 ---- 23 ---- 24 ---- 25 ---- 26 ! sea glacier in-lake ever-nl ever-bl deci-nl deci-bl trop-bl dry-tr ever-sh deci-sh thor-sh shor-gr long-gr crops rice sugar maize cotton irr-cr urban tundra swamp desert mx-tree mx-sh vf 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 !fraction !nlayers ----- 1 ----- 2 tvege 285.7 285.7 !Kelvin !npoints ----- 1 wveg 0.0 !kg m**-2 ! Snow. ! Category: High veg. !nlayers ----- 1 ----- 2 tsnowveg 273.16 273.16 !Kelvin !npoints ----- 1 snvdp 0.0 !m snvden 0.0 !kg m**-3, replaces 'snoro'; replaced if 'snoro' is listed after this line snval 0.0 !fraction wsnv 0.0 !kg m**-2 ! Category: Low veg. and bare ground. !nlayers ----- 1 ----- 2 tsnow 273.16 273.16 !Kelvin !npoints ----- 1 snodpl 0.0 !m snoden 0.0 !kg m**-3, replaces 'snoro'; replaced if 'snoro' is listed after this line snoal 0.0 !fraction wsnow 0.0 !kg m**-2
The lines in the file are read as whitespace delimited. All fields should be separated by one or more tabs or spaces. Samples may show aesthetic spacing for readability, but the spacing between fields and values does not have to be consistent from one line to the next.
Review the spacing section on the support page for this file for more information.
Basin configuration (needed for both versions of SVS)
| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DEGLAT | (see note above) | Real | Latitude of point. | -- | degrees |
DEGLNG | (see note above) | Real | Longitude of point. | -- | degrees |
Climate forcing options (needed for both versions of SVS)
OBSERVED_FORCING" should be specified as "height" for observatory data that come from site instrumentation. However, "OBSERVED_FORCING" is still allowed to be "sigma" with respective sigma levels in point mode, if relevant for the forcing files. For example, if these data are point time-series extracted from numerical weather prediction model outputs.| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OBSERVED_FORCING | 1 | Character | Specifies the type of driving data. Must be one of "sigma" or "height". | sigma | -- |
Only if "OBSERVED_FORCING" is specified as "sigma":
| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SIGMA_U | 1 | Real | Reference level of forcing data for momentum. | 0.995 | sigma |
SIGMA_T | 1 | Real | Reference level of forcing data for momentum. | 0.995 | sigma |
Only if "OBSERVED_FORCING" is specified as "height":
| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ZUSL | 1 | Real | Reference height of forcing data for momentum. | -- | m |
ZTSL | 1 | Real | Reference height of forcing data for temperature and humidity. | -- | m |
SVS version
| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCHMSOL | 1 | Character | Version of SVS to use (SVS1 or SVS2). Two possible values: SVS for SVS1 and SVS2 for SVS2. | SVS | -- |
Soils configuration (needed for both versions of SVS)
soiltext" option of SVS must be set to "NIL". This option is recommnded for point-scale applications.| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units | Supported Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOILTEXT | 1 | Character | Specifies the soils database for mapping soils information. Must be one of " Set to " | NIL | -- | r1641 |
KHYD | 1 | Real | Number of permeable soil layers for the water balance. | 6 | -- | r1641 |
Physiographic characteristics (needed for both versions of SVS)
Legend:
- NLANDTYPE: Number of land cover types
- NSOIL: Number of soil layers
| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SLOP | (see note above) | Real | Topographic slope. | -- | m m**-1 |
DRAINDENS | (see note above) | Real | Drainage density. | -- | m m**-2 |
SAND | 1->NSOIL | Real | Sand content. | -- | % |
CLAY | 1->NSOIL | Real | Clay content. | -- | % |
VF | 1->NLANDTYPE | Real | Active fraction for each vegetation type. The 26 land cover types expected by SVS are pre-defined. See this page for more information. The sum of VF fractions should add to 1.0. | -- | fraction |
Z0V | 1->NLANDTYPE | Real | Aerodynamic roughness height. Default: SVS uses default values for each vegetation type. See the this page for more information. User-defined: The roughness length is specified for each vegetation type in MESH_parameters.txt (see the example below). In this case, an average value is calculated using the | -- | m |
VF fractions should add to 1.0. User-defined roughness length (Z0V). Only values corresponding to an active vegetation type with VF > 0.0 need to be defined (see below).
! Vegetation canopies. ! Map land cover to the most appropriate land cover in SVS. ! Values are required for 26 pre-defined categories. !ncanopies ----- 1 ----- 2 ----- 3 ----- 4 ----- 5 ----- 6 ----- 7 ----- 8 ----- 9 ---- 10 ---- 11 ---- 12 ---- 13 ---- 14 ---- 15 ---- 16 ---- 17 ---- 18 ---- 19 ---- 20 ---- 21 ---- 22 ---- 23 ---- 24 ---- 25 ---- 26 ! sea glacier in-lake ever-nl ever-bl deci-nl deci-bl trop-bl dry-tr ever-sh deci-sh thor-sh shor-gr long-gr crops rice sugar maize cotton irr-cr urban tundra swamp desert mx-tree mx-sh vf 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 !fraction z0v 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.025 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 !roughness length
Options available in SVS 1
| Field Name | Type | Description | Possible values | Default Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
LSOIL_FREEZING_SVS1 | Boolean | Activate soil freezing option in SVS1 | .true. or .false. | .false. |
LWATER_PONDING_SVS1 | Boolean | Activate water ponding scheme in SVS1 |
| .false. |
MESH_parameters.txt before defining the initial conditions (see below)Options for multi-layer snowpack scheme in SVS 2.0
More details about the physical options in the multiphysical version of Crocus are availale in Lafaysse et al. (2017).
| Field Name | Type | Description | Possible values | Default Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
HSNOWSCHEME | Character | Snowpack scheme to use (Explicit Snow or Crocus) | ES, CRO | ES |
NSL | Integer | Number of snow layers | 6, 9, 12 for ES; Up to 50 for CRO | 20 |
HSNOWDRIFT_CRO | Character | Option for the snowdrift scheme for Crocus: Mechanical transformation of snow grain and compaction and effect of wind on falling snow properties |
| VI13 |
LSNOWDRIFT_SUBLIM | Boolean | Activate mass loss due to blowing snow sublimation in ES and Crocus | .true. or .false. | .true. |
HSNOWMETAMO | Character | Option for the metamorphism scheme for Crocus |
| C13 |
HSNOWRAD | Character | Option for the radiative transfer scheme for Crocus |
| B92 |
HSNOWFALL | Character | Option for the falling snow density for Crocus |
| V12 |
HSNOWCOND | Character | Option for the thermal conductivity scheme for Crocus |
| Y81 |
HSNOWHOLD | Character | Option for the liquid water content scheme for Crocus |
| B92 |
HSNOWCOMP | Character | Option for the compaction scheme for Crocus |
| B92 |
LOUT_SNOWPROFILE | Boolean | Create output file containing detailed information on snowpack layering for Crocus simulations. See below for more information on the model outputs. | True or False | False |
NPROFILE_DAY | Integer | Number of snow profiles per day when LOUT_SNOWPROFILE=True. | 1, 2 , 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 | 4 |
LOUT_SNOW_ENBAL | Boolean | Create output file containing information on the surface energy balance of the snowpack. | True or False | False |
Initial conditions (prognostic variables, depending on the version of SVS)
Legend:
- NSOIL: Number of soil layers
| Field Name | No. of Values | Type | Description | Default Value | Units | Version of SVS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WSOIL | 1->NSOIL | Real | Liquid water content in the soil. | -- | m**3 m**-3 | 1 and 2 |
ISOIL | 1->NSOIL | Real | Frozen water content in the soil. (only used with soil freezing option in SVS1 and with multi-layer soil scheme in SVS2) | -- | m**3 m**-3 | 1 and 2 |
TGROUND | 1->2 | Real | Soil temperature of the Force Resrore scheme (index 1: skin temperature; index 2: mean). | -- | K | 1 |
TPSOIL | 1 → NSOIL | Real | Soil temperature in the soil below low-lying vegetation and bare ground (with soil freezing option in SVS1 and with multi-layer scheme in SVS2) | -- | K | 1 (with freezing) and 2 |
TPSOILV | 1 → NSOIL | Real | Soil temperature in the soil below high vegetation (multi-layer scheme in SVS2) | -- | K | 2 |
TPERM | 1 | Real | Deep soil temperature used as a lower boundary conditions for the soil column in SVS1 with soil freezing actrivated and in SVS2 | -- | K | 1 (with freezing) and 2 |
TVEGE | 1->2 | Real | Vegetation canopy temperature (index 1: skin temperature; index 2: mean). | -- | K | 1 and 2 |
WVEG | 1 | Real | Liquid water retained in the vegetation canopy. | -- | kg m**-2 | 1 and 2 |
TSNOW | 1->2 | Real | Snow temperature over low-lying vegetation and bare ground (index 1: skin temperature; index 2: mean). | -- | K | 1 |
SNODPL | 1 | Real | Snow depth over low-lying vegetation and bare ground. | -- | m | 1 |
SNODEN | 1 | Real | Snow density over low-lying vegetation and bare ground. | -- | kg m**-3 | 1 |
SNOAL | 1 | Real | Snow albedo over low-lying vegetation and bare ground. | -- | -- | 1 |
WSNOW | 1 | Real | Liquid water retained in the snowpack for low-lying vegetation and bare ground. | -- | kg m**-2 | 1 |
TSNOWVEG | 1->2 | Real | Snow temperature below high vegetation (index 1: skin temperature; index 2: mean). | -- | K | 1 |
SNVDP | 1 | Real | Snow depth below high vegetation. | -- | m | 1 |
SNVDEN | 1 | Real | Snow density below high vegetation. | -- | kg m**-3 | 1 |
SNVAL | 1 | Real | Snow albedo below high vegetation. | -- | -- | 1 |
WSNV | 1 | Real | Liquid water retained in the snowpack below high vegetation. | -- | kg m**-2 | 1 |
WATPOND | 1 | Real | Height of ponded water (if LWATER_PONDING_SVS1 is active) | -- | m | 1 |
Running the model
Once the necessary input files have been created, the folder should contain the following files:
| File | File Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| basin_forcing.met | Input file | CLASS MET format forcing file (contains driving data) |
| MESH_input_run_options.ini | Input file | MESH run configuration |
| MESH_input_soil_levels.txt | Input file | Soil layer discretization |
| MESH_parameters.txt | Input file | Parameter file (also contains process configuration flags and initial conditions) |
| sa_mesh | Executable/binary program | Standalone MESH program |
With these files and MESH_input_run_options.ini properly configured, running MESH for the point mode is exactly the same as for any model setup. To run the model, run the "sa_mesh" program.
Because no routing process is enabled, MESH will print a time-series of only three variables to screen. These are the same three columns that print to the end of the line in a regular MESH run: the basin-average precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff. In a point run, the "basin" is in fact a "unit grid", so these are the precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff amounts of the SVS column.
Model outputs when using SVS-2
Outputs of SVS2 are available in CSV format. Depending on the variable LOUT_SNOWPROFILE defined in MESH_parameter.txt (see above), 2 or 3 output files are available. More output files can be easily added by the users.
| Output File | Availability | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| svs2_soil_hourly.csv | Always | hourly | Soil prognostic variables (temperature, liquid and ice water content) |
| svs2_snow_bulk_hourly.csv | Always | hourly | Bulk snow variables for snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation |
| svs2_snow_enbal_hourly.csv | Only if LOUT_SNOW_ENBAL = TRUE | hourly | Variables related to energy and mass balance of snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation |
| svs2_snow_profile_hourly.csv | Only if LOUT_SNOW_PROFILE = TRUE | Depends on NPROFILE_DAY | Detailed layering of simulated snow physical properties for the snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation |
svs2_soil_hourly.csv
| Variable Name | No. of Values | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
WSOIL | 1->NSOIL | Liquid water content in the soil. | m**3 m**-3 |
ISOIL | 1->NSOIL | Frozen water content in the soil. | m**3 m**-3 |
TPSOIL | 1 → NSOIL | Soil temperature in the soil below low-lying vegetation and bare ground | K |
TPSOILV | 1 → NSOIL | Soil temperature in the soil below high vegetation | K |
svs2_snow_bulk_hourly.csv: For snowpack above bare ground and low-vegetation
| Variable Name | No. of Values | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
SNOMA | 1 | Snow Water Equivalent | kg m**-2 |
SNODP | 1 | Snow Depth | m |
SNODEN | 1 | Bulk Snow Density | kg m**-3 |
SNOALB | 1 | Snow Albedo | - |
WSNO | 1 | Total liqud water content of the snowpack | kg m**-2 |
TSNO_SURF | 1 | Snow surface temperature | K |
RSNOW_AC | 1 | Cumulated liquid water runoff at the bottom of the snowpack (reset to 0 day at 12 UTC) | kg m**-2 |
RAINRATE | 1 | Liquid Precipitation Rate | kg m**-2 s**-1 |
SNOWRATE | 1 | Solid Precipitation Rate | kg m**-2 s**-1 |
RSNOW_AC) is transfromed into cumulated variables over the full range of the model integration when converting the csv file into NetCDF (see https://github.com/VVionnet/MESH_SVS/blob/master/test_case/generate_nc_output.py). svs2_snow_enbal_hourly.csv: For snowpack above bare ground and low-vegetation.
Positive fluxes are counted towards the snowpack
| Variable Name | No. of Values | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
SNO_RNET | 1 | Net radiative flux at the surface of the snowpack | W m**-2 |
SNO_SWNET | 1 | Net shortwave flux at the surface of the snowpack | W m**-2 |
SNO_LWET | 1 | Net longwave flux at the surface of the snowpack | W m**-2 |
SNO_LE | 1 | Latent Heat flux at the surface of the snowpack | W m**-2 |
SNO_H | 1 | Sensible Heat flux at the surface of the snowpack | W m**-2 |
SNO_BSUBL | 1 | Rate of mass loss to due blowing snow sublimation | kg m**-2 s**-1 |
SNO_G | 1 | Ground heat flux at the snow/soil interface | W m**-2 |
SNO_HRAIN | 1 | Heat brought by rainfall | W m**-2 |
svs2_snow_profile_hourly.csv: For snowpack above bare ground and low-vegetation
| Variable Name | No. of Values | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
SNOMA_ML | 1 → NSL | Snow Water Equivalent per layer | kg m**-2 |
SNODEN_ML | 1 → NSL | Snow Density per layer | kg m**-3 |
SNOAGE_ML | 1 → NSL | Snow Age per layer | days |
SNODOPT_ML6 | 1 → NSL | Snow Optical Diameter per layer | m |
SNOSPH_ML | 1 → NSL | Snow Sphericity per layer | - |
SNOHIST_ML | 1 → NSL | Snow Historical variable per layer | - |
TSNOW_ML | 1 → NSL | Snow temperature per layer | K |
WSNOW_ML | 1 → NSL | Snow liquid water content per layer | kg m**-2 |
SNOMA_ML/SNODEN_ML (in meter).SNOSSA_ML = 6/( SNODOPT_ML * rho_ice) where rho_ice is the ice density (917 kg m**-3). See Carmagnola et al (2014) for more details.Model outputs when using SVS1
Outputs of SVS1 are available in CSV format. Two files are currently available (see below). More output files can be easily added by the users.
| Output File | Availability | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| svs1_soil_hourly.csv | Always | hourly | Soil prognostic variables (temperature, liquid and ice water content) |
| svs1_snow_bulk_hourly.csv | Always | hourly | Bulk snow variables for snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation and snowpack below high vegetation |
svs1_soil_hourly.csv
| Variable Name | No. of Values | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
WSOIL | 1->NSOIL | Liquid water content in the soil. | m**3 m**-3 |
ISOIL | 1->NSOIL | Frozen water content in the soil. | m**3 m**-3 |
TPSOIL | 1 → NSOIL | Soil temperature in the soil (availale if soil freezing module is activated) | K |
TGROUND | 2 | Surface and deep temperature for bare ground (from the Force Restore scheme) | K |
TVEG | 2 | Surface and deep temperature for vegetation (from the Force Restore scheme) | K |
svs1_snow_bulk_hourly.csv:
| Variable Name | No. of Values | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
SNOMA | 1 | Snow Mass for snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation | kg m**-2 |
SNODP | 1 | Snow Depth for snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation | m |
SNODEN | 1 | Bulk Snow Density for snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation | kg m**-3 |
SNOALB | 1 | Snow Albedo for snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation | - |
WSNO | 1 | Total liqud water content of the snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation | kg m**-2 |
TSNO | 2 | Surface and deep snow temperature (from the Force Restore scheme) for snowpack above bare-ground and low vegetation | K |
SNVMA | 1 | Snow Mass for snowpack below high vegetation | kg m**-2 |
SNVDP | 1 | Snow Depth for snowpack below high vegetation | m |
SNVDEN | 1 | Bulk Snow Density for snowpack below high vegetation | kg m**-3 |
SNVALB | 1 | Snow Albedo for snowpack below high vegetation | - |
WSNV | 1 | Total liqud water content of the snowpack below high vegetation | kg m**-2 |
TSNV | 2 | Surface and deep snow temperature (from the Force Restore scheme) for snowpack below high vegetation | K |
Related articles
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MESH_parameters_CLASS.ini — This page provides an overview of the MESH_parameters_CLASS.ini parameter file, which stores values for the parameters that are needed to run the CLASS portion of MESH and initial conditions. It is very similar to the "INI" configuration file used by the RUNCLASS ("standalone CLASS") program.
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How-to use RUNCLASS input files with Standalone MESH running in "point mode" — This page describes how to use existing RUNCLASS input files to run MESH in a "point mode".
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