The 3-D component of the STOFS, namely, STOFS-3D-Atlantic
provides users with the 24-hour nowcasts (analyses of near present conditions)
and up to 48-hour forecast guidance of the water level conditions, as well as
2- and 3-dimensional fields of water temperature, salinity, and currents.
STOFS-3D-Atlantic is run one time (on 12 UTC) per day. The system domain
encompasses the U.S. East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The water
levels produced by the STOFS-3D-Atlantic represent the combined tidal and subtidal
water surface elevations and are unanimously referenced to NAVD88.
STOFS-3D-Atlantic is providing a new variable called “water level disturbance”,
which is defined as water level height above NAVD88 for topobathy below NAVD88
(e.g. ocean), and as water level height above ground for topobathy above NAVD88
(e.g. land). Maximum height in the STOFS-3D-Atlantic grid is 10 m above NAVD88.
STOFS-3D-Atlantic employs the Semi-implicit Cross-scale
Hydroscience Integrated System Model (SCHISM) as the hydrodynamic model core. Its
unstructured model grid consists of 2,654,153 nodes and 5,137,229 triangular or
quadrilateral elements. The total number of 3D grid points is 24,088,817. Grid
resolution is 1.5-2 km near the shoreline, 200-550 m for the floodplain, and up
to 10 m for both levees and some small rivers. Along the U.S. coastline, the
land boundary of the domain aligns with the 10-m contour above NAVD88,
encompassing the coastal transitional zone most vulnerable to coastal and inland
flooding. The number of vertical layers ranges from 49 in the deepest part of
the Atlantic Ocean to just 1 layer in floodplain areas. The model run uses a
computational time step of 150 s. In total, STOFS-3D-Atlantic currently
simulates 1 day of simulation in 0.41 wall clock hours on 3,480 computational cores.
The files provided here include GRIB2 format for regional
grids and SHEF format for station time series; both GRIB2 and SHEF are
coincidentally provided to National Weather Service forecasters through AWIPS.
The files are also provided here in native netCDF format, which include the
full native resolution model grids and station time series; and the geopackage (gpkg) files for the field time series of water level disturbance over the entire domain.
This service is made possible through a public-private
partnership enabled by the NOAA Open Data Dissemination (NODD).
The files are in NETCDF, GRIB2, SHEF, and GPKG
format. Both NOAA and NASA provide tools for accessing NETCDF files:
·
Panoply is an application
from NASA that allows users to view and graph data that are contained in NETCDF
files.
·
ncdump is a software library that can be used for
extracting data from a NETCDF file. It is aimed at advanced users.
·
Other
tools are also available here.
NOAA provides tools for accessing GRIB2 files:
·
NCEP GRIB2 tools
include wgrib2 and g2lib.
·
wgrib2 is a
utility to read and write grib2 files. This link provides more details on the
utility.
More details on SHEF files are available here.
Python Package Index (PyPI) provides utilities to read and write GPKG files:
·
geopackage-python is the
python-based software tool to read and write GeoPackage
(gpkg) files.
Access to the datasets is being provided on Amazon Web
Services (AWS) via Simple Storage Service (S3). Files can be downloaded via the
native AWS S3 API using tools such as the AWS CLI or AWS SDK libraries such as the Python boto3
package.
AWS S3 also provides direct HTTP access to the files, so
datasets can be downloaded using any HTTP client such as web browser. To make
discovering and accessing the data easier, a simple bucket explorer
web application is also provided which allows you to navigate through the
object key structure and download files using a web browser.
The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) for the S3 Bucket is: arn:aws
:s3:::
noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl
.
Here is an example of using the AWS CLI to list a
particular day in the S3 bucket:
·
aws
s3 ls
s3://noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl/stofs_3d_atl.YYYYMMDD
·
Where YYYY
=
year, MM
= month, DD
= day
Additionally, an AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Topic has also been created to provide automated notifications when new files
are added to the S3 Bucket. Users who operate their own infrastructure on AWS
can integrate directly with this SNS Topic to trigger automated workflows using
AWS Lambda or other services.
The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) for the SNS Topic is: arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:709902155096:NewICOGS3DObject.
NOAA's operational STOFS-3D-Atlantic output is available
here: s3://noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl/
NOAA's collaborator, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
(VIMS), runs a shadow model for STOFS-3D-Atlantic. Its output is available
here: s3://noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl-shadow-VIMS/
All of the text below describes
data organization only for NOAA's operational STOFS-3D-Atlantic.
Files are organized by day, i.e., all model outputs on a
particular day are included in that day's directory, e.g.:
·
stofs_3d_atl.YYYYMMDD
·
Where YYYY
=
year, MM
= month, DD
= day
Within each directory, the below files are present. Use
this key to interpret file names:
·
CC
is the model run cycle, 12, for the nowcast and forecast
runs
·
HHH
is the nowcast hour (i.e., 023 - 000) or the forecast
hour (i.e., 000 – 048).
·
cwl
stands for combined (subtidal plus
tidal) water level (unit: m) referenced to NAVD88.
·
maxele
stands for
maximum water level elevation across entire forecast cycle
File Name |
Content |
Resolution |
File Type |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.conus.east.fHHH.grib2 |
Combined
water level (m, NAVD88) field on Regional Eastern CONUS gridded files |
2.5 km |
GRIB2 |
Hourly
combined water level (m, NAVD88) field on Regional Eastern CONUS gridded
files for all forecast hours |
2.5 km |
GRIB2 |
|
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.puertori.fHHH.grib2 |
Combined
water level (m, NAVD88) field on Regional Puerto Rico gridded files at
forecast HHH |
1.25 km |
GRIB2 |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.puertori.cwl.grib2 |
Hourly
combined water level (m, NAVD88) field on Regional Puerto Rico gridded files
for all forecast hours |
1.25 km |
GRIB2 |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.hotstart.stofs3d.nc |
Model run hotstart
file (this serves as the restart file, to provide initial 3-D ocean state
variables for the next cycle) |
Native model |
NetCDF |
schout_adcirc_YYYYMMDD.nc |
Hourly fields of combined
(subtidal plus tidal) water level (m, NAVD88), maximum water level
disturbance, time of occurrence of maximum water level/maximum water level
disturbance, and 10 m wind field on ADCIRC-like triangular grid; totally
three files for the nowcast (n023 to n000), and forecast guidance days 1
(f001 to f024) & 2 (f025 to f048) |
Triangular grid |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.f001_024.field2d.nc |
Hourly forecast
guidance (f001 to f024) fields of combined water level (m, NAVD88), water temperature,
salinity, and horizontal water velocity at both surface and bottom, and
horizontal water velocity at 4.5 m below the water surface |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.f025_048.field2d.nc |
Hourly forecast
guidance (f025 to f048) fields of combined water level (m, NAVD88), and water
temperature, salinity, and horizontal water velocity at both surface and
bottom, and horizontal water velocity at 4.5 m below the water surface |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.n001_024.field2d.nc |
Hourly nowcast
guidance (n023 to n000) fields of combined water level (m, NAVD88), and water
temperature, salinity, horizontal water velocity at both surface and bottom,
and horizontal water velocity at 4.5 m below the water surface |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.out2d_forecast_day1.nc |
Hourly forecast (f001
to f024) fields of combined water level (m, NAVD88) and water-depth averaged
horizontal water velocity |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.out2d_forecast_day2.nc |
Hourly forecast (f025
to f048) fields of combined water level (m, NAVD88) and water-depth averaged
horizontal water velocity |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.out2d_nowcast.nc |
Hourly nowcast (n023
to n000) fields of combined water level (m, NAVD88) and water-depth averaged
horizontal water velocity |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.cwl.maxele.nc |
Maximum of nowcast and
forecast (hours n023 to n000, f001 to f048) combined water level (m, NAVD88)
field |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fcast.station.profile.nc |
Hourly forecast (f001
to f048) combined water level (m, NAVD88) and horizontal 10 m wind velocity,
and vertical profiles of water temperature, salinity, horizontal water
velocity at verification sites |
-- |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.ncast.station.profile.nc |
Hourly nowcast (n023
to n000) combined water level (m, NAVD88) and horizontal 10 m wind velocity,
and vertical profiles of water temperature, salinity, horizontal water
velocity at verification sites |
-- |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.points.cwl.nc |
Six-minute nowcast and
forecast combined water level (m, NAVD88) at verification sites |
-- |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.points.cwl.temp.salt.vel.nc |
Six-minute nowcast and
forecast combined water level (m, NAVD88), surface water temperature, surface
salinity, and surface horizontal water velocity at verification sites |
-- |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.horizontalVelX_forecast_day1.nc |
Hourly forecast
(between hours f001 and f024) 3-D horizontal water velocity fields in east-west
direction |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.horizontalVelX_forecast_day2.nc |
Hourly forecast
(between hours f025 and f048) 3-D horizontal water velocity fields in
east-west direction |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.horizontalVelX_nowcast.nc |
Hourly nowcast
(between hours n023 and n000) 3-D horizontal water velocity fields in
east-west direction |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.horizontalVelY_forecast_day1.nc |
Hourly forecast (between
hours f001 and f024) 3-D horizontal water velocity fields in north-south
direction |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.horizontalVelY_forecast_day2.nc |
Hourly forecast
(between hours f025 and f048) 3-D horizontal water velocity fields in north-south
direction |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.horizontalVelY_nowcast.nc |
Hourly nowcast
(between hours n023 and n000) 3-D horizontal water velocity fields in
north-south direction |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.salinity_forecast_day1.nc |
Hourly forecast
(between hours f001 and f024) 3-D salinity fields |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.salinity_forecast_day2.nc |
Hourly forecast
(between hours f025 and f048) 3-D salinity fields |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.salinity_nowcast.nc |
Hourly nowcast
(between hours n023 and n000) 3-D salinity fields |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields.temperature_forecast_day1.nc |
Hourly forecast
(between hours f001 and f024) 3-D temperature fields |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields. temperature _forecast_day2.nc |
Hourly forecast
(between hours f025 and f048) 3-D temperature fields |
Native model |
NetCDF |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.fields. temperature _nowcast.nc |
Hourly nowcast (between
hours n023 and n000) 3-D temperature fields |
Native model |
NetCDF |
30-minute
combined water level (ft, MLLW) at verification sites, for the entire
forecast period |
-- |
SHEF |
|
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.disturbance.fHHH.gpkg |
Hourly
water level disturbance in the forecast period |
Native model |
GPKG |
stofs_3d_atl.tCCz.disturbance.nHHH.gpkg |
Hourly
water level disturbance in the nowcast period |
Native model |
GPKG |
rerun/ |
This
is the folder that holds the initial condition and forcing files for the
system run on YYYYMMDD. The files are stored for the NOAA internal reference.
Hence no further details are given here. |
-- |
-- |
../post_processing/ |
This
is the folder that holds post processing for STOFS-3D-Atlantic, including
skill assessment. The files are mainly stored for NOAA internal reference.
Hence no further details are given here. |
-- |
-- |
../para/ |
This
is the folder that holds the parallel run (i.e. before the model or model upgrade
is operational) for STOFS-3D-Atlantic. The files are mainly stored for NOAA
internal reference. Hence no further details are given here. |
-- |
-- |
For example:
·
noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl/stofs_3d_atl.20221220/stofs_3d_atl.t12z.conus.east.cwl.grib2
·
noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl/stofs_3d_atl.20221220/stofs_3d_atl.t12z.f001_024.field2d.nc
·
noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl/stofs_3d_atl.20221220/
stofs_3d_atl.t12z.points.cwl.shef
·
noaa-nos-stofs3d-pds/STOFS-3D-Atl/stofs_3d_atl.20221220/stofs_3d_atl.t12z.disturbance.f005.gpkg
·
etc.
For questions regarding data content or quality, visit the STOFS site. For any questions regarding data delivery not associated with this platform or any general questions regarding the NOAA Open Data Dissemination (NODD), email nodd@noaa.gov.