MCS Environmental Analysis for Global Storm-Resolving Models

Analysis of environmental conditions around Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS) in global storm-resolving models (GSRMs) and reanalysis data.

Author: Laura Paccini
Last Updated: November 2025

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📁 Repository Structure

extract_environments/

Scripts to extract environmental statistics around MCS tracks:

• Model output: HEALPix grid data (SCREAM, ICON, IFS, NICAM, UM)
• Reanalysis: ERA5 regular grid data
• Methods: Circular area extraction, mask-based extraction
• Output: Statistics (mean, median, std, etc.) in parquet format

Start here: See extract_environments/README.md for detailed documentation.

pre_process/

Scripts to pre-compute derived variables and perform preliminary calculations:

• Wind shear calculations (deep shear, low-level shear)
• Monthly mean statistics

analysis/

Jupyter notebooks for analysis and visualization:

• MCS environmental condition analysis
• Comparison across models and observations
• Statistical analysis and plotting

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Extract environmental statistics:

   cd extract_environments/
   sbatch run_get_env_vars_SCREAM.sh  # or other model

2. Pre-compute derived variables:

   cd pre_process/
   # Run pre-processing scripts as needed

3. Analyze results:

   cd analysis/
   jupyter notebook

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📖 Documentation

• Extraction workflows: extract_environments/README.md
• Pre-processing: See scripts in pre_process/ directory
• Analysis: See individual notebooks in analysis/ directory

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🔗 Related Resources

• MCS Tracking: WACCEM MCS tracking workflows
• Model Data: Digital Earths Global Hackathon catalog
• ERA5 Data: /global/cfs/cdirs/m1867/zfeng/gpm/mcs_global

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For detailed usage and examples, see the README files in each subdirectory.