Vis5D Documentation
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# Using the McIDAS Utilities

Once your data set is in a 3D grid file, you can list directory information about the grids using the command:

         igg3d list I J -gr3df N

where N is the 3D grid file number, and I and J give the range of grid numbers to list. You can get a quick idea of the data values using the command:

         igg3d info I J -gr3df N

which will list the minimum and maximum values, the mean, the standard deviation and the number of grid points marked for missing data, for grid numbers I to J in 3D grid file number N.

There are restrictions on the dimensions of data sets which can be visualized using the vis5d program. Currently, you are limited to a maximum of 30 physical variables and 400 times steps. The vis5d program will also fail if there is a trivial spatial dimension:

NLATS < 2
NLONS < 2
NHGTS < 2

The vis5d program will perform badly, possibly making errors, if the total 5-D size:

NLATS * NLONS * NHGTS * NTIMES * NVARS

is too large. The limit depends on the amount of memory in your system. For a 64MB system, the limit is around 25,000,000, with performance degrading as the data set size exceedes the limit.

Vis5D provides the gg3d and igg3d programs which can be used to reduce the resolution and scale of a data set to meet these limits. The gg3d program resamples a 3D grid to new array dimensions and new extents in latitude, longitude and height, using the command:

         gg3d samp N I M J

         gg3d ave  N I M J

where N and I are the numbers of the source 3D grid file and grid, and M and J are the numbers of the destination 3D grid file and grid. The 'samp' version calculates destination grid point values by linearly interpolating between source grid point values, and is appropriate for increasing resolution. The 'ave' version calculates destination grid points by averaging multiple source grid point values, and is appropriate for decreasing resolution. Without any keywords gg3d will do a straight copy operation. Invoke the gg3d command with the keyword:

`-size NLATS NLONS NHGTS`

to set the grid dimensions for the destination grid as different from the dimensions for the source grid. Invoke gg3d with the keywords:

`-lat XLATS XLATN`
`-lon XLONE XLONW`
`-hgt XHGTB XHGTT`

to set extents (range bounds) for the latitude, longitude and height for the destination grid as different from the extents for the source grid. The `-lat`,`-lon` and `-hgt` keywords take real arguments.

The igg3d program provides options for copying and deleting 3D grids and for interpolating between 3D grids in time. Sequences of 3D grids are copied using the command:

         igg3d get N I J M K

where N is the source 3D grid file number, I and J are the range of source grid numbers, M is the destination grid file number, and K is the starting destination grid number. A single grid may be copied within a 3D grid file using the command:

         igg3d copy I J -gr3df N

where N is the 3D grid file number, I is the number of the source grid and J is the number of the destination grid. A range of grids may be deleted with the command:

     igg3d del I J -gr3df N

where N is the 3D grid file number and grid numbers between I and J are to be deleted.

The igg3d command provides two different options for time interpolation. The first is:

     igg3d ave K I J D T -gr3df N

where grid number K is produced by interpolating between grid numbers I and J, all in 3D grid file number N. Grid number K will be assigned day D (in YYDDD format) and time T (in HHMMSS format). The relative weighting of grids I and J is calculated from this date and time, assuming linear time interpolation. If grid K is not between grids I and J in date and time, igg3d prints an error message. The igg3d command also provides a more complex time interpolation option:

    igg3d int I D T -setdel S M -lag U V -gr3df N

This will put a grid in the next empty slot of 3D grid file number N, assigned to day D (in YYDDD format) and time T (in HHMMSS format). This grid will be interpolated from a sequence of grids, all in file number N, at grid numbers I, I+S, I+2S, ... , I+(M-1)S. This sequence of grids should be ascending in date and time. igg3d will search the sequence and linearly interpolate between the two consectutive grids from the sequence which bracket day D and time T. Furthermore, the interpolation will be done in a coordinate system moving at constant velocity (U, V), where U and V are in meters per second, with V positive for motion from south to north and U positive for motion from west to east. The two bracketing grids from the sequence will be shifted in latitude and longitude to their positions at day D and time T, and the result interpolated between these two spatially shifted grids. Furthermore, if the grids in the sequence are identified in their directory entries with variable name 'U ' or 'V ', then the corresponding component of the velocity (U, V) will be subtracted from the grid values.

The 'int' option of igg3d may seem complex, but it is just what you need if you want to write a script to re-interpolate a five-dimensional data set to a new sequence of time steps. It is particularly useful if the source sequence does not have uniform time steps, or if the physics are moving through the spatial grid and you want to avoid blurring in the time re-interpolation. You would set M equal to the number of time steps and S equal to the number of physical variables in the source five-dimensional data set. The I parameter would be set equal to the grid number in the first time step of the variable being interpolated. Note that this igg3d option will put the new grid at the end of the grid file containing the source data set, but you can use 'igg3d get' to move it to another grid.

You can use the command:

    igu3d make N M

to create 3D grid file number N, which allows 3D grids of up to M points each. The names of 3D grid files have the form: `GR3Dnnnn`, where `nnnn` is the four digit decimal grid file number, padded with leading zeros if needed to make four digits.

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