--- author: Max Grover date: 2021-12-02 tags: update, faq, xarray, dask, matplotlib --- # ESDS Update November 2021 November was an active month! There were a couple of ESDS Forum talks, a variety of answered Python questions during office hours, and a Python tutorial! Check out the following ESDS update for the month of November 2021. ## Xdev Updates Xdev has continued to make progress on the **_Funnel_** project; this extends the data catalog with "analysis recipes", providing an effective strategy for modularization and extensibility of workflows. The [esds-funnel](https://github.com/NCAR/esds-funnel) provides the caching framework, while the [esm-collections](https://github.com/NCAR/esm-collections) repository is where we prototype the full workflows with the catalogs and analysis recipes. We have continued to push forward on the `xwrf` project, which aims to help bring the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model into the Pangeo ecosystem. Be sure to follow the [`xwrf` repository](https://github.com/NCAR/xwrf) for updates. ## ESDS Forum ### Python Package Overviews - [Introducing Project Raijin Community Geoscience Analysis Tools for Unstructured Mesh Data](https://raijin.ucar.edu/) (29 November 2021) - Orhan Eroglu (CISL) ### General Discussion - [An Open Discussion Around Earth System Prediction at NCAR](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScX4ugyocLz1WgIthzX_eN_CXkBR7QvlHTS0eMLxFtxsjxPyw/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0) (01 November 2021) - Matt Long (CGD) ## ESDS Blog Posts ### Data Computation - [Correctly Calculating Annual Averages with Xarray](https://ncar.github.io/esds/posts/2021/yearly-averages-xarray/) ### End to End Workflow - [Processing Data from the NCAR Mesa Lab Weather Station¶](https://ncar.github.io/esds/posts/2021/weather-station-data-preprocess/) ## Office Hour Questions During the month of October 2021, our team answered a total of **10 questions** at our weekly [Xdev Office Hours](https://ncar.github.io/esds/calendar/#xdev-office-hours). Below is a summary of the most common questions brought up during office hours! ![november-2021-office-hours](../images/november_office_hour_stats.png) ### Matplotlib Questions - How do you make boxplots with two datasets of varying sizes? - **Solution**: Called `plt.boxplot()` twice, use `width = 0.1` for both calls and `positions=[1.5,2.5,3.5,4.5]` for the second call. ### Dask Questions - How do you run Dask on Casper? - **Solution**: Encouraged use of [`ncar-jobqueue`](https://github.com/NCAR/ncar-jobqueue) package, using the compute nodes on Casper. ### Xarray Questions - How do you load multiple files into xarray and plot the output? - **Solution**: Had to call .load() and .some_variable in order to access the shape, pointed to [xarray and dask section on ESDS FAQ page](https://ncar.github.io/esds/faq/#xarray-and-dask). - How do you drop specific dates from a dataset? - **Solution**: Used cftime_range() along with sel_drop() ### Conda Questions - How do you uninstall and reinstall a conda environment? - **Solution**: Encouraged to check out the [anaconda docs about deleting environment](https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/install/uninstall/) and reinstall environment. - How do you make sure your conda environment is activated upon opening terminal? - **Solution**: Added a new section walking through this process called ["Activating Your Base Environment Upon Opening a Terminal"](https://ncar.github.io/esds/faq/#conda-environments) ## Python Tutorial(s) ### [Object Oriented Programming Tutorial](https://ncar.github.io/esds/posts/2021/oop-tutorial/)