Loading and Importing data

Prior to visualizing your data in VAPOR, you must specify the data files that will be used.  Data currently supports two data formats:

• If the data is in a VDC (i.e. it has been already converted to the VAPOR data format) then you can load the associated .vdf file.
• If the data is a set of NetCDF model output files (associated with the same data domain) then you can import the files with no conversion required.  The following model outputs are supported:
• WRF-ARW (wrfout files)
• MOM4 or POP ocean data
• ROMS ocean data
• CAM data
• GRIB data

Importing model output files is a good way to get a quick look at model data.  However, if your data set is large (many gigabytes) then you will find that it is easier and more interactive to visualize the data as a VDC.  Vapor provides the following applications for converting model data:

• VDCWizard provides a GUI for converting WRF, MOM4, POP, and ROMS data to VDC's
• command line apps wrfvdfcreate and wrf2vdf can be used to convert WRF-ARW output files.
• command line apps momvdfcreate and mom2vdf can be used to convert MOM4 and POP data
• command line apps romsvdfcreate and roms2vdf can be used to convert ROMS data
• command line apps camvdfcreate and cam2vdf can be used to convert CAM data
• command line apps ncdfvdfcreate and ncdf2vdf can be used to convert other CF-compliant NetCDF data
• command line apps gribvdfcreate and grib2vdf can be used to convert GRIB data

Whether importing model output files or loading a VDC, you must also choose whether to load the data into the current session, or to load it into a default session.  The first time you visualize your data it should be loaded into a default session.  Later, when you have set up some visualizations of your data, and saved the settings in a VAPOR session file, you can reuse the session by (1) read the session file from the File menu, and then (2) Load (or import) your data into that current session.