mrr2c

Convert Metek MRR-2 micro rain radar data files to NetCDF.

mrr2c is an open source program which converts Metek Micro Rain Radar 2 (MRR-2) data to NetCDF. RAW, PRO and AVE files are supported.

Note: Previous versions produced HDF5 files. If you need this type of output for compatibility, use mrr2c version 1.0.3.

Usage

mrr2c is a command line program to be run a terminal (Linux and macOS) or the Command Prompt (Windows).

Synopsis:

mrr2c [--debug] [-s n] input output
mrr2c -h|--help
mrr2c -v|--version

Converts data in the MRR-2 file input to a NetCDF file output.

Arguments:

• input: Input MRR-2 .raw, .pro or .ave file.
• output: Output NetCDF (.nc) file.

Options:

• --debug: Enable debugging output.
• -h, --help: Show help message and exit.
• -s n: Split output into multiple files by vertical levels used. If n is 1, time intervals with different sets vertical levels are stored in separate output files. Profiles stored in the same output file are always continuous in time. If n is 2, profiles with different sets of vertical levels are stored in separate files. Profiles stored in the same output file may be discontinuous in time. If n is 0, this option is disabled. If n is 1 or 2, output is assumed to be an output file prefix in the following way. If profiles with multiple different sets of vertical levels are present in the input file, the output file names are output_i.nc, where i is a sequence of zero-prefixed numbers starting with 1, and having a constant number of digits as needed to accommodate the entire sequence of files. If all profiles in the input file have the same vertical levels, the output file name is output.nc.
• -v, --version: Print the version number and exit.

On Linux and macOS, see also the manual page:

man mrr2c

Examples

Convert MRR-2 processed data in 0220.pro to a NetCDF file 0220.pro.

mrr2c 0220.pro 0220.nc

It is possible to use GNU Parallel to convert multiple files in parallel if you have more than one CPU core. For example, to convert all .pro files in the current directory:

parallel mrr2c {} {.}.nc ::: *.pro

Installation

It is recommended to run mrr2c on Linux.

Linux

On Debian-derived distributions (Ubuntu, Devuan, ...), install the required system packages with:

sudo apt install python3 python3-pip pipx

On Fedora, install the required system packages with:

sudo yum install python3 pipx

Install mrr2c:

pipx install mrr2c
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/man/man1
ln -s ~/.local/pipx/venvs/mrr2c/share/man/man1/mrr2c.1 ~/.local/share/man/man1/

Make sure that $HOME/.local/bin is included in the PATH environment variable if not already. This can be done with pipx ensurepath.

You should now be able to run mrr2c and see the manual page with man mrr2c.

To uninstall:

pipx uninstall mrr2c
rm ~/.local/share/man/man1/mrr2c.1

macOS

Open the Terminal. Install mrr2c with:

python3 -m pip install mrr2c

Make sure that /Users/<user>/Library/Python/<version>/bin is included in the PATH environment variable if not already, where <user> is your system user name and <version> is the Python version. This path should be printed by the above command. This can be done by adding this line to the file .zprofile in your home directory and restart the Terminal:

PATH="$PATH:/Users/<user>/Library/Python/<version>/bin"

You should now be able to run mrr2c and see the manual page with man mrr2c.

To uninstall:

python3 -m pip uninstall mrr2c

Windows

Install Python 3. In the installer, tick Add python.exe to PATH.

Open Command Prompt from the Start menu. Install mrr2c with:

pip install mrr2c

You should now be able to run mrr2c.

To uninstall:

pip uninstall mrr2c

Variables

Supported variables are listed in the table below.

Time is expressed as Julian date (fractional number of days since -4712-01-01 12:00 UTC, or -4713-11-24 12:00 UTC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar). To calculate UNIX time (number of seconds since 1 January 1970 00:00), use the formula (time - 2440587.5)*86400. The time zone depends on the raw data. Use the time_zone variable to determine the offset.

Missing values are expressed as NaN in the floating point (float64) variables and -9223372036854775808 in the integer (int64) variables. The _FillValue and missing_value attributes of each numerical variable contain the respective missing value.

Variable	Units	Symbol	Description	Type
attenuated_radar_reflectivity	dbZ	z	Attenuated radar reflectivity	float64
averaging_time	s	AVE	Averaging time	float64
band	1		Band number	int64
bandwidth		BW	Bandwidth	float64
calibration_constant		CC	Calibration constant	float64
device_serial_number	string	DSN	Device serial number	S16
drop_size	mm	D	Drop size	float64
fall_velocity	m.s-1	W	Fall velocity	float64
firmware_version	string	DVS	Firmware version	S16
height_resolution	m	STP	Height resolution	float64
height	m	H	Height	float64
level	1		Level number	int64
liquid_water_content	g.m-3	LWC	Liquid water content	float64
path_integrated_attenuation	dB	PIA	Path integrated attenuation	float64
processing_level	string	TYP	Processing level	S3
radar_altitude	m	ASL	Radar altitude	float64
radar_reflectivity	dbZ	Z	Radar reflectivity	float64
rain_rate	mm.h-1	RR	Rain rate	float64
sampling_rate	Hz	SMP	Sampling rate	float64
service_version	string	SVS	Service version	S16
spectral_drop_density	m-3.mm-1	N	Spectral drop density	float64
spectral_reflectivity	dB	F	Spectral reflectivity	float64
time_zone	string		Time zone	S8
time	days since -4713-11-24 UTC (proleptic_gregorian calendar)		Time	float64
total_spectra	1	MDQ3	Number of total spectra	int64
transfer_function		TF	Transfer function	float64
valid_spectra_percentage	%	MDQ1	Percentage of valid spectra	float64
valid_spectra	1	MDQ2	Number of valid spectra	int64

Attributes

Attribute	Description
software	mrr2c (https://github.com/peterkuma/mrr2c)
version	Software version
created	Time when the file was created (ISO 8601 UTC)

Release Notes

3.0.0 (2023-11-14)

• Changed the -s option, so that it takes an argument determining whether to perform continuous or discontinuous type of splitting.

2.2.4 (2023-11-09)

• Fixed processing of profiles with zero or one profile with the -s option.
• Small improvements in the documentation.

2.2.3 (2023-11-08)

• Added option for splitting output into multiple files by vertical levels used.
• Improved documentation and manual page.

2.1.1 (2021-12-11)

• Changed time variable calendar to proleptic_gregorian.
• Dropped support for Python 2.

2.1.0 (2020-08-13)

• Improved units to be more consistent with UDUNITS.

2.0.2 (2020-08-12)

• Support for Python 3.
• Changed output format to NetCDF.
• Changed variable time to numerical.
• Added variable level.
• Named dimensions.
• Added ancillary attributes.

1.0.3 (2020-07-18)

• Fixed installation on Windows.

1.0.2 (2020-02-02)

• Add man page.

1.0.1 (2017-09-30)

• PyPI package.
• Improved documentation.

1.0 (2017-06-09)

• Initial release.

License

mrr2c can be used, modified and distributed freely under the terms of an MIT license (see LICENSE.md).

Contact

Please contact Peter Kuma <[email protected]> regarding support or bugs or use the GitHub Issues.

See also

ALCF, ccplot, ccbrowse, cl2nc, mpl2nc