pcmdi_diags — PCMDI Metrics

The pcmdi_diags task runs PCMDI Metrics Package (PMP) diagnostics to compute climate model performance metrics. It depends on the e3sm_to_cmip — CMIP6 Conversion task for CMIP-format input data.

Diagnostic sets

The current_set parameter selects which PMP diagnostic to run:

  • mean_climate — climatological mean metrics

  • variability_modes_cpl — coupled variability modes (PDO, NPGO, AMO)

  • variability_modes_atm — atmospheric variability modes (NAM, NAO, PNA, etc.)

  • enso — ENSO metrics (not currently enabled by default)

  • synthetic_plots — composite viewer page combining outputs from other sets

Parameters

These 72 parameters are specific to the pcmdi_diags task.

Task-level parameters (all sets)

Parameter

Required

Default

Description

figure_format

No

"png"

Output figure format.

run_type

No

"model_vs_obs"

"model_vs_obs" or "model_vs_model".

model_name

No

"e3sm.historical.v3-LR.0051"

Model name (required for model-vs-observations runs).

model_tableID

No

"Amon"

CMIP table ID (required for model-vs-observations runs).

model_name_ref

No

"ERA5"

Reference model name (required for model-vs-model runs).

model_tableID_ref

No

"Amon"

Reference CMIP table ID (required for model-vs-model runs).

e3sm_to_cmip_atm_subsection

No

""

Name of the [e3sm_to_cmip] atmosphere subtask to depend on.

generate_sftlf

No

True

Process the land/sea mask within PCMDI.

mov_plot_obs

No

True

Generate variability-modes observation plots.

mov_plot_model

No

True

Generate variability-modes model plots.

mov_nc_out_obs

No

True

Write variability-modes observation NetCDF output.

mov_nc_out_model

No

True

Write variability-modes model NetCDF output.

multiprocessing

No

True

Use multiprocessing.

num_workers

No

24

Number of worker processes.

obs_ts

No

""

Path to observation time-series data.

pcmdi_debug

No

False

Enable debug mode in PCMDI diagnostics.

save_test_clims

No

True

Save derived test climatology data.

reference_data_path

No

""

Path to reference model data for model-vs-model runs.

reference_data_path_ts

No

""

Path to reference model time-series data for model-vs-model runs.

ts_num_years

No

5

Year increment for test model data.

ts_years

No

[""]

Year ranges for test model data.

Per-subtask shared parameters

Parameter

Required

Default

Description

current_set

No

""

Diagnostic set to run.

obs_sets

No

"default"

Observational dataset aliases to use.

ref_final_yr

No

""

End year for reference data.

ref_start_yr

No

""

Start year for reference data.

ref_years

No

[""]

Year ranges for reference data.

Mean-climate and regridding parameters

Parameter

Required

Default

Description

cmip_vars

No

"pr,prw,psl,..."

CMIP variables to include for mean-climate diagnostics.

target_grid

No

"1x1"

Target regridding grid.

target_grid_string

No

"1px1p"

Descriptor string for the target grid.

regrid_tool

No

"esmf"

Regridding tool for atmosphere fields.

regrid_tool_ocn

No

"esmf"

Regridding tool for ocean fields.

regrid_method

No

"regrid2"

Regridding method for atmosphere fields.

regrid_method_ocn

No

"conservative"

Regridding method for ocean fields.

clim_vars

No

"pr,prw,psl,..."

Variables for mean-climate and synthetic-plot diagnostics.

clim_regions

No

"global,ocean,land"

Regions used for mean-climate metrics.

Variability-modes parameters

Parameter

Required

Default

Description

CBF

No

True

Use Common Base Function approach.

ConvEOF

No

True

Compute conventional EOF.

eofn_mod_max

No

3

Maximum number of EOF modes for model data.

EofScaling

No

False

Apply EOF scaling.

landmask

No

False

Apply land-mask handling in variability diagnostics.

ModUnitsAdjust

No

""

Unit-adjustment keywords for model data.

ObsUnitsAdjust

No

""

Unit-adjustment keywords for observation data.

RmDomainMean

No

True

Remove domain mean before variability calculations.

seasons

No

"monthly"

Seasons/frequency bins to analyze.

mova_vars

No

"psl"

Variables for variability_modes_atm.

mova_modes

No

"NAM,NAO,PNA,NPO,SAM,PSA1,PSA2"

Modes for variability_modes_atm.

movc_vars

No

"ts"

Variables for variability_modes_cpl.

movc_modes

No

"PDO,NPGO,AMO"

Modes for variability_modes_cpl.

ENSO parameters

Parameter

Required

Default

Description

enso_groups

No

"ENSO_perf,ENSO_proc,ENSO_tel"

ENSO metric groups to run.

enso_vars

No

"psl,pr,prsn,ts,tas,tauu,tauv,hflx,hfss,rlds,rsds,rlus,rlut,rsdt"

Variables used by ENSO diagnostics.

Synthetic-plots parameters

Parameter

Required

Default

Description

clim_viewer

No

True

Include mean-climate panels in the synthetic viewer.

clim_years

No

""

Year range used for mean-climate synthetic panels.

mova_viewer

No

True

Include atmospheric variability-mode panels in the synthetic viewer.

mova_years

No

""

Year range used for atmospheric variability synthetic panels.

movc_viewer

No

True

Include coupled variability-mode panels in the synthetic viewer.

movc_years

No

""

Year range used for coupled variability synthetic panels.

enso_viewer

No

False

Include ENSO panels in the synthetic viewer.

enso_years

No

""

Year range used for ENSO synthetic panels.

save_all_data

No

True

Save all intermediate synthetic-diagnostic data.

reference_alias

No

"inclusions/pcmdi_diags/reference_alias.json"

Observation alias file.

regions_specs

No

"inclusions/pcmdi_diags/regions_specs.json"

Region-specification file.

pcmdi_version

No

"v3.8.2"

Version tag for the zppy-pcmdi workflow.

pcmdi_viewer_template

No

"pcmdi_data/viewer"

Template directory for synthetic-viewer generation.

pcmdi_webtitle

No

"E3SM-PMP-Diagnostics"

Title used in generated PCMDI web output.

synthetic_metrics_list

No

"inclusions/pcmdi_diags/synthetic_metrics_list.json"

Metrics-list file used to assemble synthetic plots.

synthetic_sets

No

"portrait,parcoord"

Synthetic plot types to generate.

cmip_clim_dir

No

""

Directory containing CMIP mean-climate metrics.

cmip_enso_dir

No

""

Directory containing CMIP ENSO metrics.

cmip_movs_dir

No

""

Directory containing CMIP variability-mode metrics.

cmip_clim_set

No

"cmip6.historical.v20250707"

CMIP mean-climate metrics set ID.

cmip_enso_set

No

"cmip6.historical.v20210620"

CMIP ENSO metrics set ID.

cmip_movs_set

No

"cmip6.historical.v20220825"

CMIP variability-mode metrics set ID.

Parameters at the top-level

These 2 parameters have pcmdi_diags-specific defaults, which means even if they are set at the top level ([default]) section, these default values will be used instead. Therefore, to specify custom values, these parameters must be defined inside [pcmdi_diags]:

Parameter

Required

Default

Description

grid

No

"180x360_aave"

Model data grid after remapping. Overrides the [default] value ("").

frequency

No

"mo"

Data frequency for variability-mode calculations. Overrides the [default] value ("monthly").

Dependencies

Upstream (what pcmdi_diags depends on):

  • ts — Time Series Files — Monthly-atm ts: mean_climate, variability_modes_atm,variability_modes_cpl, enso

  • e3sm_to_cmip — CMIP6 Conversion — Monthly-atm e3sm_to_cmip: mean_climate, variability_modes_atm,variability_modes_cpl, enso

  • Note that the synthetic_plots set depends on the other sets.

Downstream (what depends on pcmdi_diags):

  • None.