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When simulating using data that subdivides buildings in MODIS landuse data, wrf.exe terminated without reporting any errors.

Xiaoyang Lin

New member
Dear WRF team,

Before posting this question, I made every effort to search the forum for relevant information. However, I was unable to find a solution, so I am posting this thread to seek assistance.

I plan to use WRF-BEM to simulate air-conditioning energy consumption at the urban scale. The MODIS landuse dataset (MCD12Q1), which includes 17 landuse categories with type 13 representing buildings, was used as the base dataset. To align with modifications of the "urban canopy parameters" in URBPARM.TBL, the building category was further subdivided into three classes based on land surface imperviousness: 31 (low-density residential), 32 (high-density residential), and 33 (commercial/industrial).
After running geogrid.exe, I checked the generated geo_em file and confirmed that the landuse data had been successfully applied, as shown in Fig. 1. The subsequent preprocessing steps and real.exe ran normally; however, when running wrf.exe, the model stopped without producing any error messages in rsl.error. Running wrf.exe generated wrfout files for d01 and d02 at the initial time, but the simulation stopped at d03.

I have tried the following:
  1. Verify that the WRF version is 4.6 and confirm that it has been compiled correctly and is able to run other test cases.
  2. Use the command "ulimit -s unlimited" to remove memory restrictions.
  3. Use the command "grep -rn "cfl" rsl.*" to check for any CFL errors, and consider reducing the time step.
  4. Based on online recommendations, consider using more stable physical schemes:
    • Change cu_physics from 1,0,0 (Kain-Fritsch scheme) to 3,0,0 (Grell-Freitas cumulus scheme).
    • Change mp_physics from 16,16,16 to 8,8,8 (Thompson microphysics scheme).
Using the above methods did not resolve the problem. I have now found that the values for urban canopy parameters, such as building height and building area fraction, in the wrf_input file generated by real.exe are all zero, as shown in Fig. 2. I am unsure whether URBPARM.TBL is read only by real.exe or by both real.exe and wrf.exe, although the rsl file generated during the wrf.exe run indicates that wrf.exe extracts data from URBPARM.TBL. I also tried using the CGLC-MODIS-LCZ 100 m dataset from the WRF official website along with URBPARM_LCZ.TBL to run real.exe, but again found that the urban canopy parameters in wrf_input were all 0. Despite this, wrf.exe runs normally.

Therefore, I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate your guidance:
  1. URBPARM.TBL is read only by real.exe or by both real.exe and wrf.exe? Does the fact that the urban canopy parameters are 0 in the wrf_input file indicate that URBPARM.TBL was not read correctly?
  2. The possible reasons why wrf.exe stopped running without reporting an error?
The attachment has been included for your reference.
 

Attachments

  • Fig.1 LU_INDEX of geo_em.d03.png
    Fig.1 LU_INDEX of geo_em.d03.png
    461.7 KB · Views: 1
  • Fig2. BUILD_HEIGHT in wrfinput_d01.png
    Fig2. BUILD_HEIGHT in wrfinput_d01.png
    234.5 KB · Views: 0
  • rsl.error.0000
    16.8 KB · Views: 1
  • namelist.wps
    1.2 KB · Views: 0
  • namelist.input
    4 KB · Views: 1
  • URBPARM.TBL
    12 KB · Views: 0
Your namelist files look good.

Have you checked all the rsl files for this case? The error message doesn't necessarily exist in rsl.error.0000. It can be randomly shown in other rsl files. Please check and let me what you can find.

Also, if you change sf_surface_physics from 4 to 2, can you run this case successfully?
 
Your namelist files look good.

Have you checked all the rsl files for this case? The error message doesn't necessarily exist in rsl.error.0000. It can be randomly shown in other rsl files. Please check and let me what you can find.

Also, if you change sf_surface_physics from 4 to 2, can you run this case successfully?
Thank you for your recommendations!
After performing simulations using version 4.3 of WRF instead of version 4.6, wrf.exe runs as expected; however, the wrf_input file produced by real.exe still fails to import the urban canopy parameters. Could you kindly assist with my first question:
  • URBPARM.TBL is read only by real.exe or by both real.exe and wrf.exe? Does the fact that the urban canopy parameters are 0 in the wrf_input file indicate that URBPARM.TBL was not read correctly?
 
Last edited:
Thank you for your recommendations!
After performing simulations using version 4.3 of WRF instead of version 4.6, wrf.exe runs as expected; however, the wrf_input file produced by real.exe still fails to import the urban canopy parameters. Could you kindly assist with my first question:
  • URBPARM.TBL is read only by real.exe or by both real.exe and wrf.exe? Does the fact that the urban canopy parameters are 0 in the wrf_input file indicate that URBPARM.TBL was not read correctly?

URBPARM.TBL is read only when wrf.exe starts. Those variables in wrfinput are irrelevant to variables in URBPARM.TBL
 
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