License
OpenIFS is provided free-of-charge and licenses are usually per institution.
Only licensed users are provided with the username and password to access the ftp site. For more information, or to request a license, please email: openifs-support@ecmwf.int.
OpenIFS directory layout
The model will unpack into a directory called 'oifs'. The directory structure for the OpenIFS model and code will depend on local installation requirements. A suggested directory structure has all source code and data organised under a single directory 'oifs'. If desired, the grib_api could also be installed under the oifs directory but it's recommended it is placed elsewhere.
OpenIFS ftp site
All the OpenIFS related files are available from the ftp site: ftp.ecmwf.int. If you do not have ftp site password, please email : openifs-support@ecmwf.int. Only licensed institutes are provided with access.
The OpenIFS distribution includes source code, datafiles and supporting software. Once logged into the ftp site you will see the following directories:
| Contents of ftp.ecmwf.int | Description |
|---|---|
| data/ | OpenIFS data files; climate files, vtables, rtables and namelist. |
| src/openifs | OpenIFS source code tar files. |
| src/scm | Single Column model code and files. |
| src/osm | Offline Surface model code and files. |
| metview | Metview macros for use with OpenIFS. |
| user_workshops | Files used in OpenIFS user workshops. |
| users/ | User group specific space. Model runs provided for groups will be found here. |
| Contents of directory src/openifs: | Description |
|---|---|
| 38r1/ | Contains OpenIFS versions based on Cycle 38 Release 1 of IFS. |
Download source code
To obtain the source code from the ftp site, change directory to the '38r1' directory and retrieve the latest source code (the filename may be different):
% ftp ftp.ecmwf.int user: openifs cd src/openifs/38r1 ls get oifs38r1v04.tar.gz get oifs38r1v04_docs.tar.gz quit % tar zxf oifs38r1v04.tar.gz % tar zxf oifs38r1v04_docs.tar.gz
OpenIFS git repository
A git repository for OpenIFS is hosted by ECMWF. This is intended for developers and contributors to the OpenIFS model and is not generally accessible.
For more information please contact: openifs-support@ecmwf.int.
Download data files
The data directory contains the following gzipped tarfiles, all of which should be downloaded.
These files are the same for all OpenIFS experiments. To save space for multiple users, it's recommended they are placed somewhere central and not copied to each user run directory. The sample job scripts provided assume that links are created from these files to the user run directory.
We suggest creating a directory ifsdata somewhere and unpacking the files there.
| Filename | Size | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ifsdata_climatology.tar.gz | 15Mb | Contains the various long-lived gases and aerosol climatologies used by the model. Unpacks into a directory called climate. |
| ifsdata_cy38_climate.tar.gz | 2.5Gb | Contains ozone climatology for all supported horizontal and vertical resolutions, including full and reduced Gaussian grid versions. Unpacks into two directories, 38 and 38r1. The files in 38r1 link to the files in 38 but allow for model version specific changes. n.b. On some systems, this file is too big for gzip to uncompress. In which case download the specific resolutions you need. |
| ifsdata_cy38_climate_t*.tar.gz | varies | These files do not need to be downloaded if you download the above ifsdata_cy38_climate.tar.gz. These contain the same data but split one file per horizontal resolution. If you want to save space, you can download just the resolutions you intend working with. |
| ifsdata_rtables.tar.gz | <1Mb | Contains namelists defining the supported grid resolutions for the radiation scheme. File name suffix refers to the type of grid and last 3 digits refers to the horizontal resolution. Unpacks to a directory: rtables. |
| ifsdata_vtables.tar.gz | <1Mb | Contains namelists defining the coefficients for the supported vertical resolutions. File name suffix refers to the number of levels. Unpacks to a directory: vtables. |
To unpack the files either use the tar zxf command if your version of tar supports the 'z' option, or use gunzip followed by tar xf.
% mkdir oifs/ifsdata % cd oifs/ifsdata % ftp ftp.ecmwf.int Connected to ftp.ecmwf.int. Name (ftp.ecmwf.int:nagc): openifs 331 User openifs OK. Password required ftp> cd data ftp> prompt Interactive mode off. ftp> mget ifsdata_* ftp> quit % tar zxf ifsdata_climatology.tar.gz % tar zxf ifsdata_cy38_climate.tar.gz % tar zxf ifsdata_rtables.tar.gz % tar zxf ifsdata_vtables.tar.gz % rm *.tar.gz % ls 38 38r1 climatology namelist rtables vtables
Additional software
OpenIFS users may also find the MetView and MAGICS graphics software useful with OpenIFS.
To download these packages, visit the ECMWF software webpage.