This is the visual definition icon responsible for specifying how gridded data is displayed. It controls features such as isolines, shading, highs & lows, and grid value plotting.
The macro language equivalent is mcont().
The Contouring Editor
Most of the parameters in this editor come directly from Magics, and are documented on the contour reference page. Parameters not listed there are as follows:
Grib Scaling of Retrieved Fields
Toggles the scaling of the retrieved fields On /Off. Fields which are retrieved from MARS or derived from other fields are in SI units. If this parameter is On, MAGICS will perform a unit conversion (scaling) on the retrieved fields that it plots, converting from these SI units to units of customary meteorological usage - e.g. Pressure from Pa to hPa/mb, Temperature from K to °C.
Grib Scaling of Derived Fields
Toggles the scaling of the derived fields On /Off . Any field you derive is in SI units, so set this parameter to On to convert to meteorological style units. E.g. :
- If you retrieve two temperature fields, they are plotted in °C . If you derive a mean temperature from them, it will be plotted in K if you do not scale the derived field.
- Precipitation fields are cumulative fields plotted in mm - if you subtract two consecutive ones to obtain the precipitation for the time step between them, you will plot a field in m if you do not scale the derived field.