[WRF-Chem] real.exe runs successfully but wrfbdy_d01 only contains one timestamp

[hyewon cho]

Hello,

I am currently running a WRF-Chem simulation, and after executing real.exe, I noticed that the wrfbdy_d01 file contains only one time step in the Times variable.

My namelist.input is configured with interval_seconds = 21600 (6-hour intervals), and my met_em files are also available at 6-hour intervals. For example:

ls -lh WPS/met_em.d01.*
met_em.d01.2024-12-20_00:00:00.nc
met_em.d01.2024-12-20_06:00:00.nc 

met_em.d01.2024-12-20_12:00:00.nc

  Since real.exe should process multiple met_em files and generate a wrfbdy_d01 file with multiple time steps, I expected to see multiple time records in Times. However, when checking the boundary file, only one timestamp (00:00:00) is present:  

  ncdump -v Times wrfbdy_d01

  Times = "2024-12-20_00:00:00" ;

   What I Have Tried

1.   Checking if real.exe reads all met_em files correctly

→ The log indicates that real.exe does read multiple met_em files, such as:  

d01 2024-12-20_00:00:00  Input data is acceptable to use: met_em.d01.2024-12-20_00:00:00.nc
d01 2024-12-20_06:00:00  Input data is acceptable to use: met_em.d01.2024-12-20_06:00:00.nc

  his suggests that real.exe is correctly detecting and reading multiple input times.

  

2. Verifying the time steps in wrfbdy_d01

ncdump -v Times wrfbdy_d01

  → Output:

  Times = "2024-12-20_00:00:00" ;

-  If real.exe is reading multiple met_em files, why does wrfbdy_d01 contain only the first time step (00:00:00)?

- Could the missing TSLB variable in met_em be affecting boundary condition generation?

- I enabled multi_bdy_files = .true., but only one boundary file was created. Could there be a missing configuration step?

  Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. 😊  

[Gabriele Pfister]

Hello

your question is better suited for the WRF-MPAS User Forum (https://forum.mmm.ucar.edu/). When you send your request there you might also include your namelist.input to provide more information. 

Gabi

--

================================
Gabriele Pfister

Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling (ACOM) Lab

NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Email: pfi...@ucar.edu

Work Phone: +1 303 497 2915

Web: https://staff.ucar.edu/users/pfister