Introduction
Philosophy
The philosophy behind wrf-domain-tool is centered on usability, reproducibility, and scientific rigor in WRF domain configuration.
1. Shapefile-Centric Configuration
“Let the domain speak for itself.”
Uses shapefiles as the primary input for defining nested domains.
Domain boundaries are determined directly from real geographic data.
Avoids manual input of center coordinates and grid dimensions.
2. Automation over Manual Effort
“Repeatable science requires reproducible setup.”
Automatically calculates ref_lat, ref_lon, e_we, e_sn, dx, and dy.
Produces a fully structured
namelist.wpsfile with minimal configuration.Designed for automated workflows and high-throughput simulations.
3. Projection-Aware and Domain-Focused
“Good domains start with good projections.”
Detects and adapts to shapefile coordinate reference systems (CRS).
Supports WRF-compatible projections such as Lambert Conformal and Mercator.
Emphasizes the importance of correct map projections in regional climate modeling.
4. Transparent and Inspectable
“You should always see what your domain looks like.”
Includes built-in visualization for nested domains using Matplotlib and Cartopy.
Supports overlaying administrative boundaries for intuitive inspection.
Exposes internal parameters (e.g., bounding boxes, domain centers) to the user.
5. Composable and Extensible
“No domain is an island.”
Modular and object-oriented design enables easy extension.
Independent components for shapefile parsing, grid calculation, and namelist generation.
Easily integrates with larger WRF preprocessing or experiment automation systems.