All variables in variables.ini should be given a vert_type

[lewisblake]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
The vert_type attribute of a species is a fundamental attribute needed when creating an experiment. However, pyaerocom has no native way of representing this metadata. It is assumed that this metadata is provided in a config though the obs_vert_type argument which is given to an instance of ObsEntry. If no observations are provided (i.e., I just want to plot model data), then this information is not available because ModelEntry has no such attribute (It has no variable information and therefore no place to put it). I propose that in variables.ini we provide each variable a default vert_type which can be used in cases where the attribute obs_vert_type is not available.

Describe the solution you would like to see
A clear and concise description of what you want to happen.

• Would you be able to work on this solution yourself? Yes
• How can the Pyaerocom development team assist you? Input

Additional context
Related to wanting to show just model data.

[jgriesfeller]

Sounds reasonable to me. But keep it changeable.

[heikoklein]

Please state what you need the vert_types for. Column-variables need to be strictly distinct in the definition since they have different units than in-situ, so this differentiation makes sense. Measurement in different model-layers will have the same units as Surface, so it does not make sense.

[Ovewh]

What is the Surface and Column vert types supposed to mean for the model? Also whatever the definition of these is supposed to be it is not use consistently between different models. Thus pyaerocom might mess up units if for one model it is given vert_type Column, while another model have given the same variable vert_type Surface.

Also when just plotting model data, do we need a "native way", model data does generally have units included it the netcdf attributes?

[lewisblake]

From pyaerocom 13.01.25:

The Surface is the lowest layer to the ground (lowest of a 3D field), whereas the Column is the integral (sum) of the entire vertical column. The vert_type is per variable, so if a model handled it in a different way, then one would need to specify that in their config. Jan is happy to discuss with you @Ovewh.

As a side note, I'm still not sure if this is worth going forward with at this point. Heiko raises well the main concern of when it doesn't make sense.

[lewisblake]

Work around from AeroTools 14.01.25: Variables which are not Surface (and maybe Column) should be given a different variable name and have their vert_type specified in variables.ini