Vertical Levels
When a program uses upper air data (observed or forecasted), a vertical level needs to be specified. This value can also be set with the level resource.
Specifying Vertical Levels
The menu lists standard pressure levels but other levels can also accessed. A specific level can be entered with its value and units:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Special Levels | |
| snd | Entire vertical column or whole sounding |
| sfc | Surface level |
| sfc[100] | surface level with 100 mb above surface layer average (parcel trajectory) |
| frz | Freezing level |
| lcl | Lifted condensation level (LCL) |
| sea | Sea surface |
| sl | Sea level |
| mwnd | Maximum wind level |
| trop | Tropopause level |
| whole | Whole atmosphere |
| top_frz | Top most freezing level |
| gscld_bot | Grid scale cloud bottom |
| gscld_top | Grid scale cloud top |
| blcld_bot | Boundary layer cloud bottom |
| blcld_top | Boundary layer cloud top |
| blcld_lyr | Boundary layer cloud layer |
| lcld_bot | Bottom of low cloud layer |
| lcld_top | Top of low cloud layer |
| lcld_lyr | Low cloud layer |
| cld_ceil | Cloud ceiling |
| mcld_bot | Bottom of middle cloud layer |
| mcld_top | Top of middle cloud layer |
| mcld_lyr | Middle cloud layer |
| hcld_bot | Bottom of high cloud layer |
| hcld_top | Top of high cloud layer |
| hcld_lyr | High cloud layer |
| conv_bot | Bottom of convective cloud layer |
| conv_top | Top of convective cloud layer |
| conv_lyr | Convective cloud layer |
| wbzero | Wetbulb zero level |
| maxepot | Maximum equiv potential temp level |
| equilib | Equilibrium level |
| pbl | Planetary boundary layer |
| sccld_bot | Shallow convection cloud bottom |
| sccld_top | Shallow convection cloud top |
| dccld_bot | Deep convection cloud bottom |
| dccld_top | Deep convection cloud top |
| sclw_bot | Supercooled liquid water layer bottom |
| sclw_top | Supercooled liquid water layer top |
| Pressure Levels | |
| 430mb | 430 mb level (pressure) |
| sfc[100]-500 | Surface to 500 mb trajectory with 100 mb mean layer average |
| 850-500mb | 850-500 mb layer |
| sfc-850mb | surface to 850 mb layer |
| p430 | 430 mb pressure level |
| p850-500 | 850-500 mb layer |
| Pressure Above Ground Levels | |
| 10mb_ag | 10 mb above ground level |
| 10-40mb_ag | 10-40 mb above ground layer |
| Potential Temperature Levels | |
| 310k | 310 K potential temperature level (isentropic) |
| 310-330k | 310-330 K isentropic layer |
| k310 | 310 K isentropic level |
| k310-330 | 310-330 K isentropic layer |
| Height Levels | |
| 2000m | 2000 meter level (height) |
| 2000ft | 2000 foot level |
| 2000-5000m | 2000-5000 meter layer |
| 2000-5000ft | 2000-5000 foot layer |
| h2000 | 2000 meter level |
| h2000-5000 | 2000-5000 meter layer |
| Height Above Ground Levels | |
| 50m_ag | 50 meters above ground level |
| 50ft_ag | 50 foot above ground level |
| 50cm_bg | 50 cm below ground level |
| 50-200m_ag | 50-200 meters above ground layer |
| 50-200ft_ag | 50-200 foot above ground layer |
| 50-200cm_ag | 50-200 cm below ground layer |
| Other Levels | |
| 97sig | .97 sigma level |
| 97-91sig | .97-.91 sigma layer |
| 97eta | .97 eta level |
| 97-91eta | .97-.91 eta layer |
| 1pv | Potential vorticity level |
| 1hyb | First hybrid level |
| 2lev | 2nd level |
| 2-5lev | 2nd-5th level layer |
| Miscellaneous Levels | |
| level | use the value of the level resource (used in var files) |
| miss | missing level, take first available |
Updated January 2021