CMIP6 data and models all come in the netCDF file format and are quite messy to work with in R — files can be VERY large (e.g., ~80gb). To speed up the data manipulation process, we can use CDO (Climate Data Operators) as a sort of ‘add-in’ for R when using the ncdf4 package (in place of terra) which is apparently the way forward. So here we go!

In essence, we will use CDO specific code in R to view and regrid .nc files much faster than if we had just used R.

On a Mac the setup might be more simple (?), but this is a guide on how to do so on Windows, starting with installing a bunch of things with cool names.

<aside> ✅ More info can be found in Chapter 9 of the MME Manual here

</aside>

Setup

Ubuntu GUI (graphical user interface)

Other things I’m trying

Installing ncview to explore netCDF files

Working with CDO and ncview

Regridding with CDO, because curvilinear was yuck [one netCDF file]

Regridding multiple netCDF files [in R]

Tips