cavapy 0.4.0

CAVA Python package. Retrive climate data.

cavapy: CORDEX-CORE Climate Data Access Simplified

⭐ If you like this project, please give it a star on GitHub!

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Check GitHub issues for known servers' downtimes

We will release bias-corrected CORDEX-CORE simulations with the ISIMIP methodology in 2025. This will allow non-expert users to directly use these datasets and avoid the need for custom bias-correction

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Introduction

cavapy is a Python library designed to streamline the retrieval of CORDEX-CORE climate models hosted on THREDDS servers at the University of Cantabria. Using the Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol (OPeNDAP), users can directly access and subset datasets without the need to download large NetCDF files. This capability is part of the Climate and Agriculture Risk Visualization and Assessment (CAVA) project, which focuses on providing high-resolution climate data for scientific, environmental, and agricultural applications.

With cavapy, users can efficiently integrate CORDEX-CORE data into their workflows, making it an ideal resource for hydrological and crop modeling, among other climate-sensitive analyses. Additionally, cavapy enables bias correction, potentially enhancing the precision and usability of the data for a wide range of applications.

Data Source

The climate data provided by cavapy is hosted on the THREDDS data server of the University of Cantabria as part of the CAVA project. CAVA is a collaborative effort by FAO, the University of Cantabria, the University of Cape Town, and Predictia, aimed at democratising accessibility and usability of climate information.

Available Datasets via capapy:

• CORDEX-CORE Simulations: Dynamically downscaled high-resolution (25 km) climate models, used in the IPCC AR5 report, featuring simulations from:
  • 3 Global Climate Models (GCMs)
  • 2 Regional Climate Models (RCMs)
  • Two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs: RCP2.6 and RCP8.5)
• Reanalyses Dataset:
  • ERA5 (used for the optional bias correction of the CORDEX-CORE projections)

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Available Variables

cavapy grants access to critical climate variables, enabling integration into diverse modeling frameworks. The variables currently available include:

• Daily Maximum Temperature (tasmax): °C
• Daily Minimum Temperature (tasmin): °C
• Daily Precipitation (pr): mm
• Daily Relative Humidity (hurs): %
• Daily Wind Speed (sfcWind): 2 m level, m/s
• Daily Solar Radiation (rsds): W/m²

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Installation

cavapy can be installed with pip.

conda create -n test "python>=3.11,<3.13"
conda activate test
pip install cavapy

Process

The get_climate_data function performs automatically:

• Data retrieval in parallel
• Unit conversion
• Convert into a Gregorian calendar (CORDEX-CORE models do not have a full 365 days calendar) through linear interpolation
• Bias correction using the empirical quantile mapping (optional)

Example usage

Depending on the interest, downloading climate data can be done in a few different ways. Note that GCM stands for General Circulation Model while RCM stands for Regional Climate Model. As the climate data comes from the CORDEX-CORE initiative, users can choose between 3 different GCMs downscaled with two RCMs. In total, there are six simulations for any given domain (except for CAS-22 where only three are available). Since bias-correction requires both the historical run of the CORDEX model and the observational dataset (in this case ERA5), even when the historical argument is set to False, the historical run will be used for learning the bias correction factor.

Bias-corrected climate projections

By default all available climate variables are used. You can specify a subset with the variable argument

Note that bias correction is automatically performed with empirical quantile mapping on a monthly basis to account for seasonality.

import cavapy
Togo_climate_data = cavapy.get_climate_data(country="Togo", variables=["tasmax", "pr"], cordex_domain="AFR-22", rcp="rcp26", gcm="MPI", rcm="REMO", years_up_to=2030, obs=False, bias_correction=True, historical=False)

Non bias-corrected climate projections

import cavapy
Togo_climate_data = cavapy.get_climate_data(country="Togo",variables=["tasmax", "pr"], cordex_domain="AFR-22", rcp="rcp26", gcm="MPI", rcm="REMO", years_up_to=2030, obs=False, bias_correction=False, historical=False)

Bias-corrected climate projections plus the historical run

This is useful when assessing changes in crop yield from the historical period. In this case, we provide the bias-corrected historical run of the climate models plus the bias-corrected projections.

import cavapy
Togo_climate_data = cavapy.get_climate_data(country="Togo", variables=["tasmax", "pr"], cordex_domain="AFR-22", rcp="rcp26", gcm="MPI", rcm="REMO", years_up_to=2030, obs=False, bias_correction=True, historical=True)

Observations only (ERA5)

import cavapy
Togo_climate_data = cavapy.get_climate_data(country="Togo", variables=["tasmax", "pr"], obs=True,  years_obs=range(1980,2019))

Plotting Functionality

cavapy now includes built-in plotting functions to easily visualize your climate data as maps and time series. The plotting functions work seamlessly with the data returned by get_climate_data().

Available Plotting Functions

• plot_spatial_map(): Create spatial maps of climate variables
• plot_time_series(): Generate time series plots with trend analysis

Plotting Examples

Spatial Maps

import cavapy

# Get climate data
data = cavapy.get_climate_data(country="Togo", obs=True, years_obs=range(1990, 2011))

# Plot mean temperature map for a specific period
fig = cavapy.plot_spatial_map(
    data['tasmax'], 
    time_period=(2000, 2010),
    title="Mean Max Temperature 2000-2010",
    cmap="Reds"
)

Example spatial map showing mean maximum temperature in Togo (2000-2010)

Time Series Analysis

# Plot precipitation time series with trend analysis
fig_precip = cavapy.plot_time_series(
    data['pr'],
    title="Precipitation Time Series - Togo (1990-2000)",
    trend_line=True,
    ylabel="Annual Precipitation (mm)",
    aggregation="sum",
    figsize=(12, 6)
)

Example time series plot showing precipitation trends in Togo (1990-2011) with trend line