PlaSim/FAQ

There's now a forum for users of PUMA and Planet Simulator.
Feel free to post questions and comments there.
"http://www.mi.uni-hamburg.de/Forum.5807.0.html"
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Q: The configure script tells that the command "make" was not found
   or FORTRAN or other important things are missing.

A: Some Linux distributions do not install developer packages
   in the default configuration. If your Linux software manager
   offers developer packages, choose and install them.
   You'll need at least (examples in parenthesis):
   1. C-compiler (gcc)
   2. C++ compiler (c++)
   3. FORTRAN-90 compiler (gfortran)
   4. make (make or gmake)
   5. X11 include files (xorg-X11-devel)
   6. tcsh
   Optional you may install "OpenMPI" or "mpich 2.0" which are
   necessary to run the models on multiple cores or CPU's,
   e.g. to use both cores of a Core2Duo or AMD Opteron.

Q: After running "make" in the Most directory I get a lot of error
   messages from the C compiler. The first messages is:
   X11R6/Xlib.h: directory or file not found

A: The X11 include files, normally located in "/usr/include/X11R6"
   are missing. You have to install the development X11 package.
   Some Linux distributions install only X11 applications by 
   default. E.g. in SuSE Linux you must install the package
   "xorg-X11-devel".

Q: After clicking "Save & Run" in the Most window the error message
   "command not found" appears.

A: Make sure, that the current directory "." is in your PATH.
   C shell users insert the line: set path=( . $path )
   into the file ".cshrc" in the home directory.
   Bourne shell users insert the line: export PATH=.:$PATH;
   into the file ".profile" in the home directory.

Q: The model crashes with the message:
   "invalid reference to variable in NAMELIST input ..."

A: You use a variable name in the namelist file, that is not
   defined in the model. If you use old namelists containing
   the variable "NRESTART", look at the file "RECENT_CHANGES".
   Otherwise check for a typo.

Q: I made some changes in the source code and rerun the model
   but the changes had no effect.

A: You must edit the files in the ../src/ directories of
   puma or plasim to make permanent changes. 
   The sources in the ../bld directories are copied at the
   time of building from the corresponding ../src directories.
   The Most program maintains a cache of executables in the
   directories ../bin. You must submit the command 
   "cleanpuma" or "cleanplasim" in the Most15 directory.
   This will clear the cache, delete all files in the
   ../bld and ../run directories. After that Most will
   create new binaries based on the contents of ../src.

Q: Wat can I do with the orography  in MoST?

A: These fields are prepared for a graphical preprocessor, which is
   currently under development. There is only one working test case
   so far. If you use PUMA with 32 latitudes, you may mark a 
   rectangular arey with the mouse in the orography picture.
   Then enter a value in the anomaly field in units of [gpm]
   and click on preprocess. A new orography will be computed and
   used in the following PUMA run. You'll not see any changes
   after preprocessing (not yet implemented), but a following
   GUI run should show your modifications clearly.

Q: How can I compile the postprocessor

A: Change to directory Most15/preprocessor.
   Type "make -f make_suse" and hit Return.
   The makefile in that directory will call the "C++" compiler
   with the correct options and create the executable "burn5.x".
   You'll need the "netcdf" library installed on your system.
   Netcdf is available for free on
   "http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/index.html"