PyFLEXTRKR: a flexible feature tracking Python software for convective cloud analysis

• Published in: Geoscientific Model Development Vol. 16; no. 10; pp. 2753 - 2776
• Main Authors: Feng, Zhe, Hardin, Joseph, Barnes, Hannah C., Li, Jianfeng, Leung, L. Ruby, Varble, Adam, Zhang, Zhixiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 23.05.2023; Copernicus Publications, EGU; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Algorithms; Cloud computing; Clouds; Convective cells; Convective clouds; Cyclones; Datasets; Dynamic meteorology; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; General circulation models; MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING; Mesoscale convective systems; Mesoscale phenomena; Oceanic eddies; Parallel processing; Precipitation; Remote sensing; Simulation; Software; Software packages; Software upgrading; Software utilities; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Technology application; Tracking
• ISSN: 1991-9603; 1991-959X; 1991-962X; 1991-9603; 1991-962X
• DOI: 10.5194/gmd-16-2753-2023

This paper describes the new open-source framework PyFLEXTRKR (Python FLEXible object TRacKeR), a flexible atmospheric feature tracking software package with specific capabilities to track convective clouds from a variety of observations and model simulations. This software can track any atmospheric 2D objects and handle merging and splitting explicitly. The package has a collection of multi-object identification algorithms, scalable parallelization options, and has been optimized for large datasets including global high-resolution data. We demonstrate applications of PyFLEXTRKR on tracking individual deep convective cells and mesoscale convective systems from observations and model simulations ranging from large-eddy resolving (∼100s m) to mesoscale (∼10s km) resolutions. Visualization, post-processing, and statistical analysis tools are included in the package. New Lagrangian analyses of convective clouds produced by PyFLEXTRKR applicable to a wide range of datasets and scales facilitate advanced model evaluation and development efforts as well as scientific discovery.