EGU22-10823
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10823
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Scalable Feature Extraction and Tracking (SCAFET): A general framework for feature extraction from large climate datasets

Arjun Nellikkattil1,2, June-Yi Lee1,2,3, and Axel Timmermann1,4
Arjun Nellikkattil et al.
  • 1Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea
  • 2Department of Climate System, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
  • 3Research Center for Climate Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
  • 4Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea

The study describes a generalized framework to extract and track features from large climate datasets. Unlike other feature extraction algorithms, Scalable Feature Extraction and Tracking (SCAFET) is independent of any physical thresholds making it more suitable for comparing features from different datasets. Features of interest are extracted by segmenting the data on the basis of a scale-independent bounded variable called shape index (Si). Si gives a quantitative measurement of the local shape of the field with respect to its surroundings. To illustrate the capabilities of the method, we have employed it in the extraction of different types of features. Cyclones and atmospheric rivers are extracted from the ERA5 reanalysis dataset to show how the algorithm extracts points as well as surfaces from climate datasets. Extraction of sea surface temperature fronts depicts how SCAFET handles unstructured grids. Lastly, the 3D structures of jetstreams is extracted to demonstrate that the algorithm can extract 3D features too. The detection algorithm is implemented as a jupyter notebook[https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1D0rWNQZrIfLEmeUYshzqyqiR7QNS0Hm-?usp=sharing] accessible to anyone to test out the algorithm.

How to cite: Nellikkattil, A., Lee, J.-Y., and Timmermann, A.: Scalable Feature Extraction and Tracking (SCAFET): A general framework for feature extraction from large climate datasets, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-10823, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10823, 2022.