Load 2D Measured Data

The Load 2D Measured Data button brings up the form displayed in Figure 1. Currently, only velocities can be loaded here, but this feature will be expanded as resources become available. The options area is context sensitive to the option selected for importing.

Figure 1 Loading measured 2D calibration data.

The data format used for the 2D data currently is the ASCII PLT format used by Tecplot®. An I, J and K 3D regular grid or a series of discrete measured 3D vectors (X, Y, Z, Vx, Vy, Vz) can be input, an example of which is provided in Appendix B, item B-4. Pre-processing of the data is expected to be completed so that the data are ready for direct comparison to the model results. For example, if Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data are being used, the spatial and temporal averaging must be done prior to importing to average the Reynolds stresses (i.e., turbulent fluctuations). One exception to this is EFDC_Explorer has the ability to average the data into the matching EFDC cells.

If the Tecplot formatted data includes multiple depths for a single location, these data can be displayed using the ViewPlan layering options or the user can select the Depth Average the Imported Data option to collapse all the data into a single X and Y component for each time. Multiple stations can be included in the same file. EFDC_Explorer reports on the data loaded. Please review this summary to ensure that it corresponds to the expected (i.e. the users understanding of the data in the Tecplot file) data.

The Data Timing Options frame provides some options of how EFDC_Explorer will interpret the data loaded and convert to the EFDC time reference. If varying time data is to be entered, the Tecplot Zone ID should be used to contain the data time (e.g. Zone="15-Mar-2008 14:45"). If there is more than one zone in the Tecplot data file, during the viewing in ViewPlan, the data will only be displayed if the EFDC model time is within the Time Tolerance of the measured data.

Once imported, these data are available for plotting and statistical analysis via the ViewPlan | Velocities option. To view and calculate statistics for both the model and the data select Alt-M for the model comparison to be displayed. Figure 2 shows an example of two ADCP stations (data shown in red) located in a coastal region being compare to the EFDC model results (model vectors in blue). These model-data comparisons can be animated, if desired.

Figure 2 Example 2D velocity data comparison.