Namelist file cable.nml

The namelist file for CABLE is cable.nml. For offline applications it should be located in the directory in which you are running CABLE. For ACCESS cases, cable.nml should be located in ~/CABLE-AUX/UM on the machine that CABLE is being executed on.

The cable.nml file includes some settings that are common across all CABLE applications and others that are required only for offline applications. The following are annotated examples of cable.nml:

Note

If your namelist file has entries that do not appear here please check the obsolete and deprecated user features page.

List of namelist variables

Namelist variable	Type	Available values	Default value	Description
filename%met	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Meteorological forcing file name.
filename%path	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	'./'	Path for output and restart files for CABLE and CASA.
filename%out	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Output file name.
filename%log	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Execution log file name.
filename%restart_in	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	' '	Input restart file name. '' will first search for ./<RunIden>_<year>_cable_rst.nc and if not found, it uses default parameters.
filename%restart_out	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Output restart file name.
filename%type	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Static information file about grid, soil and vegetation.
filename%lai	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Default leaf area index file name.
filename%soilcolor	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Soil color file name. E.g. "CABLE-AUX/offline/soilcolor_global_1x1.nc"
filename%gw_elev	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Elevation data filename. This data is used by the groundwater option only.
filename%fxpft	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Plant functional type fraction, wood harvest and secondary harvest file.
filename%fxluh2cable	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	12 land-use states into 17 CABLE plant functional types mapping file name.
filename%gridnew	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	uninitialised	Updated gridinfo file name.
filename%trunk_sumbal	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	'.trunk_sumbal'	Input filename to read combined energy and water balance at each timestep (control run). Used when consistency_check is TRUE
filename%new_sumbal	character(len=500)	any string of max. 500 characters	'new_sumbal'	Output filename to write combined energy and water balance at each timestep (current run). Used when consistency_check is TRUE
vegparmnew	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE. but was .TRUE. in ESM1.5	Use new format for vegetation parameter files when .TRUE.
soilparmnew	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	uninitialised	Use new format for soil parameter files when .TRUE.
spinup	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Spin up the model when .TRUE.
delsoilM	real	any real number	uninitialised	Allowed variation in soil moisture for spin up.
delsoilT	real	any real number	uninitialised	Allowed variation in soil temperature for spin up.
output%restart	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	uninitialised	Create a restart file when .TRUE..
output%met	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output input meteorological data when .TRUE..
output%flux	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output convective, runoff, NEE when TRUE
output%soil	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output soil states when .TRUE..
output%snow	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output snow states when .TRUE..
output%radiation	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output Net radiation and albedo when .TRUE..
output%carbon	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output NEE, GPP, NPP, stores when .TRUE..
output%veg	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output vegetation states when .TRUE..
output%params	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output the input parameters used to produce run then .TRUE..
output%balances	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Output energy and water balances when .TRUE..
output%grid	character(len=7)	'default' 'land' 'mask' 'ALMA'	'default'	Output grid convention. 'land' outputs land-only points, 'mask' outputs masked spatial grids. 'ALMA' uses the Assistance for Land-surface Modelling Activities convention. 'default' uses the whichever convention the input meteorological file is using.
output%averaging	character(len=7)	'all' 'daily' 'monthly' 'user6'	'all'	Output averaging.
check%ranges	integer	0 (NO_CHECK), 1 (ON_TIMESTEP), 2 (ON_WRITE)	uninitialised	Check input and output variables at certain timesteps against valid ranges.
check%exit	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Behaviour on failed range checks. If true , write to console and exit the program, else write to logfile as warning
check%energy_bal	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	uninitialised	Check the energy balance.
check%mass_bal	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	uninttialised	Check the water/mass balance.
verbose	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	uninitialised	Write details of every grid cell initialisation and parameters to log.
leaps	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	depends on configuration	Calculate timing with leap years.
logn	integer	any integer number	uninitialised	Log file number - declared in input module.
fixedCO2	real	any real number	350	CO\(_2\) concentration if not found in met file, in units ppmv.
spincasa	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	uninitialised	Spin CASA before running the model if TRUE, and should be set to FALSE if spincasainput is .TRUE..
l_casacnp	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use CASA-CNP with CABLE.
l_landuse	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use land-use change.
l_laiFeedbk	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use prognostic leaf area index.
l_vcmaxFeedbk	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use prognostic Vcmax.
CASAonly	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	ONLY run CASA-CNP.
icycle	integer	0, 1, 2, 3, >10	0	0 for not using CASA-CNP, 1 for C, 2 for C+N, 3 for C+N+P, >10 excludes call to CBM (main call to cable).
casafile%cnpipool	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	''	Initial CNP pool size file name.
casafile%cnpbiome	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	uninitialised	Biome specific biogeochemical parameters file name.
casafile%cnpepool	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	uninitialised	End of run pool size file name.
casafile%cnpmetout	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	uninitialised	Output daily met forcing for spinning CASA-CNP file name.
casafile%cnpmetin	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	uninitialised	List of daily met files for spinning CASA-CNP file name.
casafile%phen	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	uninitialised	Modis phenology file name.
casafile%cnpflux	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	uninitialised	Output file name for CNP fluxes.
casafile%c2cdumppath	character(len=99)	any string of max. 99 characters	''	CABLE to CASA dump for CASA spin up.
ncciy	integer	any integer	uninitialised	GSWP year. 0 for not using GSWP; 4-digit year input for year of GSWP meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%rainf	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for rain meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%snowf	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for snow meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%LWdown	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for long wave radiation meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%SWdown	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for short wave radiation meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%PSurf	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for surface pressure meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%Qair	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for humidity meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%Tair	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for temperature meteorological forcing.
gswpfile%wind	character(len=200)	any string of max. 200 characters	uninitialised	Input file for wind meteorological forcing.
redistrb	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Turn on/off the hydraulic redistribution.
wiltParam	real	any real	0.0	Wilt parameter in hydraulic redistribution module.
satuParam	real	any real	0.0	Saturation parameter in hydraulic redistribution module.
cable_user%FWSOIL_SWITCH	character	'standard' 'non-linear extrapolation' 'Lai and Ktaul 2000'	''	Controls root water uptake function.
cable_user%DIAG_SOIL_RESP	character(len=3)	'ON' 'OFF'	''	Controls soil respiration scheme when CASA-CNP not used.
cable_user%LEAF_RESPIRATION	character(len=3)	'ON' 'OFF'	uninitialised	Controls what is output into the gross primary productivity stash variable.
cable_user%RUN_DIAG_LEVEL	character(len=5)	'BASIC' 'NONE'	uninitialised	Controls output from CABLE to standard out.
cable_user%CONSISTENCY_CHECK	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	TRUE outputs combined fluxes at each timestep for comparison to a control run.
cable_user%CASA_DUMP_READ	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	TRUE reads CASA forcing from netcdf format.
cable_user%CASA_DUMP_WRITE	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	TRUE outputs CASA forcing in netcdf format.
cable_user%SSNOW_POTEV	character(len=3)	'HDM' 'P-M'	''	Use the “Humidity Deficit Method” or “Penman-Monteith” method.
cable_user%GS_SWITCH	character(len=20)	'medlyn' 'leuning'	'medlyn'	Stomatal conductance model.
cable_user%l_revised_coupling	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Revised coupling on implicit step of ACCESS-CM2.
cable_user%l_rev_corr	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Apply revised sensitvity/correction terms to soilsnow energy balance.
cable_user%soil_thermal_fix	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use alternative soil conductivity implementation.
cable_user%phenology_switch	character(len=20)	'MODIS' 'climate'	'MODIS'	Use prescribed MODIS phenology or climate dependant phenology.
cable_user%RunIden	character(len=10)	any string of max. 10 characters	'STANDARD'	Run identifier string for input/output files.
cable_user%MetType	character(len=6)	'' 'gswp' 'gswp3' 'plum' 'cru' 'site' 'bios'	' '	Type of input meteorological data.
cable_user%soil_struc	character(len=20)	'default' 'sli'	'default'	Use default or soil-litter-iso soil model.
cable_user%POP_out	character(len=3)	'epi' 'rst' 'ini'	'rst'	POP restart file type. 'epi' is end of year state 'rst' is a standard restart file, 'ini' is an initialisation restart file.
cable_user%POP_rst	character(len=50)	any string of max. 50 characters	' '	POP restart file directory.
cable_user%casa_out_freq	character(len=8)	'daily' 'monthly' 'annually'	'annually'	CASA output frequency.
cable_user%vcmax	character(len=10)	'standard' 'Walker2014'	'standard'	Alternative functional form of \(V_{cmax}\) (maximum RuBP carboxylation rate). For 'Walker2014' see Walker et al., 2014
cable_user%POPLUC_RunType	character(len=10)	'static' 'init' 'restart'	'static'	Type of POP-LUC run. 'init' is initial POP-LUC run, 'restart' is a restart run, 'static' disables dynamic vegetation and sets cable_user%POPLUC = .FALSE..
cable_user%call_pop	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Enable POP.
cable_user%POP_fromZero	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Run POP initialisation.
cable_user%call_climate	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Track climate variables for use in phenology and potential plant functional type modules.
cable_user%climate_fromzero	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Initialise climate variables with 0.
cable_user%CASA_fromzero	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Initialise CASA from 0 without restart files.
cable_user%POPLUC	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Enable POP-LUC.
cable_user%casa_spin_startyear	integer	any integer	1950	CASA spinup start year.
cable_user%casa_spin_endyear	integer	any integer	1960	CASA spinup end year.
cable_user%yearstart	integer	any integer	0	Start year of run.
cable_user%yearend	integer	any integer	0	End year of run.
cable_user%casa_nrep	integer	any integer	1	Number of repetitions of CASA spinup.
cable_user%smrf_name	character(len=10)	'CASA-CNP' 'SOILN' 'TRIFFID'	uninitialised	Soil moisture respiration function.
cable_user%strf_name	character(len=10)	'CASA-CNP' 'SOILN' 'TRIFFID'	uninitialised	Soil temperature respiration function.
cable_user%LogWorker	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.TRUE.	Write output of each worker.
cable_user%l_new_roughness_soil	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use alternative roughness and flux resistance scheme.
cable_user%l_new_runoff_speed	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use alternative soil water drainage scheme.
cable_user%l_new_reduce_soilevp	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use alternative soil evaporation scheme.
cable_user%srf	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Switch for customized soil respiration.
cable_user%litter	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Add litter layer on top of the soil surface.
cable_user%gw_model	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Enable alternate soil model that accounts for groundwater.
cable_user%gswp3	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use GSWP3 forcing.
cable_user%or_evap	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Enable Dani Or's evaporation scheme.
cable_user%sync_nc_file	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Write netCDF output to file without closing during run.
cable_user%max_spins	integer	any integer	1	Maximum number of iterations for a spinup. CABLE will act as if convergence has been reached after max_spins iterations even if it was not reached.
cable_user%fix_access_roots	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Use plant functional type dependent roots in ACCESS
cable_user%access13roots	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Switch to use ACCESS1.3 %froot.
cable_user%l_limit_labile	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Limit labile in spinup.
cable_user%NtilesThruMetFile	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	Specify Ntiles through met file.
cable_user%l_ice_consistency	logical	.TRUE. .FALSE.	.FALSE.	If true, ensures consistency between soil and vegetation tiles with permanent ice. All tiles with permanent ice for soil will have ice for vegetation and vice-versa. All the parameters for these new ice tiles are updated to the ice parameters.

For offline applications

&cable
   filename%met = '/projects/access/CABLE-AUX/offline/TumbaFluxnet.1.3_met.nc'
   filename%out = 'out_cable.nc'
   filename%log = 'log_cable.txt'
   filename%restart_in  = ' '
   filename%restart_out = './restart_out.nc'
   filename%type    = '/projects/access/CABLE-AUX/offline/gridinfo_CSIRO_1x1.nc'
   vegparmnew = .TRUE.  ! using new format when true
   soilparmnew = .TRUE.  ! using new format when true
   spinup = .TRUE.  ! do we spin up the model?
   delsoilM = 0.001   ! allowed variation in soil moisture for spin up
   delsoilT = 0.01    ! allowed variation in soil temperature for spin up
   output%restart = .TRUE.  ! should a restart file be created?
   output%met = .TRUE.  ! input met data
   output%flux = .TRUE.  ! convective, runoff, NEE
   output%soil = .TRUE.  ! soil states
   output%snow = .TRUE.  ! snow states
   output%radiation = .TRUE.  ! net rad, albedo
   output%carbon    = .TRUE.  ! NEE, GPP, NPP, stores
   output%veg       = .TRUE.  ! vegetation states
   output%params    = .TRUE.  ! input parameters used to produce run
   output%balances  = .TRUE.  ! energy and water balances
   check%ranges     = 1  ! Range-checks on every timestep
   check%exit = .TRUE.  ! Exit the program if range checks fail
   check%energy_bal = .TRUE.  ! energy balance
   check%mass_bal   = .TRUE.  ! water/mass balance
   verbose = .TRUE. ! write details of every grid cell init and params to log?
   leaps = .TRUE. ! calculate timing with leap years
   logn = 88      ! log file number - declared in input module
   fixedCO2 = 350.0   ! if not found in met file, in ppmv
   spincasa      = .FALSE.     ! spin casa before running the model if TRUE, and should be set to FALSE if spincasainput = .TRUE.
   l_casacnp     = .FALSE.  ! using casaCNP with CABLE
   l_laiFeedbk   = .FALSE.  ! using prognostic LAI
   l_vcmaxFeedbk = .FALSE.  ! using prognostic Vcmax
   icycle = 0   ! BP pull it out from casadimension and put here; 0 for not using casaCNP, 1 for C, 2 for C+N, 3 for C+N+P
   casafile%cnpipool='/projects/access/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeochem/poolcnpInTumbarumba.csv'  !
   casafile%cnpbiome='/projects/access/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeochem/pftlookup_csiro_v16_17tiles.csv'  ! biome specific BGC parameters
   casafile%cnpepool='poolcnpOut.csv'    ! end of run pool size
   casafile%cnpmetout='casamet.nc'                ! output daily met forcing for spinning casacnp
   casafile%cnpmetin=''          ! list of daily met files for spinning casacnp
   casafile%phen='/projects/access/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeochem/modis_phenology_csiro.txt'        ! modis phenology
   casafile%cnpflux='cnpfluxOut.csv'
   ncciy = 0 ! 0 for not using gswp; 4-digit year input for year of gswp met
   gswpfile%rainf = 'gswp/Rainf_gswp1987.nc'
   gswpfile%snowf = 'gswp/Snowf_gswp1987.nc'
   gswpfile%LWdown= 'gswp/LWdown_srb1987.nc'
   gswpfile%SWdown= 'gswp/SWdown_srb1987.nc'
   gswpfile%PSurf = 'gswp/PSurf_ecor1987.nc'
   gswpfile%Qair  = 'gswp/Qair_cru1987.nc'
   gswpfile%Tair  = 'gswp/Tair_cru1987.nc'
   gswpfile%wind  = 'gswp/Wind_ncep1987.nc'
   redistrb = .FALSE.  ! Turn on/off the hydraulic redistribution
   wiltParam = 0.5
   satuParam = 0.8
   cable_user%FWSOIL_SWITCH = 'standard'        ! choices are: 'standard', 'non-linear extrapolation' or 'Lai and Ktaul 2000'
   cable_user%DIAG_SOIL_RESP = 'ON '
   cable_user%LEAF_RESPIRATION = 'ON '
   cable_user%RUN_DIAG_LEVEL= 'BASIC'        ! choices are: 'BASIC', 'NONE'
   cable_user%CONSISTENCY_CHECK= .TRUE.      ! TRUE outputs combined fluxes at each timestep for comparison to a control run
   cable_user%CASA_DUMP_READ = .FALSE.      ! TRUE reads CASA forcing from netcdf format
   cable_user%CASA_DUMP_WRITE = .FALSE.      ! TRUE outputs CASA forcing in netcdf format
   cable_user%SSNOW_POTEV= 'HDM'      ! Humidity Deficit Method
&end

For ACCESS applications

&cable
!!
!! cable namelist variables applicable to ACCESS/UM runs
!! default parameter files are available in the following directory on raijin
!! vegetation parameters in def_veg_params.txt or for vbeta=1 veg_params_vbeta1.txt
!! vbeta=1 recommended but should be tested for your applications
!
  filename%veg     = '/projects/access/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeophys/veg_params_vbeta1.txt'
!
!! or checkout to your own area
! filename%veg     = '~/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeophys/def_veg_params.txt' !relative to your home dir
!!
!! soil parameters in def_soil_params.txt. Not used except for isoil=9 (permanent ice) and
!! rhosoil and css values (isoil=2 used for all non-ice tiles).
!! Other soil parameters from spatially explicit ancillary files.
!
  filename%soil    = '/projects/access/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeophys/def_soil_params.txt'
!
! filename%soil    = '~/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeophys/def_soil_params.txt' !relative to your home dir
!
!! cable_user flags
!
  cable_user%CABLE_RUNTIME_COUPLED = .TRUE. ! controls whether snow initialised if
                                            ! ktau_gl=1
                                            ! must be set true for coupled run
                                            ! use true for atmosphere only runs if
                                            ! want to take snow from start dump
                                            ! default is .false.
  cable_user%FWSOIL_SWITCH = 'standard' ! Controls root water uptake function
                                        ! choices are:
                                        ! 'standard'
                                        ! 'non-linear extrapolation'
                                        ! 'Lai and Ktaul 2000' NB TYPO IS IN CODE (should be Katul)
  cable_user%DIAG_SOIL_RESP = 'ON '  ! Controls soil respiration scheme when CASA-CNP not used
                                     ! 'ON' uses scheme tuned with parameter veg%vegcf
                                     ! 'OFF' uses scheme tuned with parameter veg%rs20
  cable_user%LEAF_RESPIRATION = 'OFF' ! Controls what is output into the GPP stash variable
                                      ! 'OFF' is true GPP (photosynthesis + leaf respiration)
                                      ! 'ON' is only photosynthesis, canopy%fpn
  cable_user%RUN_DIAG_LEVEL= 'BASIC'  ! Controls output from CABLE to standard out
                                      ! choices are:
                                      ! 'BASIC'
                                      ! 'NONE'
                                      ! 'zero' (in cable_explicit_driver - what does this do?)
  cable_user%ssnow_POTEV = ''    ! Controls method used for soil evaporation
                                 ! Choices are:
                                 ! 'P-M' Penman_Monteith, otherwise defaults to
                                 ! humidity deficit method
!!--------------Test Switches--------------
  cable_user%l_new_roughness_soil  = .FALSE.   ! for new soil roughness, E.Kowalczyk Mar14
  cable_user%l_new_runoff_speed    = .FALSE.   ! for new increase in runoff speed, E.Kowalczyk Mar14
  cable_user%l_new_reduce_soilevp  = .FALSE.   ! to reduce soil evaporation, E.Kowalczyk Mar14
!!-----------------------------------------
!
  redistrb = .FALSE.  ! Turn on/off the hydraulic redistribution
  wiltParam = 0.5     ! only used if hydraulic redistribution .true.
  satuParam = 0.8     ! only used if hydraulic redistribution .true.
!
! CASA-CNP flags
  l_casacnp = .true. ! redundant? actually controlled by icycle
  icycle = 3 ! Controls whether CASA-CNP is run and for which species
             ! Choices are:
             ! 0 CASA-CNP not run
             ! 1 Carbon only
             ! 2 Carbon and nitrogen
             ! 3 Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus
  l_laiFeedbk   = .TRUE.  ! using prognostic LAI
  l_vcmaxFeedbk = .TRUE.  ! using prognostic Vcmax
! filenames for CASA-CNP input files
  casafile%cnpbiome='~/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeochem/pftlookup_csiro_v16_17tiles.csv' ! biome specific BGC parameters
  casafile%phen='~/CABLE-AUX/core/biogeochem/modis_phenology_csiro.txt' ! phenology by latitude (modis derived)
&end