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The import module is developed to import daily rainfall files for the area of interest. More information on the EARS datellite rainfall format can be obtained from EARS (https://www.ears.nl/).

The import of EARS satellite data is implemented in FEWS 2018.02 version

File format

For specification of the file format, check the BIL file format. The filename is used to retreive the date information of the files. There is always one file per daily timestep; a standard filename pattern used is 'NI_'yyyyMMdd'.prc' for importing files with a name NI_20180101.prc

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• <npix>1002</npix> -> nr of columns
• <nscan>702</nscan> -> nr of rows
• <UL_lat>25</UL_lat> -> latitude of upper left pixel
• <UL_Long>-13</UL_Long> -> longitude of upper left pixel
• <Xangstep>0.03</Xangstep>
• <Yangstep>-0.03</Yangstep> -> pixel resolution: 0.03 x 0.03 degrees
• The 2 bytes integer pixel values represent precipitation in [mm * 10].

Configuration

An example import configuration to import a bil file is shown below:

The following configuration example shows what is required to import EARS satellite data into FEWS. The following files need to be adjusted:

• Locations.xml: to add the satellite location ID
• Grids.xml: for the grid characteristics
• Import_SAT.xml: module instance that imports the data
• ModuleInstanceDescriptors.xml: For reference of the import module instance
• Grids.xml: for the grid characteristics
• ImportUnitConversions.xml: If the units need to be converted on importing

For some of these files exampels are provided below. Locations, ModuleInstanceDescriptors and ImportUnitConversions are standard FEWS configuration files.

Example of the locations.xml file element:

	<location id="SATH_AFRICA" name="SATH_AFRICA">
		<shortName>SATH_AFRICA</shortName>
		<x>0</x>
		<y>0</y>
	</location>

Example of the Grids.xml file element:

	<regular locationId="SATH_AFRICA">
		<description>SATH Rainfall files</description>
		<rows>702</rows>
		<columns>1002</columns>
		<geoDatum>WGS 1984</geoDatum>
		<firstCellCenter>
			<x>-13</x>
			<y>25</y>
			<z>0</z>
		</firstCellCenter>
		<xCellSize>.03</xCellSize>
		<yCellSize>.03</yCellSize>
	</regular>

An example import Moduile instance configuration file:

<timeSeriesImportRun 

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xmlns="http://www.wldelft.nl/fews" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.wldelft.nl/fews http://fews.wldelft.nl/schemas/version1.0/timeSeriesImportRun.xsd">

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	<import>
		<general>
			<importType>EARS_Satellite_Rainfall_Estimate</importType>

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			<folder>$IMPORT_FOLDER$\SATH</folder>

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			<fileNameObservationDateTimePattern>'NI_'yyyyMMdd'.prc'</fileNameObservationDateTimePattern>

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			<unitConversionsId>ImportUnitConversions</unitConversionsId>

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			<importTimeZone>
				<timeZoneOffset>+00:00</timeZoneOffset>

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			</importTimeZone>

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			<geoDatum>WGS 1984</geoDatum>

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			<dataFeedId>SATH_AFRICA</dataFeedId>

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		</general>

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		<timeSeriesSet>
			<moduleInstanceId>ImportSATH</moduleInstanceId>

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			<valueType>grid</valueType>

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			<parameterId>P</parameterId>

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			<locationId>SATH_AFRICA</locationId>

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			<timeSeriesType>external historical</timeSeriesType>

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			<timeStep unit="day"/>

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			<readWriteMode>add originals</readWriteMode>

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			<expiryTime unit="day" multiplier="400"/>

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		</timeSeriesSet>

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		<externUnit unit="0.1mm" parameterId="P"/>

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<regular locationId="SATH_AFRICA">
<description>SATH Rainfall files</description>
<rows>702</rows>
<columns>1002</columns>
<geoDatum>WGS 1984</geoDatum>
<firstCellCenter>
<x>-13</x>
<y>25</y>
<z>0</z>
</firstCellCenter>
<xCellSize>.03</xCellSize>
<yCellSize>.03</yCellSize>
</regular>

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<idMap xmlns="http://www.wldelft.nl/fews"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.wldelft.nl/fews
http://fews.wldelft.nl/schemas/version1.0/idMap.xsd" version="1.1">
	<!---->
	<parameter internal="T.fx" external="1"/>
	<parameter internal="P.fx" external="0"/>
	<!---->
	<location internal="BIL" external="BIL"/>
</idMap>

The idmap used in this example:

External parameter should be 0, or in case multiple parameters 0, 1, 2 etc.
The bil file doesn't contain any location informations, so location id mapping can be omitted.
If you still use location id mapping, use for external and internal location id the same string.

The *.prc files uses a raw binary format without any headers.

The files represent a rectangular (in equal lat lon) area/grid of the Niger River basin

  <npix>1002</npix> -> nr of columns 

  <nscan>702</nscan> -> nr of rows 

  <UL_lat>25</UL_lat> -> latitude of upper left pixel 

  <UL_Long>-13</UL_Long> -> longitude of upper left pixel 

  <Xangstep>0.03</Xangstep>

  <Yangstep>-0.03</Yangstep> -> pixel resolution: 0.03 x 0.03 degrees

The 2 bytes integer pixel values represent precipitation in [mm * 10].

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/import>
</timeSeriesImportRun>