Validation of high-resolution ICON-LES in complex terrain using observations from two HEFEX field campaigns

This repository contains the data, analysis workflows, and visualization scripts supporting the scientific study evaluating high-resolution atmospheric simulations performed with the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic model in Large-Eddy Simulation mode (ICON-LES) over complex glacier terrain. The repository is part of the Glacier Space Project.

The primary purpose of this repository is to ensure transparency, reproducibility, and accessibility of the analysis by providing processed datasets, analysis notebooks, statistical evaluation workflows, and figure generation scripts.

Repository Structure

icon_validation/
│
├── data_in/
│
├── data_out/
│   ├── obs/
│   ├── icon/
│   ├── era5/
│   └── misc/
│
├── notebooks/
│
├── figures/
│   ├── pdf/
│   └── png/
│
├── statistics/
│
└── README.md

data_in/

This directory contains glacier outlines and location information from the HEFEX II and HEFEX III field campaigns.

data_out/

This directory contains processed datasets used for the analysis and visualization presented in the manuscript.

The datasets originate from three main sources:

• Observational data (obs/)
  Processed observational datasets collected during the field campaign, including Doppler lidar measurements and meteorological tower observations.
• ICON simulation data (icon/)
  Output from high-resolution ICON-LES simulations used for model evaluation.
• ERA5 reanalysis (era5/)
  Atmospheric reanalysis data from ERA5 used for synoptic-scale context and comparison.

The files stored in this directory represent analysis-ready NetCDF datasets generated through preprocessing workflows contained in the notebooks/ directory.

notebooks/

This directory contains Jupyter notebooks used throughout the study workflow. The notebooks fall into three main categories:

1. Data Preparation / Conversion
   these notebooks preprocess raw input data and convert them into standardized formats for subsequent analysis. Raw observational datasets and ICON simulation outputs can be requested from the authors.
2. Figure Generation
   these notebooks generate the figures included in the manuscript, using processed datasets from data_out/. Some files are too large and can be downloaded from Zenodo (see associated publication section below) or must be requested from the authors.
3. Statistical Analysis
   these notebooks perform statistical evaluations of model performance against observations, including error metrics and skill scores.

figures/

This directory contains exported figures generated by the notebooks.

• png/: quick visualization
• pdf/: publication-quality vector graphics

The figures correspond directly to those shown in the accompanying manuscript.

statistics/

This directory stores tabular output generated from the statistical analysis notebooks.

Associated Publication

DOI, Abstract, ...

Citation

The following datasets are associated with the study and are available on Zenodo. Please cite the relevant DOI when using them in your research.

• HEFEX II Observations
  • AWS Data:
• HEFEX III Observations
  • AWS Data:
  • WindRanger lidar:
  • Streamline lidar:
  • UAV:
• ICON Experiments
  • Grid definitions and external parameters for model domains:
  • Note: HEFEX II and HEFEX III datasets include extracts of simulation outputs used for observation validation.

Also check the Glacier Space Zenodo Community for additional datasets and publications related to the project and HEFEX campaigns.

Contact

For questions regarding the repository or associated publication, please contact:

Alexander Georgi

License

Code: MIT License
Data and figures: CC BY 4.0