Atmospheric modelling
We can in principle calculate an atmospheric model for a meteorite fall case anywhere on Earth using WRF modelling.
Need a model for a particular area?
First check that the area and time of interest is not already available at desertfireballnetwork.github.io/freo_doctor.
If not, here are the steps:
- Use form below, it will generate a pre-filled email to send to Hadrien.
- Alternatively, download the config file template from here and fill it in manually.
Data Products Documentation
Output data products only cover up to ~31 km altitudes.
There are two types of output data products.
WRF output (NetCDF)
See the WRF documentation here.
These native wrfout NetCDF files (can be read/exported using this code as example).
Vertical Profiles (CSV)
Vertical profiles extracted at the time and coordinates provided. Simple CSV file, all SI units:
| Column Name | Format | Unit | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| height | metre | Height (Above Sea Level) | |
| temperature | Kelvin | ||
| pressure | Pascal | ||
| relative_humidity | % | atmospheric relative Humidity (0-100%) | |
| wind_horizontal | m/s | Magnitude of the wind vector in the horizontal plane | |
| wind_direction | decimal | degrees | East of North direction the wind is coming from |
| wind_east | m/s | Easterly component of the wind | |
| wind_north | m/s | Northerly component of the wind | |
| wind_up | m/s | Upwards component of the wind | |
| density | kg/m³ | Density of the atmosphere |
Notes: for meteorite dark flight puposes, using the vertical profiles is usually fine. However if you have a shallow entry, where your meteorite wanders more than 10 km from from the extraction point, we strongly recommand you use the use the full 4D data products.
General Notes
- Input data for running the model is not always immediately available (might take a day or two).
- We cannot guarantee we can provide the service in a timely fashion.
- We are mostly interested in collaborating on cases that are useful to research, hence may decline a request in some instances.
- If you use data products from this service in a publication, please cite Devillepoix & Cupák 2026 and Skamarock+ 2019.