Variable Names
There is no single universal standard that mandates variable names in an xarray.Dataset or CF conventions. Therefore, the standard_name and vocabulary are critically important for interoperability.
CMIP6 Variable Mapping by Category
Warning
The CMIP6 variable names in these tables require verification and may not be accurate. Please consult the official CMIP6 documentation for correct variable mappings.
This table maps CF standard names to CMIP6 variable names, organized by category. These short names are typically used in CMIP6 NetCDF output and should be matched to your xarray variables via the standard_name attribute.
Temperature
CF Standard Name |
AC1 Name |
CMIP6 Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sea_water_conservative_temperature |
CT |
Conservative temperature |
|
sea_water_temperature |
TEMP |
Sea water temperature |
|
sea_water_potential_temperature |
POTEMP |
thetao |
Sea water potential temperature |
Salinity
CF Standard Name |
AC1 Name |
CMIP6 Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sea_water_absolute_salinity |
SA |
Absolute salinity (g/kg) |
|
sea_water_practical_salinity |
PSAL |
so |
Practical salinity |
Pressure
CF Standard Name |
AC1 Name |
CMIP6 Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sea_water_pressure |
PRES |
pso |
Pressure |
sea_water_pressure_at_sea_floor |
OBP |
Pressure at sea floor |
Density
CF Standard Name |
AC1 Name |
CMIP6 Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sea_water_sigma_theta |
sigma0 |
Density anomaly to 1000, surface reference |
|
sea_water_potential_density |
Same as sigma-theta |
||
sea_water_neutral_density |
gamma_n |
Neutral density estimate |
|
ocean_sigma_coordinate |
— |
Vertical coordinate metadata |
Velocity
CF Standard Name |
AC1 Name |
CMIP6 Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
eastward_sea_water_velocity |
UCUR |
Eastward sea water velocity |
|
northward_sea_water_velocity |
VCUR |
Northward sea water velocity |
|
baroclinic_northward_sea_water_velocity |
VCUR |
votemper |
Baroclinic (layered) meridional velocity |
barotropic_northward_sea_water_velocity |
VCUR |
vbar |
Depth-averaged (barotropic) meridional velocity |
Transport
CF Standard Name |
AC1 Name |
CMIP6 Name |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
northward_ocean_freshwater_transport |
MFT |
fwt_north |
Total freshwater transport |
northward_ocean_freshwater_transport_due_to_gyre |
MFT_GYRE |
fwt_north_gyre |
Gyre component of freshwater transport |
northward_ocean_freshwater_transport_due_to_overturning |
MFT_OT |
fwt_north_ovt |
Overturning component of freshwater transport |
northward_ocean_heat_tranpsport |
MHT |
fht_north |
Total northward heat transport |
ocean_volume_transport_across_line |
TRANSPORT |
vol_transport |
Volume transport across a defined line or section |
ocean_meridional_overturning_mass_streamfunction |
MOC_MASS |
moc |
Overturning streamfunction (mass) |
ocean_meridional_overturning_streamfunction |
MOC |
mosf |
General overturning streamfunction |
ocean_meridional_overturning_streamfunction |
MOC_SIG |
Overturning streamfunction in density space (sigma coordinate) |