Is it possible to generate backward pathlines in Vapor as of 2024?

[keito]

I’m a beginner asking this question for the first time. I learned from the question below that backward pathlines were not possible in Vapor as of 2022. Is it possible now?"

Are backward pathlines possible in VAPOR?

Hello, I am analysing the flow over mountain ranges using WRF output in VAPOR. My goal is to specify target area and find the source region of air parcels (e. i. to compute backward trajectories). It works fine for time-invariant streamlines but I only could perform forward computation with time-variant pathlines. Streamlines are probably fine as I am working in a relatively short time window but I guess that having updated flow field during computation may improve accuracy of the trajectories. …

[sam]

Hi @keito , I’m sorry that there’s still no backward pathlines in VAPOR. Would you mind sharing your use case and help us understand why a backward pathline is helpful?

Thanks,
Sam

[keito]

Hello Sam, thank you for your response. I understand now that Vapor doesn’t support backward pathlines.

I’m conducting research on winds that pass over mountains using the WRF model. To investigate where the airflow that has crossed the mountain originally came from, analyzing backward pathlines is very useful. This time, I plan to calculate the backward pathlines using another program and then visualize the data in 3D using Vapor.

Thanks.
Keito

[sam]

Thanks Keito. I understand the use case better now. Would you also share with us what other programs support calculating backward pathlines?